Visual management board
What is a visual management board?
It’s a very visual reminder with the boards that they use to chart their progress and their success. So it’s something that even as a new person arriving in the middle of the pandemic was very visible and they were very proud of, and as part of day-to-day work they were happy to chat about it." Deputy Medical Director
A visual management board is a communication tool to allow teams to keep track of continuous improvement where multiple, complex improvement or assurance programmes are running.
A visual management board:
- displays the team’s current improvement activity, priorities and related data
- includes the box score and process maps, and
- provides the content and focus to drive weekly huddles.
A visual management board can be displayed in many ways, such as a whiteboard, paper on the wall or it can be digital/virtual. The board should be easy to change and update with new data and analyses.
The board should be displayed in a physical area or stored digitally in a way that is convenient but offers a level of privacy. The improvement work within the team should be delegated where possible, and team members should ensure the board has the most up-to-date information.
What is displayed on a visual management board?
- Vision statement – what does good look like?
- Aim statements for each area of Value Management you are focusing on (see box score)
- Analysis to understand system, for example process map or pareto chart
- Analysis to understand variation, for example run / control charts
- Improvement ideas
Why use a visual management board?
A visual management board:
- allows the whole team to get on the same page quickly
- provides graphical display of performance over time
- ensures opportunities for improvement are easy to identify
- is always visible so that staff not able to attend the huddles can review and add ideas to it
- shares success and shows where improvements have worked, and
- increases awareness and interest in cost and waste, and efficient use of staff capacity.
What are the benefits of using a visual management board?
- Makes it easy to see weekly data and discuss progress in the huddle
- Keeps the team focused on organisational priorities
- Keeps track of tests of change and sustained improvement
Key insights about visual management boards
- Visibility of the board is key to the success of the huddles and to maintain the profile of improvement activity between huddles.
- Digital visual management boards have helped teams that couldn’t meet face to face.
- The visual management board can be used to capture any frustrations or improvement ideas that might normally only arise in informal conversation between colleagues.