First aid kit, safety vest, vignette… how checklists make our lives easier

When planning a long car journey, it is a good idea to check a few things: Is the first aid kit still up to date? What is the speed limit in the destination country? Are there safety vests in the vehicle for all passengers? Checklists at the ADAC 😊. And there's no shame in using a checklist; hopefully, the pilot on your holiday plane also looks at his checklist.

I was inspired to write this article by Atul Gawande’s book “Checklist strategy"Gawande is a physician—a surgeon, to be precise—and was appointed to a committee by the WHO to develop a surgical checklist. His book is about the development of this checklist and checklists in general. In it, he demonstrates the usefulness of checklists in complex processes, from financial investments and medical operations to piloting aircraft and processes in high-end restaurants and large-scale modern construction sites.

As he writes, in a complex environment, experts have to contend with two problems: the fallibility of human memory and the deliberate omission of process steps.

Checklists help against memory fallibility

An example of a checklist that frequently occurs in everyday life is a cooking recipe. And everyone has probably experienced the failure of a cake if they overlook an important ingredient or one of the process steps (letting the dough rise for 15 minutes). On the other hand, if you stick to a recipe, you can be pretty sure that the meal will turn out delicious.

Checklists prevent omission of process steps

The second main problem is that people deliberately omit process steps even though they know they should review something. For example, For example, it's no longer checked whether the power supply is correctly dimensioned because it was already adopted from the previous project and has always worked. However, if the checklist in the schematic review asks about the dimensioning of the power supply, then the point will definitely be addressed in the review.

Gawande provides impressive examples of the benefits of checklists:

• The 10-day infection rate during central venous catheter insertion fell from 11% to 0% after the introduction of a checklist, saving many lives.
• The accident rate for passenger aircraft is incredibly low given the complexity of flying. Yet, entire departments at major aircraft manufacturers work to create checklists for controlling and operating the aircraft.
• Finally, he also discusses the results of the surgical checklist he co-developed. Its implementation in eight hospitals worldwide was evaluated, and it showed that it significantly reduced complications during operations, with double-digit percentages at most participating hospitals.

Types of checklists

There are essentially two types of checklists: Read-Do and Do-Confirm.

Read-Do checklist

A read-do checklist is like a recipe, for example. You read through the next process step and then carry it out.

Do-Confirm Checklist

With Do-Confirm, on the other hand, the completed steps are reviewed after they have been completed, during a short pause in the process. Most checklists in embedded development fall into this category. A review meeting is scheduled, and a checklist is processed during that meeting. This does not mean that the checklist has not been reviewed by the developer beforehand. There may also be small checklists for which no review meeting is scheduled, e.g., for creating components in a CAD system.

Checklists require discipline

Resistance to checklists is high and seems to be a human principle. At least, this is what Gawande describes in his book, and often, projects also aim to save time by keeping review meetings short. Adhering to checklists and checking their compliance requires discipline, and success is difficult to measure. It's a good idea to define points in time or milestones in a process at which a check is performed using a checklist.

Conclusion

Checklists are an important tool in medicine, aviation, and even in the development engineer's toolbox. If errors occur in a certain area or process steps are repeatedly forgotten, consider whether these errors can perhaps be avoided with a checklist. And if the topic interests you, then the Checklist Manifesto is a highly recommended book. Good checklists don't hinder us or prevent creativity and innovation. On the contrary: By having to focus less on routine tasks, there is more time for new ideas.

Final tips

• Good checklists are alive and need to be maintained.
• Checklists should be practical.
• Checklists should not be too long.
• Checklists should not be vague.

Using electronics development as an example, checklists can be used effectively in the following areas:

• Circuit diagram review
• Transition from schematic to layout
• Layout review
• Component creation and library maintenance