A good, usable system of any sort is tolerant of human error and compensates accordingly. It makes errors difficult. It minimises the impact of error. It sets up 'safety nets' and fail-safe systems and it tries to make productive paths easy and obvious.
A few easy tools to help guide people naturally to the right actions (which I'll expand on in the future):
- Ready made templates
- Consistent use of tools, procedures and the working environment (physical environment and the 'virtual' environment of the computer)
- In-built guides and supports next to the things being worked on
- checklists
Error-reduction is more difficult. The best starting point is an analysis of job tasks and subsequent identification/analysis of places where error can occur and where it is most costly. You then need to find ways to tackle these error-prone parts of your work process (on an individual, team or organisational level). Some effective error reduction methods are:
- 'lock out' of catastrophic actions (make the errors impossible to make)
- Checkpoints
- Alert and reminder systems
- Monitoring systems
- Make wrong actions difficult , awkward or time consuming
- buffer systems (things that give you time to change your mind; like the delete 'trash' on computers)
For me, any part of the process where people talk about the need for individuals to be 'disciplined' or 'careful' is a clear warning sign that there is an error point that needs more careful consideration.
As usual, more to come...
