There’s a concept in quality engineering called “poke yoke”, pronounced to rhyme with “okay”. It basically means “mistake-proofing”. As an example, if a part is symmetric and could accidentally be assembled off by 180 degrees, add a “key” feature so that it only fits one way.
The core philosophy is that a well-run system should never rely on perfection from the operators. People make mistakes, that’s normal. A well run system actively prevents mistakes and works to minimize the consequences.
A system where the operator clicked one wrong button and thereby sent out a missile warning to millions of people that took 45 minutes to undo — is not well-designed.
Wikipedia: Poka-yoke [poka joke] is a Japanese term that means "mistake-proofing" or "inadvertent error prevention". A poka-yoke is any mechanism in a lean manufacturing process that helps an equipment operator avoid (yokeru) mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur.
The core philosophy is that a well-run system should never rely on perfection from the operators. People make mistakes, that’s normal. A well run system actively prevents mistakes and works to minimize the consequences.
A system where the operator clicked one wrong button and thereby sent out a missile warning to millions of people that took 45 minutes to undo — is not well-designed.