QI Macros

Improvement Insights Blog

Posts tagged "QI Macros"

Lessons from ANCC Magnet Conference 2025

The ANCC Magnet Conference 2025 brought together 13,000 nurses seeking to transform healthcare using evidence-based practice (EBP). After a decade of tracking the tools used in Magnet improvement posters, I can tell you that they are still using antiquated tools that won’t get healthcare to Zero Harm and Hassle-free Healthcare. Here’s why:

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].

“I’m here at the American Nursing Association’s Magnet conference in Atlanta 2025. It’s October, and once again I went through all of the posters; 90% of the charts are line, bar, and pie charts.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.

The High Cost of Not Buying Six Sigma Software

Trainers often use trial versions of QI Macros to train their students. That comes with a huge cost. Here’s Why:

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].

“I have found that a lot of training companies and universities and [others], when they teach Lean and Six Sigma they want to use our 30-day trial to train people. I have to ask you a question: Maybe you think you’re saving money, or you’re saving the patient money, or [saving] the student money, or you’re saving something, or you’re keeping your cost lower so you don’t look like an more expensive training [option] so you get more business… I don’t know what it is, but what’s the cost of NOT buying that software for that student?

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.

Stop Using Excel Spaghetti Charts

Stop Using Excel Spaghetti Charts. Start using Smart Performance Charts (SPC). Here’s how:

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].

“I was recently in a presentation, and a person was putting up line charts and there were multiple lines on each chart. I know charts and I was still having trouble following the presentation. This person acted like everybody in the room was getting everything that he said. Nonsense.

“Nobody wants to read your ‘spaghetti chart.’

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.

The 4-50 for Emission Testing

Denver requires emission testing for cars over a certain age. But it may not be necessary. Here’s why:

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“I live in Denver, Colorado. You know, we used to get in the winter… we’d call it ‘the brown cloud,’ right? So they decided that we had to test every car every few years just to try and do emission testing and figure out which ones were polluting. But there was a guy here that invented a little tool that could detect cars that are polluting as they drive by.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.

Outstanding Improvement Posters at Colorado Lean Network Conference

At the Colorado Lean Network (CLN) Conference, Children’s Hospital put up seven outstanding improvement project posters. They all used control charts, histograms and the tools of quality to tell the story. There were more control charts on those seven posters than in the 100s at last years IHI–Institute for Healthcare Improvement conference.

Some exemplar hospitals are using the tools of quality to improve healthcare. Most are not. It’s time to stop admiring the problem. Start using the tools of quality to save time, save money and save lives.

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Jay Arthur Blog.

9/9/25 Healthcare Data Analytics Webinar

Over 70 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating how to implement Healthcare Data Analytics to save time, save money, and (most importantly) save lives.

Books that Jay may have mentioned in the video:

You can view a short two-page illustrated guide to the Zero Harm – Trillion Dollar Prescription by clicking HERE.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Excel, Healthcare, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Webinar.

Confusion about Variable and Attribute Data

People are often confused about the difference between variable and attribute data. Here’s a simple way to tell which is which:

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation – Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“Over the years, I’ve found one of the things people get confused about is what’s ‘variable’ and what’s ‘attribute.’ Those words, for some reason, strike terror in the hearts of newbies, so I’m going to give you my short way of figuring this out: It has to do with decimals and integers.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.

The Antidote to a Soul-Sucking Job

Feel like you’re working in a Soul-Sucking Job? Here’s what to do about it:



Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.

“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].

“My wife and I were talking, and a lot of people talk about how they don’t want to work in a soul-sucking job… a soul-sucking job. And I will tell you, the only soul-sucking jobs I ever had were working for a manager that I just couldn’t get along with, or I was being forced to do something, that was contrary to serving the customer I was supposed to be serving.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.

8/19/25 Healthcare Data Analytics Webinar

Over 70 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating how to implement Healthcare Data Analytics to save time, save money, and (most importantly) save lives.



Books that Jay may have mentioned in the video:

You can view a short two-page illustrated guide to the Zero Harm – Trillion Dollar Prescription by clicking HERE.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Excel, Healthcare, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Webinar.

Six Sigma as Easy as Using a Microwave

Ever used a microwave? Easy, isn’t it? Six Sigma should work the same way. Here’s why:

Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.



“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].

“I grew up in the 50s and 60s, and if my mom wanted to reheat leftovers she had to turn on the oven, put the food in the in the oven and wait 15-20 minutes for it to come up to temperature. I don’t know about you, but I use a microwave; I use it almost every day.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.