In Chapter 2, Atul Gawande attributes the all-or-none process to engineering. This process is one in which skipping a single step compromises the whole endeavor.

In Chapter 7, Gawande lists these two types of checklists. When adhering to Do-Confirm checklists, people “perform their jobs from memory and experience […] They [then] pause to run the checklist and confirm that everything that was supposed to be done was done” (122). When adhering to Read-Do checklists, “people carry out the tasks as they check them off—it’s more like a recipe” (122).

The “master builder” represents a top-down model in which one leader is charged with almost all aspects of a project. In Chapter 3, Gawande introduces the term by mentioning historic buildings such as St. Peter’s Basilica and the US Capitol building. He suggests the “master builder” model is losing its relevance in an age where technological advancements create a growing need for super-specialization; establishing one point person is no longer the go-to model of efficiency.