Concept dictionary
Workaround
A workaround is an unofficial or extra step people use to keep work moving when the standard process, tool, or policy does not fully meet the need.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
Also called
- workaround
Remember it this wayThe unofficial step that keeps official work moving.
In plain language
People add a side step, extra tool, or unofficial method because the normal way of working does not handle the situation well enough.
Why it matters
Workarounds can be valuable clues.
They often show where people are compensating for broken, incomplete, outdated, or mismatched systems.
Example
A dispatcher keeps a personal spreadsheet of technician preferences because the scheduling system does not track that information.
Common misconception
A workaround is not automatically bad or evidence that someone ignored the rules. It may protect the outcome or reveal a missing capability, but it can also hide risk, duplicate work, or make the process depend on one person.
Related terms
Not connected yet.
Sources
- AHRQ Patient Safety Network, "Primary Workaround, Secondary Complication"workarounds as departures from prescribed procedures that can help work continue while also masking systemic problems.
- ASQ, "DMAIC Process"documenting the actual process and identifying inputs and causes of poor performance before improvement.