Definition of action effect diagram features
| Feature (and appearance on diagram) | Definition |
|---|---|
| Aim (single box on left-hand side of diagram) | ▸ Describes the overall aim of the improvement effort ▸ Indicates aspiration (e.g. to improve, to reduce, to increase) ▸ Defines scope: including patient group in which improvement is targeted ▸ Agreed by all stakeholders |
| Contributing factors (boxes to the right of the aim and left of interventions) | ▸ Represent concepts proposed to causally link the interventions to the aim. Contributing factors that feed directly to the aim: ▸ Referred to as 'major contributing factors' ▸ Cover a comprehensive view of activities sufficient to achieve the aim |
| Interventions (boxes to the right-hand side of contributing factors) | ▸ Specify clearly the changes being made in order to achieve the aim ▸ Intended to become part of routine service delivery |
| Implementation activities (boxes to the right of interventions and contributing factors) | ▸ Represent activities supporting the implementation of an intervention ▸ Not intended to necessarily become part of the routine service delivery ▸ Directly controllable by the team running the improvement initiative |
| Cause/effect arrows (arrows connecting pairs of boxes) | ▸ Indicate the direction of cause and effect: the head of the arrow is connected to the effect, the other end to the cause ▸ Connect boxes that are clearly related, with no tacit knowledge necessary to understand the connection ▸ Point from right to left in the diagram |
| Cause/effect chains (sequence of boxes, each connected to the next by a cause/effect arrow) | ▸ Indicate how the implementation activities and interventions are proposed to influence contributing factors and, in turn, the achievement of the aim ▸ Comprehensible to the target audience without additional information ▸ Moves from factors under direct control on the right of the diagram, through to indirect influence on the left of the diagram |
| Measure concepts (numbered list accompanying diagram, circled numbers added to associated boxes) | ▸ Associated with one or more boxes (aim, contributing factors, interventions, implementation activities) that are to be measured ▸ Described concisely and clearly to allow team members to understand the association(s) ▸ Distributed across the diagram, capturing process and outcome |