Subject: Spring Edition: Continuous Improvement Newsletter
From: Wisconsin DOA Strategic Management & Planning <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 27 May 2026 12:21:17 +0000

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Spring26 

 

Cultivating Improvement with the Right Tools

Book and Improvement Consultation - Click Or Scan QR Code [ https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/[email-masked]/bookings/ ] 

An estimated 71 million Americans garden each year, making the United States one of the largest gardening countries. Now, that's a lot of green thumbs! Like leading improvement efforts, gardening takes preparation, cultivation, and the right tools to successfully grow. These things don't happen by chance; and strong improvements require planning, collaboration, and practical tools that lead project teams to success.

In this edition of the CI Newsletter, we’re highlighting a couple tools that can help your improvement “garden” thrive. In our project spotlight from Tourism, you’ll read how the tool Scribe helped a team save valuable staff time. Scribe is a resource for creating step-by-step training and process documentation, helping teams capture knowledge and support onboarding and consistency. For a tutorial on how to use Scribe, check out this ten-minute YouTube video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr5_F6dC89E&t=286s ]. Teams should first review and follow their agency’s AI and technology use policies before adopting new tools.

Another helpful tool available through the Microsoft 365 suite is Microsoft Planner. Planner can help teams organize projects using visual Kanban boards that make tasks, priorities, and progress easier to manage collaboratively. To learn more about implementing Planner on a project, review this three-minute YouTube video: how to make a Kanban board [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2w4nduCop0 ].

As the fiscal year comes to a close, we encourage agencies to report FY26 improvement projects [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/GetInvolved/ProjectForms.aspx ] and outcomes. Whether large or small, your projects help demonstrate the impact of continuous improvement efforts across Wisconsin state government and support shared learning between agencies.

Thank you for continuing to plant ideas, cultivate collaboration, and grow a culture of continuous improvement.

 

 

Project Highlights

 

 

Growing Smarter Processes at Tourism

Travel WI [ https://secure-web.cisco.com/1mupi2Z_gBxycYswFg_UajpC3zrP5vxg_BLqE88IMgFDNd4MGP6Y_Vo6IAtDHHHhLfHwvTSi_fzu3j9Stv6TkoA3p3bRjd1zbL-pwdDnttAQ2afKQva54wUPk9S6cWw1xJISnis8zUOnlKi70QgiU32qYwzJQ0PwNQ86QQIAQSJFjTZQvBiZkAeBfr5YWeAJXbpmWr9LqjP_M2QAFRRv8VcvwhRigSSh2Q7AOaVrxaMfJd8sKn7ZLJYUKWOde2WV_JVDLKuMJqndbiG0IC7tEx-uZvAQ0IsQoaQJJOT-nCFUDrFNA1CFb7NCGo5I8VmyCHFH9VOtkcY3JI9sLr47iyQ/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.travelwisconsin.com%2F ] 

Like a well-tended garden, the Department of Tourism is planting tools and processes that will continue to grow efficiencies over time. Through the implementation of Scribe, the team improved how staff create training and process documentation by automatically capturing workflows and generating step-by-step guides in real time. This reduced repetitive manual work, improved consistency, and strengthened knowledge sharing across the agency.

The team estimates Scribe has cut documentation creation time in half. With a current library of 20 process guides, staff estimate approximately 20 hours have already been repurposed by reducing the time needed to create documents from scratch. The software also eliminates an estimated five manual steps per document, including taking screenshots, organizing files, formatting documents, and typing instructions manually.

Tourism also implemented Salesforce and its marketing automation platform, Agentforce Marketing, to improve customer relationship management and communication processes. After transitioning from planning and testing into implementation, teams have already begun to see measurable results.

The four-person Industry Relations team estimates saving approximately five hours per week per employee by eliminating the need to manually update and cross-check multiple spreadsheets used to track meetings, contacts, and partner engagement. This improvement alone has the potential to repurpose more than 1,000 staff hours annually. In addition, the communications team estimates Agentforce Marketing efficiencies will save another 30 hours over the next year through streamlined email communication processes.

As Tourism continues to expand the use of these tools, the agency expects continued growth in operational efficiency, stronger process consistency, and improved knowledge sharing across teams.

DVA: Building a Centralized Staff Directory

WDVA [ https://dva.wi.gov/ ] 

As remote and hybrid schedules became more common across DVA, Dawn LaFond identified a need for a more cohesive and reliable way to access up-to-date employee information. Staff across DVA needed a central directory that could help quickly identify coworkers, roles, responsibilities, and general work locations/remote schedules.

Dawn and the IT team developed a centralized database using Microsoft Lists in SharePoint. This database serves as the foundation for information, reducing duplicate work and helping keep information consistent across locations.

The directory will allow staff to identify coworkers by photo, responsibilities, location, and general remote schedule. Rather than maintaining separate documents or systems, the agency can use one shared database.

A key feature of the project is automation. Power Automate and Power Apps can use the information from the Microsoft List to generate documents and information. Automated updates for active employees happen biweekly, reducing the number of errors and redundant lists.

Key takeaways from the project include:

  * One centralized list can support multiple uses. 
  * A shared database reduces redundancy and improves efficiency. 
  * Staff can find key coworker information quickly and consistently. 
  * Automated updates help improve accuracy and productiveness. 

The project is expected to improve efficiency by 66.7%, giving staff faster access to the information they need while supporting better coordination across the state.

Looking ahead, Dawn hopes this database can eventually be implemented across all state agencies to further improve efficiency, consistency, and collaboration. If you're interested in learning more about her process, send her an email @[email-masked] <[email-masked]>.

 

 

CoP [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/GetInvolved/CoP.aspx ] 

 

CI Enterprise Award Program

The first annual* Continuous Improvement Enterprise Award Program* recognizes Wisconsin state agency teams that demonstrate innovation, collaboration, and measurable operational impact through continuous improvement projects. Awards highlight projects that deliver sustained results, showcasing strong leadership commitment and effective project execution across state government. Start your nomination before *5/31*, and submit the final form before 6/30. More details on the CI Enterprise Award program webpage [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/CI.aspx ]. 

CI  

Upcoming Training

CI Foundational Training

Yellow Belt Training

  * June 25th, 2026 
  * Microsoft Team 

New FY27 training schedule coming soon!

 

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CI Resource Center

Agency CI Contacts [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/Resources/AgencyRepresentatives.aspx ]

  
CI Project Forms [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/GetInvolved/ProjectForms.aspx ]

  
Improvement Templates [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/Resources/Templates.aspx ]

 

Continuous Improvement Helping One Another Up Stairs 

 

 

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