The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Surgeon Atul Gawande offers a fascinating perspective on the use of checklists in medicine, aviation, and structural engineering. Drawing on real-world cases and a successful WHO study on safe surgery procedures, this book effectively argues for using checklists as a cost-efficient tool to reduce errors, enhance team communication, and transform decision-making into a more disciplined and orderly process across various fields.

As a software engineer, I found many parallels with checklist-based code reviews, coding convention documents, and retrospective meetings. This book inspired me to consider using checklists for tasks beyond coding, such as the application release process, communication and status update procedures, hiring and onboarding, critical and expedited bug handling, and pull request requirements. I'll definitely incorporate this tool more broadly in my work.