Designing a Check That Can Fail

A check that always passes looks reassuring and catches nothing. A good check can fail, says why when it does, and has been seen to fail on a result with a mistake planted in it.

A good result

Run the check on a result you know is right. It should pass.

What a Check Needs Before It Can Fail

1Write the fail firstSay what a failing result looks like before you write the check: a number not in the report, an action with no owner. If you cannot say it, the check cannot find it.
2One question per checkEvery number matches the report is one check. Accurate and well written is two, and when it fails you will not know which.
3Compare to something outside the answerThe source, a list of what must be there, a scoring guide. Asking the step that wrote a draft whether the draft is right compares it with itself.
4Say what failedA fail names the line and the reason, such as “15 sites is not in the notes”. That is what lets you, or a loop, fix it.

Can This Check Fail?

For each check, decide whether it can fail on a bad result, or would pass almost anything.

1
Is the summary good?
2
Every number in the summary appears in the report.
3
Ask the same chat that wrote the draft whether the draft is accurate.
4
Every action has an owner and a date, or says none named.

0 of 4 answered.

Plant a Mistake, Watch It Fail

Copy a good result, plant one mistake, and run the check. This is what a working check says.

The check	The planted mistake	What the check should say
The check: Every number appears in the report	The planted mistake: Change 12 sites to 15 sites	What the check should say: Fails: 15 sites is not in the report.
The check: One row for each decision in the notes	The planted mistake: Delete the third decision	What the check should say: Fails: the notes hold 5 decisions, the list has 4.
The check: Every action has an owner and a date	The planted mistake: Clear the owner of one action	What the check should say: Fails: action 2 has no owner and does not say none named.
The check: Each quote is word for word from the source	The planted mistake: Change one word inside a quote	What the check should say: Fails: the quote in paragraph 3 does not match the source.

Go Deeper

Writing a good checkTurn “make sure it is right” into a check anyone can run.Check and rubric builderWrite checks, try them on a sample and export them.Lesson 4: ChecksThe four kinds of check and when to use each.