Use a checklist for the parts worth remembering

Start with a known omission

The strongest checklist items often come from an actual mistake or a step that is easy to forget. Name the risk in ordinary language, then write the smallest check that would catch it. Avoid adding an item merely because it sounds thorough.

A checklist is an aid to attention. If it grows beyond what someone can use at the moment of work, its most valuable items become harder to notice.

Make the result visible

An item such as 'review the page' is difficult to interpret later. An item that asks whether the title, navigation and main link work gives the reviewer a clearer job. Keep related details together so the list still reads as a small set of decisions.

Where an item needs judgement, say what that judgement is for. A checkbox does not remove the need to understand the work.

Remove what no longer helps

Return to the list after using it. Keep the items that caught a real problem or made the handoff clearer. Combine duplicates and remove checks whose original purpose has disappeared. Maintenance should make a checklist more useful, rather than simply longer.