Project Playbook Module 3: Mapping Change
Drivers and Design: Mapping the System for Change
Owner: Director of Program Impact & Visibility (DPIV) – with input from other project stakeholders Audience: All current and potential participants in the WNC Resilience Project.
Module Purpose
This module helps Strand Teams translate their Aim Statement into a clear theory of improvement using a Driver Diagram. It also supports the generation and prioritization of Change Ideas using design thinking principles and improvement science strategies from Learning to Improve (Bryk et al.).
Your Driver Diagram is a methodical tool that shows how change will happen—and what your team will focus on first.
Grounding & Reminder: A good Driver Diagram is not a wish list! It’s a focused, visual story of how your team believes change will happen. Let your students’ needs and your Aim from Module 2 drive the process!
Step 1: Finalize and SMARTen Your Validated AIM Statement
Before constructing or refining your Driver Diagram, take time to revisit the AIM Statement your team validated in Module 2. Now you’ll elevate it into a SMART Goal—a clearly stated, measurable outcome that guides all future design and testing.
SMART Criteria:
Specific – Who is the target population, and what outcome are you aiming for?
Measurable – What indicators or evidence will tell you you’re making progress?
Achievable – Is it realistic within your capacity and the project timeline?
Relevant – Does it align with the validated current state and community priorities?
Time-bound – Does it include a target date, ideally by June 2028 (or sooner)?
Template:
By [date], [target group] will [achieve outcome], as measured by [specific indicators or tools].
Example:
By June 2028, at least 70% of students in our pathway programs will complete a resilience-linked credentialing project and report increased confidence in applying their learning to real-world challenges (via portfolio and reflection rubric data).
Pro Tip: Use consensus protocols or short student/peer feedback loops to pressure-test whether your SMART goal is meaningful and clear.
Once complete, carry this SMART AIM forward into the Driver Diagram. It will serve as the foundation for defining your Primary and Secondary Drivers.
Step 2: Understand the Role of a Driver Diagram
What It Is: A Driver Diagram is a visual tool that outlines your improvement strategy. It shows the relationships between:
Your Aim Statement (from above)
The major factors (Primary Drivers) that influence the Aim
The actionable levers (Secondary Drivers) that affect those factors
Your team’s Change Ideas that can be tested through PDSA cycles
Why It Matters:
Creates a shared improvement theory
Surfaces system assumptions
Helps teams focus efforts and see gaps
Step 3: Draft Your Driver Diagram
Start with Your Aim
This should already be defined in Module 2. Place it at the far left.
Identify 3–5 Primary Drivers
Primary Drivers are the major conditions or high-leverage areas that must shift in order to achieve your Aim. For the purposes of the WNC Resilience Project, your team will select 1–3 initial project strands to serve as your Primary Drivers—those that most clearly connect to your SMART Aim and local priorities.
These strands should reflect both your contextual needs and your team’s energy and capacity to begin taking action.
The WNC Project focus strand-aligned Primary Drivers:
Experiential, Resilience-Based Learning
Innovative Credentialing Pathways
Mental Health & SEL Supports
Leadership & System-Level Infrastructure
Community Connections & Work-Based Learning
Collective Efficacy & Educator Networks
Pro Tip: Primary Drivers are not specific actions or programs. They are the conditions or forces your team must influence to achieve its Aim. You’ll define more concrete strategies as you work through Secondary Drivers and Change Ideas.
List 2–4 Secondary Drivers for Each
These are specific systems, routines, policies, beliefs, etc. that can move the Primary Driver.
Examples:
Quality of project-based learning facilitation
Student input in designing advisory curriculum
Flexible scheduling that honors student context
Generate Change Ideas
Brainstorm actionable, testable practices or interventions that map to Secondary Drivers.
Examples:
Host a student-led resilience exhibition night
Pilot student-designed micro-credentials
Implement trauma-informed morning meeting protocols
Step 4: Prioritize Change Ideas
Not all Change Ideas are equal. Use a Value vs. Effort Matrix to sort ideas:
High Value
✅ Start here!
Pilot carefully
Low Value
Rethink or skip
Avoid
Pro Tip: In team settings, use sticky notes or a digital whiteboard to quickly sort ideas into the matrix. Aim to launch your first PDSA cycle with a "High Value / Low Effort" idea.
Step 5: Develop a Change Idea Ownership & Implementation Table
Once your Change Ideas are prioritized, assign ownership to ensure clarity on next steps. Use the table below (or your team’s project management tool) to ensure that each Change Idea moves from design to action.
Example: Student-led exhibitions
Strand Team Lead
Mr. Jones (8th grade ELA)
Fall 2025 / Middle School A
Classroom → Schoolwide
Example: Micro-credential pilot
Innovation Coach
Career Pathways Coordinator
Spring 2026 / HS Program B
Program → District
Step 6: Share Your Driver Diagram
Communicate your Driver Diagram to key stakeholders as soon as you validate the following items are in place:
Pro Tip: Don’t over engineer the Driver Diagram! This is a living document that can be refined.
Step 7: Connect to Measurement and PDSA (Preview)
Your Driver Diagram is now your strategic map that guides all of the work your Strand Team will do.Your next steps will involve:
Selecting Change Ideas to test
Defining process and driver-level measures to track
Running short, small tests of change (PDSA cycles)
Other Notes about this Module:
Expect Iteration!
This module will be the focus of your first official school visit, but it is completely normal—and expected—that it may take more than one session to fully develop a Driver Diagram that your team feels confident in.
Consensus is more important than speed. The goal is not to finish quickly, but to create a shared theory of improvement that feels grounded, credible, and actionable.
How to Know You’re Ready
A good litmus test for Driver Diagram readiness is when your team agrees that:
Your AIM Statement is clear, measurable, and stable enough to commit to for at least one year.
Your Primary Drivers—the strand-aligned conditions that must shift—are unlikely to change significantly during that time.
Your Secondary Drivers are flexible enough to evolve based on local learning and new input.
Your Change Ideas are ready to be tested in short cycles through the PDSA process.
Pro Tip: Think of the diagram as a living tool: Primary Drivers provide structure; Secondary Drivers offer targeted focus; Change Ideas are where the real experimentation and learning happens.
This perspective helps teams build clarity and commitment without feeling locked into prematurely finalizing every detail.
Next Steps:
The next module focuses on Measures and PDSA Cycles (we'll define the specific metrics and learning routines that will help you study and adapt your ideas in real time).
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