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.

Applications

A pilot of a DC-10 consulting his checklist.

• pre-flight checklists aid in aviation safety to ensure that critical items are not forgotten
• use in medical practice to ensure that clinical practice guidelines are followed. An example is the Surgical Safety Checklist developed for the World Health Organization by Dr. Atul Gawande.
• used in quality assurance of software engineering, to check process compliance, code standardization and error prevention, and others.
• often used in industry in operations procedures.
• used in civil litigation to deal with the complexity of discovery and motions practice. An example is the open-source litigation checklist.
• can aid in mitigating claims of negligence in public liability claims by providing evidence of a risk management system being in place.
• an ornithological checklist, a list of birds with standardized names that helps ornithologists communicate with the public without the use of scientific names in Latin.
• a popular tool for tracking sports card collections. Randomly inserted in packs, checklist cards provide information on the contents of sports card set.

Format

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 sometime 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.

External links

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

Further reading

• The Checklist Manifesto - How To Get Things Right by Atul Gawande, 2009, Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 978-0-8050-9147-8

This tool article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Notetaking Checklists Healthcare quality Tool stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Takashi Aonishi Leukopenia Look at other dictionaries: checklist — check‧list [ˈtʆekˌlɪst] noun [countable] a list of things you need or have to do for a particular job or activity, written to help you remember to get or to do these things: • Use your tax return as a financial planning checklist for next year. * …   Financial and business terms checklist — index inventory Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary checklist — (n.) 1853, American Engliah, from CHECK (Cf. check) + LIST (Cf. list) (n.). Two words until c.1880; hyphenated until late 20c …   Etymology dictionary checklist — ► NOUN ▪ a list of items required or things to be done or considered …   English terms dictionary checklist — ☆ checklist [chek′list΄ ] n. a list of things, names, etc. to be checked off or referred to for verifying, comparing, ordering, etc.: also check list …   English World dictionary checklist — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ useful ▪ mental VERB + CHECKLIST ▪ have ▪ use ▪ draw up …   Collocations dictionary Checklist — Une liste de vérification, ou check list, est une opération consistant à vérifier méthodiquement les étapes nécessaires d’une procédure pour qu’elle se déroule avec le maximum de sécurité. Cette opération se déroule généralement à voix haute… …   Wikipédia en Français checklist — n. 1) to compile, make up a checklist 2) to go down, go through a checklist * * * go through a checklist make up a checklist to compile to go down …   Combinatory dictionary checklist — UK [ˈtʃekˌlɪst] / US noun [countable] Word forms checklist : singular checklist plural checklists a list of all the things you need to do or consider We ran through the checklist of equipment …   English dictionary checklist — noun Date: 1853 a list of things to be checked or done < a pilot s checklist before takeoff >; also a comprehensive list < a checklist of bird species > …   New Collegiate Dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”