Do you have tasks

that you need to

do again and again?

If you do, how do

you make sure that

you do them

correctly every

time?

REPORTER: Mavel V. Solatorio

It’s a comprehensive list of important or relevant actions, or steps to be taken in a specific order. They can be in the form of questions or actions to be carried out. They can have a scoring system or they can collect comments.

Three Essential Types of a Checklist

PROCEDURAL CHECKLISTS list steps that must be followed in order.

COMMUNICATION CHECKLISTS encourage communication in organizations.

PROJECT CHECKLISTS list tasks that must be completed.

Differe

nt

Types o

f

Checklis

ts

Justin Fox of Harvard Business Review has an interesting piece trying to codify types of checklists.

Here are Fox’s categories :

Task checklists

Troubleshooting checklists

Coordination lists

Discipline checklists

To-do list

Task Checkliststake the form of a how-to list. They

outline a procedure step-by-step, listing

instructions that must be followed in

order to complete the procedure

Example

Troubleshooting

ChecklistThis type of list is very similar to a task checklist, but instead of outlining a procedure, it offers a solution should the procedure go wrong.

EXAMPLE

Discipline Checklists

Discipline checklists are composed to prevent you from making bad decisions in the heat of the moment. When you are calm and in a reasoned state of mind you compose a checklist of procedures that you want to follow or questions you want to ask yourself during the decision-making process.

Coordination Checklists

Also known as submittal schedules, co-ordination checklists are often used in large businesses or organizations where the nature of business is such that no one person can understand the whole endeavor.

To-do Lists

The list consists of several tasks that need to be completed. These could be listed in order of importance or just noted down randomly. It is not considered a failure if the list is not completed immediately; some to-do lists include long-term tasks or goals.

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.

Uses of Checklist

You can use checklists for many things, such as:

Designing a product

Evaluating equipment

Deciding what to buy

Operating complex equipment

Carrying out maintenance

Designing a product you might have a checklist of functions that you want your product to have.

Evaluating equipment your checklist may remind you to consider all the various people that might come into contact with the equipment.

Deciding what to buy if you’re buying something, you may have a specification checklist.

Operating complex equipment your checklist may be a sequence of things that you need to do in certain order.

Carrying out maintenance your list may be a set of checks tha need to be carried out a intervals and can provide a written record that those checks have been done.

Benefits /Advantages of Using a Checklist

• You can save your brain power for more creative things.

• You can save time.

• You can delegate more easily.

• Checklists can help you stay focused and organized.

• It’s easy for us to forget things.

THANK YOU!!