> But you never hear about the probably endless companies and organizations that employ worthless checklists that do nothing but waste people's time.

Most if not all the bad checklist I have encountered are all for the same reason, they were not tested or poorly written, and most of the time both.

Not tested in terms the checklist was written by somebody who doesn't actually know how to do the whole project. Unlike Professionals like Doctor ands Pilot where they are well trained and the check list are well understood to be a reminder. The rational behind it were taught and even if not professionals will question if something they dont understands while most other in there field could immediately give a detail answer.

Another example would be HR writing an on-boarding checklist. 99% of the time I have seen those check list are intended to make HR's life easier. Not the candidate or applicants.

Checklist is also a clear and distilled form of writing. And as the saying goes I dont have time to write you a short letter, but I have time for a long one. Writing short points with clarity takes a long time. And not a skill set everyone process. Nor do they have the time to do it when it is not part of their job or KPI.