From Workarounds to Improvement: Turning Local Fixes into Organisational Learning
by: John CheshirePublished on: 25/10/2025A small LIMS glitch uncovered something bigger: the hidden value of local fixes. This month, we explore how unrecorded workarounds can quietly reshape systems - and how QA can turn them into organisational learning instead of hidden risk. With RQA Conference week upon us, it’s a good moment to rethink how we listen, learn, and capture improvement where it actually happens - at the bench.
Swimming against the tide: progress in QA, one step at a time
by: John CheshirePublished on: 28/09/2025Some weeks in QA feel like swimming upstream. The paperwork grows, audits loom, and everyone agrees the “right fix” is a full rewrite that never quite makes it off the wish list. This post argues for a quieter route: compounding small wins. Borrowing the 1% idea James Clear popularised, John shares a moment from a time-pressed CSV SOP review. Nothing was “wrong,” yet the flow had aged and friction crept in. A full overhaul was unrealistic. So he chose one tweak that mattered, was easy to explain, and safe to audit. The change didn’t revolutionise the process, but it reduced copy-paste busywork, sped low-risk changes, and made control more visible. The lesson travels beyond CSV: sponsor comms, deviation triage, even slide decks for data reviews. Pick one friction point that’s meaningful, visible, and tweakable. Write a one-sentence change and two guardrails. Track a simple measure for a month. You’ll be surprised how momentum builds when teams see progress they can feel. If you’re waiting for perfect conditions, this is your nudge to start where you stand. The article includes John’s quick failure pre-mortem, the guardrails he used to keep the tweak honest, and a four-line notebook prompt to apply today. Small steps, less drag, better judgement. Want the detail and the template? Read on.
