Using Guidewords for Creative Thinking

The cornerstone of SWIFT is the development of prompts or questions which are posed to stakeholders in order to precipitate impacts, hazards and causes. The most simple questions begin with What if... . For example, one might ask  

These questions typically generate a torrent of useful responses when posed to appropriate experts and hazard register content can quickly be forthcoming. A key 

Strength of this technique is that progress can be made very quickly and key areas of interest can be recognised early in the analysis for deeper study at a later time. Not all prompts require a what-if stem. Other useful questions can begin with How could... Is it possible... etc. 

as with many hazard analysis methods has its origins in industry and manufacturing. The guidewords originally conceived lend themselves to the management of raw materials, environmental release of chemicals, etc. In HIT the technique holds true but guidewords need to be modified. Card, Ward and Clarkson propose an alternative set of guidewords for SWIFT [1]  

Wrong Person or people Wrong Place, location, site or environment Wrong Thing or things (e.g. medication or equipment) 

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