Improvement takes place over time. Determining if improvement has really happened and if it is lasting requires observing patterns over time. Run charts are graphs of data over time and are one of the single most important tools in performance improvement.

Using run charts has a variety of benefits:

• They help improvement teams formulate aims by depicting how well (or poorly) a process is performing.
• They help in determining when changes are truly improvements by displaying a pattern of data that you can observe as you make changes.
• They give direction as you work on improvement and information about the value of particular changes.

Adapted for IHI’s "Methods and Tools for Breakthrough Improvement" course, the run chart tool has been used by hundreds of health care organizations.

Download the tool for complete instructions.