Why do we need checklists?
There are two groups of tasks. One group of tasks is beyond our capability. We may want to swim across English Channel or win Olympic gold, but those are beyond our capability.
There are many tasks within our capability. We are unable to do them either due to ignorance or due to ineptitude.
The problem is that the knowledge available in the world has been exploding recently. It is not important for one person to learn everything. That is the reason why we have experts.
The complex problems require many experts to work together. As a group they may have the knowledge or expertise. In many cases, however, they make mistakes.
Why?
In his book 'Checklist Manifesto - How to get things right', author Atul Gawande says that most of the expert tasks are complex and involve multiple steps to be completed in sequence by different experts. If either of the steps are missed or if the sequence is broken, mistakes will occur. Checklists are a way to ensure that steps are followed in a sequential order and everyone is aware of the status.
Checklists are not new. Different industries have been using them over decades if not centuries. Construction industry builds all those skyscrapers by following a detailed schedule broken down into work breakdown structure, which is nothing but a checklist showing what to do, when to do it and who will do it.
What if anything goes wrong? Construction industry uses a communication plan, another checklist, of the potential issues and the name of the persons who will certify for the project to go forward.
Aviation industry is another that uses checklists. They have pre-flight checklists, on-board checklists and in-flight checklists. In addition, the industry has checklists for every known emergency. That is the reason a flight has two pilots. In case of emergencies, on
will read the checklist while the other will follow the instruction as given in the checklist.
Checklists ensure that we do not miss critical steps. In addition, presence of checklists help overcome the tension associated with emergencies and focus on important steps to be followed. Checklists bring sanity and focus on priorities in the event of an emergency. Author mentions about a checklist for single engine Cessna aircraft, which is flown by one person. All the checklists have one item at the top, 'Keep Flying'. This common sense item ensures that the aircraft is airborne. This will give time for everyone to respond.
We must consider two factors regarding checklists. First is that the first draft of the checklist will always be incomplete. It is important to test the efficacy of the checklist in multiple scenarios and update the checklists based on observations. Secondly, it is important to update the checklist for every new situation that arises.
For example, after every emergency, aviation industry updates the existing checklist and if it is a new emergency, a new checklist is prepared and circulated for wider adoption. This means that there should be a formal way to analyze each emergency, update the checklist, share the checklist widely and most important of all, track its adoption over multiple aircrafts and multiple flights.
The most important test for the efficacy of a checklist is that it becomes the universal norm.
Author finds the use of checklists in unexpected industries. For example, he has found well known investors use checklists to make investment decisions. He cites the example of one such investor. His team uses a 'Day three checklist', to be used on the third day after identifying an investment opportunity. In this checklist, they discuss if they have reviewed the financial reports of past years, if someone has looked at the fine print, etc.
Mr.Gawande is a doctor. Most of his examples are about how the complexity of modern medicine warrants the use of checklists. He led a WHO team that rolled out checklists in hospitals across eight countries. The experiment yielded astonishing results. Every parameter showed extra-ordinary improvement with the use of a simple checklist. The examples are simple and fascinating and clearly convey the importance and utility of checklists.
He gives examples of six cases where he and his team would have made mistakes and were saved because they used checklists.
I am a project manager. My work is preparing checklists and tracking them methodically till the project is completed. So talking to me about the importance of checklist is like preaching to a choir.
Still...
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