**Existing deficiencies in a system, process, or product that are likely to lead to a mistake down the road.** An Error Trap is an existing deficiency in a system, process, or product that makes it likely that a mistake will occur at some point down the road. If you find yourself saying "well, they'll just have to **know** not to do this thing", that's an error trap. If there's a tripping hazard that's unmitigated, that's an error trap. Error traps should be avoided. They often aren't out of sheer laziness. # Examples - Leaving something unfinished with the intent to "finish it later" - Leaving exposed sharp edges, or hot surfaces, or other hidden dangers - Using [[Lack of Signal is a Bad Signal]]as a signal - Having disconnected dependencies of any time, really **** ## Source ## Related - [[Lack of Signal is a Bad Signal]]