---
url: https://www.adoptionlab.ai/starter/
title: "People-side starter: a free QI project card | AdoptionLab.AI"
description: "Five questions to start the people side of a quality improvement project before you plan the fix. Free to print and share."
generated: 2026-11-07T16:21:35.196Z
---Free tool
# People-side starter
Five questions before you plan the fix
Every QI project changes how someone works. You don't need a big plan to begin the people side, but you do need to begin early. Answer these with your team before you lock in the fix.
Print the card [Ask for printed cards](mailto:mhumer@adoptionlab.ai?subject=Card%20request%3A%20People-side%20starter&body=Organization%3A%0AHow%20many%20cards%3A%0AMailing%20address%3A%0AHow%20did%20you%20hear%20about%20the%20card%3F%0A) [Email it to a colleague](mailto:?subject=People-side%20starter&body=Worth%20a%20look%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adoptionlab.ai%2Fstarter)
Before your next QI project
## People-side starter
Five questions before you plan the fix
- 1 Who backs this, and who runs it day to day? Name them early, by name.
- 2 Who does the work today? They know the process best. Bring them in from the start, not at go-live.
- 3 Who is affected, and what might they lose? A routine, feeling good at the job, the coworkers they sat beside, a sense of control.
- 4 What will we tell them first? What is ending, what stays, and what is new, in that order.
- 5 What's the smallest first test? Start small, with the people who do the work, and learn before you scale.
AdoptionLab.AI
The people side of quality improvement
adoptionlab.ai/starter
## How to use it
### Fill it in with the team
The front desk, aides, and clinicians will see losses and risks the project team misses.
### Keep it next to the charter
The process side and the people side run side by side through the whole project.
### Revisit it at each phase
Who is affected can change once you test. Update the page after each PDSA cycle or DMAIC phase.
## Why it matters
A QI fix only works when the right people use it at the right time and in the right way, long after the project team has moved on. Most fixes that fade did not fail on the design. They failed on adoption.
## Go deeper, free
What Is Change Management and Why Does Quality Improvement Need It? is a free, self-paced course, roughly 35 minutes, no sign-in. Learn what change management is, why your QI work needs it, and three first steps for your own project. Then make a one-page people-side starter.
[Start the free course](https://campus.adoptionlab.ai/free/what-is-change-management-and-why-does-quality-improvement-need-it)
## More free tools
- [End of Every Meeting Five questions for the last five minutes of any meeting.](/meetings)
- [Change Cup check-in A personal check for when one more change might spill over.](/change-cup)
- [Who's on this change? A one-page role check so nobody assumes someone else has it.](/roles)
- [Where is each person? A quick read on where each person is in a change, and what helps.](/stages)
- [Leading Through AI Five things leaders need to know about AI, and a first step for each.](/leading-through-ai)
## Running a quality improvement project?
We help QI teams with the people side of change. [See how it works](/quality-improvement), or [set up a 30-minute call](/contact).