Resistance to change and faltering momentum are common pitfalls in QI projects. Often, it is because teams struggle to effectively communicate the developments of their QI project as they emerge, in a timely way to key stakeholders. Visual Management Boards (VMBs) and improvement huddles are one way to overcome these challenges. 

VMBs should be displayed in a central area in plain sight, where it can be easily written on and can have a team huddle around it during weekly improvement huddles. The board will help to communicate to teams the aims of the project, the progress being made so far and offers some interactivity so that both staff and service users can suggest ideas and feedback directly onto the board. 

Introducing weekly twenty-minute improvement huddles around the VMB can help guide discussions on why your project matters, generate change ideas, and understand and resolve challenges as they emerge. The huddles can also help keep your team in the loop as your project matures, collaboratively developing small tests of change each week and giving opportunities for staff and service users to be part of executing the change and providing their feedback in the following week. Through this format we can truly give staff and service users the opportunity to experience being part of the change. 

The VMBs can be especially useful for continuity of projects where staff work shifts or where staff are not always on site when improvement huddles are taking place. Information on the VMBs should be easy to read and with just enough detail that all staff can understand the changes being tested that week and offers them the opportunity to provide their feedback and suggestions at any time beyond the improvement huddle. This ensures we can hear from all voices in the team. 

See below a guide for using a visual management board and templates you can adapt for the size of boards you have available. We recommend printing and laminating so that you can use dry wipe pens to update the board frequently. 

If you have a VMB up in your team and want to share your experience of using it, please get in contact with us at: nlft.qi@nhs.net