Quality Improvement Seminar: Affinity Diagram, Mapping, and Measuring Process

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Quality Improvement Seminar Affinity Diagram,
Mapping, and Measuring Process

• A Presentation Supporting the
• 2006 Year of the Department
• A Call to Engagement

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Program Mission

• May include many of the following
• Heritage and fundamental purpose
• Responsibility to stakeholders
• Community and civic obligations
• Major emphasis and directions
• Educational philosophy
• Role of supporting services
• Academic freedom and corollary obligations
• Style of governance and management

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Program Mission, cont.

• Steps to take when developing or reviewing a
  program mission
• Examine the institutional mission
• Identify the purpose or role of the program
• Answer questions about the uniqueness of the
  program
• Why does the unit exist?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• What is the primary service, function, product,
  and how do they support the institution?
• Check each statement against the questions
• Review, revise, solidify support

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Affinity Diagram

• Derived from Gardiner, Planning for Assessment
  Mission Statements, Goals, and Objectives
• Affinity diagrams detail the goals of the
  unit/program
• Allow for operationalization
• Specific action
• Allow decision making, objective
• Reductionist

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Affinity Diagram, cont.

• Academic affinity diagrams map the following
• Characteristics
• Expected Learning Outcomes
• Curriculum
• Assessment Approach
• Results (NEW)
• Action Taken (NEW)

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Affinity Diagram, cont.

• Changing learning outcomes
• General education classes
• Classes have an impact larger than just the
  department
• Distance education/hybrid programs
• Aligned learning objectives for the same course
• Different delivery model may be a barrier
• Graduate programs
• All substantial changes must be reviewed by
  Chair, Dean, and AA/FS

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Affinity Diagram, cont.

• Non-academic affinity diagrams map the following
• Characteristics
• Unit Outcomes/Service Goals
• Strategies to Achieve Outcomes/Goals
• Assessment Approach
• Results (NEW)
• Action Taken (NEW)

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Affinity Diagram, cont.

• Goals analysis
• Outputs (first-order event) vs. impacts
  (second-order consequences)
• Intended vs. actual outcomes
• Negative outcomes
• Avoid mixing outcomes and processes
• Which is the desired event?
• Often emergent from field-dependent standards
• Specialized accreditation

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Affinity Diagram, cont.

• Goals analysis, cont.
• What do we want the result outcome, process,
  input to be?
• How will we recognize the result when we get it?
• What specific evidence are we willing to accept
  that these concrete behaviors have actually
  occurred?
• BIG NEWS Results column added

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Systems and Processes
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Systems and Processes, cont.

• Processes break the chunk of systems apart
• Fix systems by fixing processes
• Systemic transformation
• When all processes evolve with the introduction
  of a substantive change
• Processes have measurable outcomes

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Quality Tools Process Diagrams

• Remember, you are seeking to investigate the
  following basic educational processes
• Desired learning outcomes
• Design of the curricula
• Design of teaching and learning processes for
  selected courses/programs
• Student learning assessment
• Results and feedback for quality assurance
• Understand which processes inform which processes
  causal modeling

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Quality Tools Process Diagrams, cont.

• Desired learning outcomes
• Develop LOs for grad program
• Design of the curricula
• Rethink minor curriculum
• Design of teaching and learning processes for
  selected courses/programs
• Deploy internship in junior year for majors
• Student learning assessment
• Develop pre/post-test for gen ed course
• Results and feedback for quality assurance
• Analyze post-test results

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Quality Tools Process Diagrams, cont.

• Fishbone
  diagram

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Quality Tools Process Diagrams, cont.

• 5Y
• The root of every problem can be determined by
  asking (and answering) WHY five times
• I forgot my homeworkWHY
• Because I got up lateWHY
• Because I worked late last niteWHY
• Because I overextended myself financiallyWHY
• Because I attend college rather than work
  full-timeWHY
• Why did you forget your homework if you want to
  be in college?

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Quality Tools Process Diagrams, cont.

• Simple Cause Map
• Linear mapping of causal relations
• Efficient tool for representing relationships
• Link one cause to the next cause in linear
  fashion
• May look more like a web than a train
• Different from concept mapping
• This occurs, then this occurs, then this occurs,
  then this occurs

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Quality Tools Mapping Goals

• Process Cracking
• Break down process into defined chunks
• Studies action
• Infinitely regressive
• Set a criteria for what is significant
  process-related action
• The department mails recruitment letters to all
  freshmen we receive names on
• Walk to the mailroom, lift the box onto the
  shelf, give instructions

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Quality Tools Mapping Goals

• Departmental Performance Scorecard
• Goal
• Indicator
• Last Years Result
• Current Result
• Responsible Agent
• On Track/Strategy
• Next Years Goal

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Quality Tools Departmental Strategic Plan

• Mission, Vision
• Department Goals, Objectives, Strategic
  Priorities
• Departmental Highlights
• Performance Indicators
• Current Quality Initiatives
• SWOT
• Opportunities for Improvement/Resources

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Quality Improvement Seminar Affinity Diagram,
Mapping, and Measuring Process

• A Presentation Supporting the
• 2006 Year of the Department
• A Call to Engagement