Poka-yoke

noun/pʌkʌiˈoʊk/design

Definition

any mechanism in a process that helps an equipment operator to avoid mistakes and defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. Japanese term meaning mistake-proofing or error prevention.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese ポカヨケ (poka yoke), from ポカ (poka, “a blunder”) + よける (yokeru, “to dodge, avoid”).

In a sentence

Type systems are a poka-yoke — they prevent errors at compile time.