Three Instances Where Checklists Have Worked--and How

By: Dan Heath and Chip HeathThu Feb 14, 2008 at 6:35 PM

Why you should learn to love checking boxes.

Cybersecurity
What would Angelina do? (Yes, that's a young Jolie in Hackers.) Follow the Department of Homeland Security's proposed 478-question checklist or a Symantec employee's five-step plan to investigate a possible breach? Checklists that grow from a wallet card to a fat binder defeat their value.
Fast-food workers
Checklists can guarantee consistency, but people make the mistake of thinking that they're just for less-skilled jobs like McDonald's. To the contrary, pilots--and now doctors--have shown their broader utility.
Outsourcing deals
Banks, retailers, and other companies that hand over their services to a third party benefit from baking checklists into the contract. Questions--such as, "How will performance be measured?"--can prevent outsourcers' remorse.