Poka-yoke

I love the word “Poka-yoke” (ポカヨケ).

It’s a Japanese term that means “mistake-proofing” or “error prevention”.

It’s a design philosophy that makes your products obvious enough that users don’t use it incorrectly.

It’s a system philosophy that makes your processes thorough enough that they don’t allow errors.

It’s something we see a lot in children’s toys. Much less so in tools we use as grown-ups.

Grown-ups need more Poka-yoke.