Table 1 Framework based on key features of data-driven PDSA projects
Feature | Description of feature | Criteria for key feature | Supplementary features |
|---|---|---|---|
Documentation | Sufficient documentation of PDSA cycles is set as a requirement for the project to be analysed against the full framework | Individual cycles being described, with or without details on stages within cycles | |
Iterative cycles | The iterative approach essentially is the linking of knowledge gained from one PDSA cycle to the next. Through multiple cycles knowledge is built and interventions are either adopted, adapted or abandoned. | At least two successive cycles, linked by theme and function, in which lessons from one cycle informed the next | - Nature of cycles - Several tests of change in a cycle |
Small-scale testing | Small tests of change allow unexpected obstacles and unforeseen effects to be caught, and trust in the project to be built before full-scale implementation. | The change(s) were introduced on a scale smaller than an entire department/treatment unit tested, before a full-scale test was begun | - Scope of QI effort - Pre-project intention of testing under different conditions - Type of scaling when using small scale |
Continuous data collection | Using continuous data collection is necessary to understand the inherent variation within the system and determine whether the process is stable. | Data was collected regularly over time, with three or more consecutive data points | - Main type of data used - Measurement type - Use of baseline - Type of time series diagram |
Theoretical rationale | Improvers always use theories when developing and executing their projects, but stating them can help both in designing, executing and especially evaluating it, and helps in articulation of assumptions and predictions of why the project will result in improvement in their context | Informal or formal frameworks, models, concepts and/or theories used to explain the problem, any reasons or assumptions that were used to develop the project(s) and reasons why the project(s) was expected to work | - Evidence based inspiration for the need for improvement - Origin of inspiration for QI intervention |