We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, more advanced technologies: neither seems to prevent grievous errors. There is a remedy in the most humble and simple of all techniques: the checklist. We can identify successful people in many fields who turn to checklists to pull off some of the most difficult tasks, and places where the impact of the checklist is huge: -in the complex world of surgery, a simple ninety second checklist has cut the rate of fatalities by a third -a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units that has virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection -a restaurant where checklists allow a kitchen and dining room to run like a finely tuned symphony Aside from the great successes there is an inevitable resistance to accepting the discipline of a checklist-a tension between the autonomy experts want and the sense of discipline success actually requires.
Originally published on Aug 17, 2016by Microsoft Research
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