I ran across an interesting new book over the weekend, called the Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. The premise of the book, is that in our increasing complex world, we need checklists to keep us from making mistakes that can be disastrous or even life threatening. He gives example from surgeons, airline pilots, and skyscraper architects. Each profession requires a checklist or written guides that allow all participants to make sure each step is competed in the right order.
I have always been a big proponent of creating to-do lists. You write down the tasks of the day and check them off as they are completed. Yet a full scale checklist might go a little further. A checklist might list all the steps in a task. It might list the mundane things we take for granted. It might save us from taking shortcuts or forgetting a take-for-granted item.
Have you ever gone on a trip and forgotten your cell-phone charger or electric razor. A travelers checklist can easily alert you to these things before you leave. Do you ever have to give presentations? A presenters checklist can help you remember the little things like laptop connectors and memory sticks that can help you avert disaster in front of hundreds of people.
I think we can come up with some creative checklists that can help us on a daily basis. They will need to be flexible yet all encompassing. They need to have room for additional steps along the way.
I’ve ordered Atul’s book and I look forward to applying it to my daily routine.
My question today: What specialized application would you want to see a checklist for?
Related posts:
About 
Being a pilot I can say that you live and (possibly) die by a check list.
There are several others that I live by:
For IT projects we use basecamp. Basecamp allows you to have templated to do lists – checklists that you drop into any new project. I have checklists for: Contract discussion, project kickoff tasks, wordpress plug in install, project closure, SEO setup.
As you mentioned about I also do have a business travel checklist. When I get ready to start packing I print one out and lay it on the bed by all of the suit cases. I'd be DOA if I ever did not remember a USB cable or an iPhone charger.
Great applications, Patrick. I have heard great things about Basecamp. I'll have to check it out. One area that would be helpful for me, is leaving the house in the morning. I hate getting to work without a required item for a meeting or presentation. It seems like the more routine a task is, the harder it is to remember any changes.
Thanks John…I just downloaded this for my Sony Reader. Not that I needed another book but hey, you gave me an excuse! *G*
In the medical device world compliance with regulating agencies requires a checklist that is exactly as you described. It must provide the necessary guidance to remain compliant with each of the standards as well as provide the flexibility to apply it to different applications. We have high level documents that refer to system level documents that, in turn, refer to detail operating procedures which provide task level instructions to reach the goal.
Another advantage of having a checklist is, in many cases, you could share it with another individual and easily share or delegate responsibility for completing the checklist with minimal additional communication required.
Thanks for the reply, Jason. I like the idea of transferability. It's one thing to tell someone to do something, it's another altogether to give them a checklist. The checklist would really add to the communication and help both parties come to agreement on expectations.