Checklist

A checklist is a type of informational job aid used to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task. A basic example is the "to do list." A more advanced checklist would be a schedule, which lays out tasks to be done according to time of day or other factors.

Format

Example checklist

Checklists are often presented as lists with small checkboxes down the left hand side of the page. A small tick or checkmark is drawn in the box after the item has been completed.

Other formats are also sometimes used. Aviation checklists generally consist of a system and an action divided by a dashed line, and lack a checkbox as they are often read aloud and are usually intended to be reused.

Concern

Excessive dependence of checklists may hinder performance when dealing with a time-critical situation, for example a medical emergency or an in-flight emergency. Checklists should not be used as a replacement for common sense. Intensive training including rote-learning of checklists can help integrate use of checklists with more adaptive and flexible problem solving techniques.

See also

• Check sheet
• Time management: Task list organization

Further reading

• Gawande, Atul (2010). The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-9174-8. 

External links

• Checklist Examples - a large database of checklists

Look up checklist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The Checklist by Atul Gawande, from The New Yorker
• How the Pilot's Checklist Came About

References