gh-lyndonkl-claude/skills/heuristics-and-checklists/resources/template.md

Heuristics and Checklists Templates

Quick-start templates for designing decision heuristics and error-prevention checklists.

Decision/Procedure Identification Template

What needs simplification?

Type: [Decision / Procedure]

Frequency: [How often does this occur? Daily / Weekly / Monthly]

Current approach: [How is this currently done?]

Problems with current approach:

• Too slow (takes [X] hours/days)
• Inconsistent outcomes (variance in quality)
• Errors frequent ([X]% error rate)
• Cognitive overload (too many factors to consider)
• Analysis paralysis (can't decide, keep searching)
• Knowledge not transferable (depends on expert intuition)

Goal: [What do you want to achieve? Faster decisions? Fewer errors? Consistent quality?]

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Heuristic Design Template

Step 1: Define the Decision

Decision question: [What am I choosing?]

• Example: "Which job candidate to hire?"
• Example: "Which customer segment to prioritize?"

Options: [What are the alternatives?]

1. [Option A]
2. [Option B]
3. [Option C] ...

Step 2: Choose Heuristic Type

Type selected: [Recognition / Take-the-Best / Satisficing / Fast & Frugal Tree]

Option A: Recognition Heuristic

Rule: If you recognize one option but not the other, choose the recognized one.

Applies when:

• Recognition correlates with quality (brands, cities, experts)
• Environment stable (not deceptive advertising)

Example: "Choose candidate from company I recognize (Google, Amazon) over unknown startup"

Option B: Take-the-Best Heuristic

Most important criterion: [What single factor best predicts outcome?]

Rule: Choose the option that scores best on this criterion alone. Ignore other factors.

Example: "For hiring engineers, use 'coding test score' only. Ignore school, years experience, personality."

Cue validity: [How often does this criterion predict success? Aim for >70%]

Option C: Satisficing

Minimum acceptable threshold: [What criteria must be met?]

Criterion	Minimum	Notes
[Criterion 1]	[Threshold]	[e.g., "Coding score ≥80%"]
[Criterion 2]	[Threshold]	[e.g., "Experience ≥2 years"]
[Criterion 3]	[Threshold]	[e.g., "Culture fit ≥7/10"]

Rule: Choose first option that meets ALL thresholds. Stop searching.

Search budget: [How many options to evaluate before lowering threshold? e.g., "Evaluate 3 candidates, if none meet threshold, adjust."]

Option D: Fast & Frugal Tree

Decision tree:

Question 1: [Binary question, e.g., "Is deal >$10k?"]
├─ Yes → [Action A or Question 2]
└─ No → [Action B]

Question 2: [Next binary question]
├─ Yes → [Action C]
└─ No → [Action D]

Example (Customer routing):

Is customer enterprise (>1000 employees)?
├─ Yes → Assign senior rep
└─ No → Is deal value >$10k?
    ├─ Yes → Assign mid-level rep
    └─ No → Self-serve flow

Step 3: Define Exceptions

When this heuristic should NOT be used:

• [Condition 1: e.g., "Novel situation with no precedent"]
• [Condition 2: e.g., "Stakes >$100k (requires full analysis)"]
• [Condition 3: e.g., "Adversarial environment (deception likely)"]

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Checklist Design Template

Step 1: Identify Critical Steps

Procedure: [What process needs a checklist?]

Brainstorm all steps (comprehensive list first):

1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3] ...

Filter to critical steps (keep only steps that meet ≥1 criterion):

• Often skipped (easy to forget)
• Serious consequences if missed (failures, errors, safety risks)
• Not immediately obvious (requires deliberate check)

Critical steps (5-10 items max):

1. [Critical step 1]
2. [Critical step 2]
3. [Critical step 3]
4. [Critical step 4]
5. [Critical step 5]

Step 2: Choose Checklist Format

Format: [READ-DO / DO-CONFIRM / Challenge-Response]

Guidance:

• READ-DO: Novices, unfamiliar procedures, irreversible actions
• DO-CONFIRM: Experts, routine procedures, familiar tasks
• Challenge-Response: Two-person verification for high-stakes

Step 3: Write Checklist

Checklist title: [e.g., "Software Deployment Pre-Flight Checklist"]

Pause points: [When to use this checklist?]

• Before: [e.g., "Before initiating deployment"]
• During: [e.g., "After migration, before going live"]
• After: [e.g., "Post-deployment verification"]

Format template (READ-DO):

[CHECKLIST TITLE]

☐ [Verb-first action 1]
   └─ [Specific detail or criteria if needed]

☐ [Verb-first action 2]

⚠ [KILLER ITEM - must pass to proceed]

☐ [Verb-first action 3]

☐ [Verb-first action 4]

☐ [Verb-first action 5]

All items checked → Proceed with [next phase]

Format template (DO-CONFIRM):

[CHECKLIST TITLE]

Perform procedure from memory, then confirm each item:

☐ [Action 1 completed?]
☐ [Action 2 completed?]
☐ [Action 3 completed?]
☐ [Action 4 completed?]
☐ [Action 5 completed?]

All confirmed → Procedure complete

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Example Heuristics

Example 1: Hiring Decision (Satisficing)

Decision: Choose job candidate from pool

Satisficing threshold:

Criterion	Minimum
Technical skills (coding test)	≥75%
Communication (interview rating)	≥7/10
Culture fit (team feedback)	≥7/10
Reference check	Positive

Rule: Evaluate candidates in order received. First candidate meeting ALL thresholds → Hire immediately. Don't keep searching for "perfect" candidate.

Search budget: If first 5 candidates don't meet threshold, lower bar to 70% technical (but keep other criteria).

Example 2: Investment Decision (Take-the-Best)

Decision: Which startup to invest in?

Most predictive criterion: Founder track record (prior exits or significant roles)

Rule: Rank startups by founder quality alone. Invest in top 2. Ignore market size, product, traction (assume cue validity of founder >70%).

Validation: Test on past investments. If founder track record predicts success <70% of time, switch to different criterion.

Example 3: Customer Triage (Fast & Frugal Tree)

Decision: How to route incoming customer inquiry?

Tree:

Is customer enterprise (>1000 employees)?
├─ Yes → Assign to senior account exec (immediate response)
└─ No → Is issue billing/payment?
    ├─ Yes → Assign to finance team
    └─ No → Is trial user (not paid)?
        ├─ Yes → Self-serve knowledge base
        └─ No → Assign to support queue (24h SLA)

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Example Checklists

Example 1: Software Deployment (READ-DO)

Software Deployment Pre-Flight Checklist

☐ All tests passing
   └─ Unit, integration, E2E tests green

⚠ Database migrations tested on staging
   └─ KILLER ITEM - Deployment blocked if migrations fail

☐ Rollback plan documented
   └─ Link to runbook: [URL]

☐ Monitoring dashboards configured
   └─ Alerts set for error rate, latency, traffic

☐ On-call engineer identified and notified
   └─ Name: [___], Phone: [___]

☐ Stakeholders notified of deployment window
   └─ Email sent with timing and impact

☐ Feature flags configured
   └─ Gradual rollout enabled (10% → 50% → 100%)

☐ Backups completed
   └─ Database backup timestamp: [___]

All items checked → Proceed with deployment

Example 2: Aviation Pre-Flight (DO-CONFIRM)

Pre-Flight Checklist (DO-CONFIRM)

Perform checks, then confirm:

☐ Fuel quantity verified (visual + gauge)
☐ Flaps freedom of movement checked
☐ Landing gear visual inspection complete
☐ Oil level within limits
☐ Control surfaces free and correct
☐ Instruments verified (altimeter, compass, airspeed)
☐ Seatbelts and harness secured
☐ Flight plan filed

All confirmed → Cleared for takeoff

Example 3: Surgical Safety (WHO Checklist - Challenge/Response)

WHO Surgical Safety Checklist - Time Out (Before Incision)

[Entire team pauses, nurse reads aloud, surgeon confirms each]

☐ Confirm patient identity
   Response: "Name: [___], DOB: [___]"

☐ Confirm surgical site and procedure
   Response: "Site marked, procedure: [___]"

☐ Anticipated critical events reviewed
   Response: "Surgeon: [Key steps], Anesthesia: [Concerns], Nursing: [Equipment ready]"

☐ Antibiotic prophylaxis given within 60 min
   Response: "Administered at [time]"

☐ Essential imaging displayed
   Response: "[X-ray/MRI] displayed and reviewed"

All confirmed → Surgeon may proceed with incision

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Application & Monitoring Template

Applying Heuristic

Heuristic being applied: [Name of rule]

Case log:

Date	Decision	Heuristic Used	Outcome	Notes
[Date]	[What decided]	[Which rule]	[Good / Bad]	[What happened]
[Date]	[What decided]	[Which rule]	[Good / Bad]	[What happened]

Success rate: [X good outcomes / Y total decisions = Z%]

Goal: ≥80% good outcomes. If <80%, refine heuristic.

Applying Checklist

Checklist being applied: [Name of checklist]

Usage log:

Date	Procedure	Items Caught	Errors Prevented	Time Added
[Date]	[What done]	[# items flagged]	[What would've failed]	[+X min]
[Date]	[What done]	[# items flagged]	[What would've failed]	[+X min]

Error rate:

• Before checklist: [X% failure rate]
• After checklist: [Y% failure rate]
• Improvement: [(X-Y)/X × 100]% reduction

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Refinement Log Template

Iteration: [#1, #2, #3...]

Date: [When refined]

Problem identified: [What went wrong? When did heuristic/checklist fail?]

Root cause: [Why did it fail?]

• Heuristic: Wrong criterion chosen, threshold too high/low, environment changed
• Checklist: Missing critical step, too long (skipped), wrong format for user

Refinement made:

• Before: [Old rule/checklist]
• After: [New rule/checklist]
• Rationale: [Why this change should help]

Test plan: [How to validate refinement? Test on X cases, monitor for Y weeks]

Outcome: [Did refinement improve performance? Yes/No, by how much?]