Limit checklists to 5-9 items targeting frequent +…

Limit output checklists to five-to-nine items targeting errors that are both frequent and consequential, ordering from most catastrophic to least to enable partial execution under time pressure.

When This Fires

When creating pre-delivery checklists for any output type (Mandatory quality pause between "I think this is done"…)
When existing checklists are too long and people skip them
When deciding which errors to include in a quality checklist
Complements Mandatory quality pause between "I think this is done"… (mandatory quality pause) with the checklist design that makes the pause effective

Common Failure Mode

The comprehensive checklist: including every possible error, producing a 25-item list that takes 15 minutes to complete. Compliance drops to 20% because the list is too long for routine use. A 7-item list with 95% compliance catches more errors than a 25-item list with 20% compliance.

The Protocol

(1) List all errors that have occurred in this output type over the past 6 months (Build checklists from documented error history…). (2) Score each error on two dimensions: Frequency (how often does this occur?) and Consequence (how bad is it when it does?). (3) Select the 5-9 errors that score high on both dimensions. These are your checklist items. (4) Order from most catastrophic to least: the first item should catch the error with the worst consequences. (5) Test the checklist: can you complete it in under 3 minutes? If not, reduce items until you can. Speed of completion determines compliance, and compliance determines error reduction.