I’m a big fan of checklists, even if I don’t use them nearly as often as I could. My practice leader sent me a program readiness checklist that lists all the key things to look for in setting up a program. The intent of the checklist is to help us when auditing our client’s programs. But I’m thinking this checklist is a tool when I’m managing the project to make sure that everything is in order. To me, the best thing about checklists is I can spend my time (and brainpower) solving problems and not trying to remember everything. The biggest risk of checklists is that checklists become a replacement for problem solving. “We checked it off, so it’s not a problem”, they say, even as it becomes a problem. Checklists are not a substitute for rigorous thinking.