Error is Just a Word
Error means to deviate, blunder, or make a mistake. Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Law has this marvelous definition: "an act that through ignorance, deficiency, or accident departs from or fails to achieve what should be done." No matter how we strive to convince ourselves and others that error is just a word, it has unmistakable meaning.
Error always points to who and not what. If my car doesn't start after returning from the shop I don't say, "The repair procedures and work environment at the garage enabled the mechanic to fail." I blame the person (or a faceless "they") who worked on my car every time. "Error" has an unpleasant connotation in all settings, because it uniquely refers to human error.
Twenty years ago, I worked in a laboratory that coined the euphemism "procedural deviation." Errors can also be called events, incidents, and failures, but the message is in the message. We understand that to err is to be blamed, and to be blamed is to be judged. Experience teaches that we are judged and never the judge. The best we can do is point fingers at each other and hope our faults remain hidden or at least excusable.
Which makes fixing problems incredibly difficult. A root cause analysis can be done to determine specific cause and effect using tools like this. These "fishbone" diagrams and other tools are a handy way to focus on the non-human elements.
Effect or outcome is better than error. An error reporting form should not list people but rather what happened. An undesirable outcome is usually caused by a cascade of events, not a single act. To really fix a system we have to assume that Tech B will make the same error as Tech A in the right conditions. Deliberate negligence is rare. Human error is inevitable, but systems are behavioral enablers.
Error is a word, yes – just the wrong word.