Using a Prioritization Matrix

• Frequency: How frequent is the problem? Does it occur often or on rare occasions?
• Importance: What are the most important problems from your point of view? What are the problems that you want the quality team to resolve?
• Feasibility: How likely is the resolution of the problem?

Mr. Diaz tells each participant to vote three times for each criteria. Each participant votes on the three problems he or she considers the most frequent, voting 3 for the most frequent problem, then 2, and then 1. Then each participant votes three times on the most important problem (3,2,1) and, finally, on the three problems (3,2,1) that can most feasibly be resolved.

The expectation that their votes would all carry equal weight is received with some skepticism. Mrs. Alvarez assures them that this approach has much merit and is worth trying. The group decides to vote using slips of paper, instead of a show of hands, to reduce the tension they feel about this part of the exercise.

Mr. Diaz adds together the votes received for each problem in the last column and ranks them by their totals to prioritize them.

By using this method of prioritizing problems, Mr. Diaz is able to look at the data and determine which problems are most important according to this group of users. Mr. Diaz determines that the general consensus of the group is that long waiting time is a widely perceived problem. The second most important problems, according to users, are segregation of patients and insufficient care in dentistry, and the third most important problem is the incomplete laboratory. Disrespect of patients is also a serious concern. Mr. Diaz shares the matrix with the team members and the rest of the clinic staff. He reviews how effective this process has been in uncovering and making clear areas needing quality improvement and points out how much longer it would have taken a formal research method to achieve the same results.