Mistakeproofing! It’s in the Cards: A Serious Game

Question: Can a serious game instill enthusiasm and pique interest in the practice of mistakeproofing by teaching its principles and related Lean thinking? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is (1) introduce a new game, adding to the suite of serious games for Lean Construction education and training, (2) to describe the origin of this new game that is designed to teach the principles of mistakeproofing based on learning from examples, and (3) to provide an overview of the game. Research Design/Method: Inspired by hundreds of mistakeproofing examples, the author created a new card sorting game. She prototyped the game using a deck of poker-sized playing cards and also created an online version. Since 2020, the game has been played numerous times, facilitated by the author or other people. Lessons learned from industry and academic players’ plus/delta feedback continue to drive improvements. Findings: The game is now used in educational and professional settings around the world. Many players have an ‘aha’ moment as they begin to recognize mistakeproofing applications in construction and other contexts, and when they assess the qualities of these applications by sorting examples according to the principles explained in the game. Informal feedback suggests that the game has pedagogical value and is fun to play. Limitations: A formal study is yet to be conducted to measure what and how much players learn about mistakeproofing. Implications: The game is evolving as players develop their own example cards, based on observed or newly inspired applications. For now, we can only speculate what and how much players are learning about mistakeproofing by playing the game. Value for practitioners: Mistakeproofing is an everyday practice, especially for—but not limited to—people who are implementing Lean thinking. It will benefit everyone to know the six principles and learn how to do their own mistakeproofing. Keywords: Mistakeproofing, poka yoke, principles, online education, serious games, Lean Construction. Paper type: Technical Paper