{{Short description|Brief document presented in four quadrants}} {{Globalize|date=February 2026}} A '''quad chart''' is a form of technical documentation used to briefly describe an invention or other innovation through writing, illustration and/or photographs.<ref>[http://www.science.mod.uk/engagement/cde/quad_charts.aspx Quad Charts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330062910/http://www.science.mod.uk/engagement/cde/quad_charts.aspx |date=March 30, 2013 }} at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory official website. British Ministry of Defence. Accessed February 19, 2013.</ref> Such documents are described as "quad" charts because they are divided into four quadrants laid out on a landscape perspective.<ref>NASA Technical Memorandum, Issues 4192-4200, pg. 3. Ames Research Center, 1990.</ref><ref>Bob Paladino, ''Innovative Corporate Performance Management: Five Key Principles to Accelerate Results'', pg. 300. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. {{ISBN|9780470627730}}</ref><ref name=lab>James E. Driskell and Jennifer King, "Conducting Applied Experimental Research." Taken from ''Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences'', part three, pg. 341. Eds. Murray Webster and Jane Sell. Waltham: Academic Press, 2007. {{ISBN|9780123694898}}</ref> They are typically one-page only; their succinctness facilitates rapid decision-making.<ref name=gao>Government Accountability Office report to the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, [http://www.gao.gov/cbi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-927 Managing for results enhancing agency use of performance information for management decision making]{{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, pg. 28. GAO-05-927, September 2005.</ref> Though shorter, quad charts often serve in a similar capacity to white papers and the two documents are often requested alongside one another.
==History== Quad charts as a genre were developed by the United States Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in an attempt to improve budgeting and planning systems, and became widely used in the Administration's National Weather Service.<ref name=gao/> The genre's development was parallel to that of display boards, also an early tool used by the NWS for staff communication.
In the early 2000s, software was developed to allow automated creation of quad charts as a means of saving time for technical writers who would otherwise spend long periods of time drafting them.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
==Significance== Both government agencies and large businesses often require submission of a quad chart on the part of potential contractors as part of the contract bidding process.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130413184846/https://www.dtrasubmission.net/help/quadchart.asp Quad Chart], Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Accessed February 19, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100814192100/http://www.science.mod.uk/Engagement/CDE/temp/quad_charts.aspx Engagement] at Centre for Defence Enterprise. Accessed February 19, 2013.</ref> NASA, for example, uses quad charts to document the process of all Small Business Innovation Research projects.<ref>The United States National Research Council's ''An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration'', pg. 120. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2009. {{ISBN|9780309124423}}</ref> Because decision makers often review a large volume of both solicited and unsolicited proposals, the quad chart may be the only submission from a potential contractor which the decision maker actually reads.<ref name=lab/>
Due to the nature of quad charts as relatively short documents, there are opportunities for misuse. While quad charts are intended for brief overviews of a topic, they can also be misconstrued to influence public policy and budgeting decisions, as was the case with the politicization of the National Defense Strategy's 2005 edition.<ref>Nathan P. Freier, "Present at the Counterrevolution: An Essay on the 2005 National Defense Strategy and Its Impact on Policy." Taken from the United States Army War College ''Guide to National Security Issues, Volume 2: National Security Policy and Strategy'', pgs. 120-121. Ed. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr. 4th ed. July 2010.</ref>
==Content== While there are no industry-wide standards for quad charts, there are a number of common elements. In addition to the title of the invention or idea and the name of the developer, the technical approach and the need which the invention or idea addresses are often included.<ref name=lab/> Decision makers often look to operational needs first, though including the cost and projected schedule are also often required elements.
==Citations== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://esto.nasa.gov/files/EntryQuad_instructions_template.ppt Power Point instructions] for building a quad chart from NASA
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130301233417/http://www.public.navy.mil/necc/hq/Documents/NECC_N9_QuadChart.ppt Power Point quad chart template] as an example from the United States Navy *[http://www.defence.gov.au/deu/docs/quad_chart_template.doc Word document quad chart template] from the Australian Government Department of Defence
Category:Documents Category:Technical communication Category:Technical specifications