What is a Checklist?

A checklist is an informational aid that can be used to reduce failure by compensating for the limits of human memory and attention.

Essentially, helping users ensure consistency and completeness when carrying out a task. A basic form of a checklist is the “to-do list” which is effectively a list of items you need to verify, check, or inspect.

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They are often overlooked as simplistic and dated tool for improving efficiency. In many cases, individuals will believe that they are unnecessary because they assume they are able to consistently manage all of their tasks. However, they are used in many areas for such a long period of time due to their proven effectiveness. For example, pilots pre-flight checklists for aviation safety, QA in software engineering, pre-surgery checklists. In fact, Atul Gawande has a very interesting story about his experience implementing checklists into hospitals in the United States for the first time which you can hear about in our YouTube playlist below:

A simple checklist can be the difference between success and failure in tasks where success should be the norm. Perhaps it’s no earth-shattering revelation, but it’s an incredibly valuable tool that is often underutilised.

An example of tasks and a checklist in the Gluu platform

Gluu allows you to schedule tasks and activities from your process documentation. Using Gluu you can set recurrence, required tasks and completion date. Users will then receive notifications for when to complete these tasks and be given a checklist (if required). Thus, ensuring the task is carried out efficiently and consistently. Process owners will have access to the results of these lists as well as the timing of their completion all stored automatically in our overview dashboard. From which you can monitor compliance without having to micro-manage your staff.

Further Resources:

• How to add checklists with critical, recurring tasks to any activity in Gluu

Related Links:

• How to select the right checklist software
• 4 myths about task checklists
• Checking your checklists (video)
• Lean management is about paying attention to detail
• When employees write their own job aids

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Explore more about different process improvement terms in our BPM Glossary.