1. Quality Program Roles Quality Council AVC/AVPs Quality Advisor
Overarching responsibility for the Quality Program, and for sponsoring, initiating, and guiding Cross-Functional Improvement Teams
AVC/AVPs
Responsible for participating in the Quality Council, and sponsoring, initiating, and guiding improvement projects within their areas.
Quality Advisor
Responsible for training and coaching improvement teams in his/her organization
Quality Office
Responsible for training and coaching Quality Advisors and Cross-Functional Improvement Teams, and coordinating Quality Council meetings

2. Quality Council for Cross-Functional Improvement Projects
Quality Program Organization Structure
Quality Council
Vice Chancellor / Vice President, AVC/AVPs, & Quality Leader
- Identify high level processes & process owners
- Identify and prioritize organization’s improvement goals
- Prioritize cross-functional improvement efforts
- Monitor cross-functional improvement projects & teams
- Celebrate improvement successes
Quality Leader &
Quality Program Support Staff
Quality Office
. . .
AVC/AVP 1
AVC/AVP 2
Quality Council for Cross-Functional Improvement Projects
- Establish quality
objectives and
metrics
- Prioritize non-cross-
functional improve-
ment projects
- Commission / decom-
mission improvement
teams
- Assign resources to
support improvement
efforts
Monitor improvement
projects & teams
- Celebrate improve-
ment successes
Quality Advisor
Quality Advisor
Improvement Project G
Improvement Project D
Improvement Project A
Improvement Project H
Improvement Project E
Improvement Project B
Improvement Project I
Improvement Project F
Improvement Project C

3. Improvement Team Roles: Sponsor
Executive or key manager sponsoring an Improvement project. Responsibilities include:
Alignment – Ensures projects stay aligned with overall business goals and provides direction when they don’t
Communication – Keeps other members of the Quality Council informed on progress of project
Support – Provides or obtains needed resources, such as time, money, and help from others, for the team

4. Improvement Team Roles: Team Leader
The project manager of the Improvement project. Generally, the team member whose organization is expected to be most impacted by the project. Responsibilities include:
Team Coordination – Calls & facilitates meetings, defines meeting agendas, handles or assigns administrative tasks, etc.
Communications – Serves as the contact point for communication between the team and the rest of the organization
Project Documentation – Keeps the official team records including the project plan; oversees preparations for reports and presentations

5. Improvement Team Roles: Quality Advisor
A person who has people, technical, & training skills, especially in the areas of:
project management
group process
data collection & analysis
problem solving
process improvement
Note: If a Quality Advisor is not available, the Team Leader fills this role. Quality Advisors will develop as organizations select people to receive advanced training in these skills.
It doesn’t matter whether Quality coaching is delivered by internal consultants, team leaders, managers, or supervisors. It only matters that support is available to help the team be successful.

6. Improvement Team Roles: Quality Advisor
Responsibilities include:
Observing first-hand the process or problem under study to understand the challenges faced by the team
Attending team meetings, although they are neither leaders nor team members in order to maintain a neutral position; observing team’s progress and helping team function more effectively
Teaching team members improvement techniques and tools, and guiding team’s effort when technical expertise is needed

7. Improvement Team Roles: Team Member
A person who does work on a project. Team members are appointed by the sponsor or guidance team. Usually they work closely with some aspect of the process under study. Responsibilities include:
Participation – The team’s work must be considered a priority instead of an intrusion on their “real” jobs
Contribution – Share knowledge and expertise; not shy about asking what might seem like dumb questions
Openness – Listen to others and be open to their ideas
Assignments – Carry out assignments between meetings; tasks will be selected and planned at team meetings

8. Defining an Improvement Project: Identifying the Team
Sponsor
Team Leader
Often the manager or supervisor responsible for the unit where most of the changes are likely to occur.
Someone interested in solving the problems that prompted the project.
Someone reasonably good at working with individuals and groups.
Quality Advisor
Team Members
What disciplines, work units, or job classifications should be represented on the team?
Ideally, team members should represent each area affected by the improvements and each level of employees affected.

9. Guidelines for Identifying the Team
Team sponsors are responsible for ensuring the needed skills are available on the team; if vital skills are lacking, new players should be recruited or training should be provided to fill the gap
It’s more important for the required skills to be available on the team than that they are provided by a particular role
Core Team vs. Extended Team
Try to keep the core team relatively small, especially for initial improvement projects; large teams complicate a project and increase the project’s overhead time
Everyone who can contribute something worthwhile does not have to be on the core team; the team can always bring in a particular subject matter expert (an extended team member) as the project unfolds