Project Team Composition

One major component to driving meaningful and sustainable quality improvement work is building a strong, multidisciplinary team. When forming your team, it is important to think carefully about who is directly involved in the process, who holds subject matter expertise, and who can support system-level sustainability. While inclusivity is encouraged, it is also important to consider bandwidth and involve team members whose roles are most relevant to the project’s goals to ensure engagement and effective use of time.

Project teams often operate across three levels. The core team drives the daily work of the project and typically includes three to five key members. The extended team offers specialized input—such as subject matter experts or data support—at specific points and often directly impacted by the change. The leadership or sponsoring team provides strategic guidance, resources, and helps remove barriers. Defining these levels ensures clarity and the right involvement throughout the project. It is also important to note that each team is unique and does not necessarily have to follow the same configuration.

Key Steps

• Review the process that you are trying to improve so that you can understand who is involved. A process map is a great tool to use for this step.
• Develop a list of key stakeholders who are directly involved in or impacted by the process. Consider a potential representative from this list.
• Recruit team members from diverse roles who bring valuable perspectives and expertise. Depending on the stages of the project, your team configuration can change.
• Establish clear roles and expectations for the team (i.e. meeting cadence, level of involvement, etc.) and revisit as needed.

Resources to Get Started

Read	Improvement Team Roles and Responsibilities – This document outlines potential roles for an improvement team. It important to note that each team is different so this list may not be applicable depending on your project teams. SIPOC – This tool is a special type of process map that provides a high-level overview of a project. SIPOC stands for Supplier, Input, Process, Outcome, and Customer.
Use	RACI Chart – This tool helps clarify who does what by mapping responsibilities, tasks, or deliverables to specific roles and can be especially useful for cross-functional teams and projects that involve multiple departments. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed and are the categories used to classify each stakeholder.

Related QI Concepts

• Communication Plan – A clear communication plan ensures that all team members and stakeholders stay informed and aligned in efficient and effective manner.
• Partnering with Patients & Families – Engaging patients and families as partners can highlight gaps, generate innovative ideas, and ensure that solutions are truly patient-centered.
• Project Charter – The project charter serves as a guiding document that helps set expectations early on and provides a shared reference point for the team.
• Stakeholder Analysis & Engagement – Thoughtful stakeholder analysis and engagement can uncover potential barriers and inform strategies to build buy-in and sustain change.
• Working with Leaders – Engagement and support from leaders early can help secure resources, remove roadblocks, and reinforce the importance of the project across the organization.