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Quad chart template

A quad chart is a one-page summary of a project, idea or plan, split into four boxes on a landscape page: text in most of them and one picture. It is built to brief a decision maker fast. No standard fixes the four boxes, so this template uses the common layout: the idea and its owner at top left, the problem or need at top right, the approach with a picture at bottom left, and cost, schedule and result at bottom right. The PDF is a printable form plus a worked example of a changeover project. The Excel version counts the words in each box and flags a box that passes the limit, so the page stays readable. A quad chart is not an SQDC board, which tracks daily results, and it is not a 2x2 matrix such as an impact/effort matrix. For the full story of a problem solve, use the A3 template.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the quad chart templateFields for project title, owner, date and status above a landscape page split into four boxes for the idea and its owner, the problem or need, the approach with a picture area, and cost, schedule and result.
Four-box layoutTitle, owner, date and statusPicture boxWord count per boxWorked exampleQuad chart or something else?
Filled-in Quad chart template: a changeover project on press 7
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a quad chart

  • To brief a manager or review panel on a project in half a minute, before or instead of a longer report.
  • At a kaizen event readout or project review, with one page per project so they can be compared side by side.
  • To ask for a decision, such as a trial, a budget or a schedule change, with the facts it rests on in one place.
  • To pitch an improvement idea before it becomes a project.
  • Not for tracking daily results (use a tier board) or for working out a root cause (use an A3 or a 5 Whys).

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Name the project and its owner

    Fill in the title, owner, date and status. One owner, by name. A chart with no owner has no one to ask about it.

  2. 2

    Write the idea (box 1)

    One sentence on what the project is, then who owns it and where it applies. If you cannot say it in a sentence, the scope is not clear yet.

  3. 3

    State the problem or need (box 2)

    What is wrong now and who feels it, with one number, its unit and where it came from. A reader should know from this box alone whether the project matters.

  4. 4

    Describe the approach (box 3)

    What you will do, in order, and one picture: a sketch of the new layout, a before and after photo or a simple flow. The picture does more work than the words.

  5. 5

    Give cost, schedule and result (box 4)

    What it costs, the dates that matter, the result so far against the target, and the decision you want from the reader.

  6. 6

    Cut it to fit

    Aim for about 60 words a box. In the Excel version the count under each box turns amber past the limit. Cut words rather than shrinking the type, and print it landscape.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a changeover project on press 7, using the same illustrative goal as the SMART goals template.

  • Box 1: cut changeover time on press 7, owned by the press area supervisor, on the press line first shift.
  • Box 2: changeovers take 48 minutes, which keeps batches large on the press line. The source is the changeover log.
  • Box 3: separate the setup steps done with the press stopped from those that can be done while it runs, stage tools and the next die beside the press, and add a first-piece check. The picture shows the changeover sequence before and after.
  • Box 4: staff time only, no new equipment, 1 August to 30 November. On 1 October the changeover is 38 minutes against a target of 20, and the decision wanted is a one-shift trial.

The whole project reads in about half a minute: what it is, why it matters, what is being done, and what is being asked for.

Common mistakes

  • Too much text

    A quad chart that needs scrolling or small type has stopped being a summary. If a box is full, the detail belongs in an A3 or a project plan that the chart points to.

  • No picture

    Four boxes of words is a memo cut into pieces. One sketch, photo or flow in the approach box is what makes the page quick to read.

  • No owner or date

    Without them the reader cannot tell who to ask or how old the numbers are. Both go in the header.

  • Stale numbers

    A chart showing last quarter's result under this quarter's title misleads. Update the result and the date, or take the chart down.

  • Using it as a live board

    A quad chart summarises a project at a point in time. For results that change daily, use an SQDC or tier board and link to it.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite's continuous improvement software runs every project the same way with built-in A3, DMAIC and PDCA templates, and tracks projected and actual savings for each one.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Quad chart template: common questions

  1. A quad chart is a one-page summary of a project, idea or plan in four boxes on a landscape page, usually with short text and one picture. It is used to brief decision makers quickly.

  2. There is no fixed standard. A common layout puts the idea and its owner top left, the problem or need top right, the approach and a picture bottom left, and cost, schedule and result bottom right. This template uses that layout.

  3. No. A SWOT or an impact/effort matrix sorts items on two axes. A quad chart summarises one project in four boxes. They both have four areas, which is why the names get mixed up.

  4. No. An SQDC or SQCDP board tracks results by pillar every day. A quad chart summarises a project once, at a point in time, and is updated when the project changes.

  5. Use a landscape slide with a 2 by 2 table, put short bullets in each cell and one picture in the approach box, and keep the type large enough to read when printed. Or print this template and fill it in by hand.

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