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Read more about the article 39 • Swiss Cheese Model
Swiss Cheese

39 • Swiss Cheese Model

  • Post author:hitchhiker
  • Post category:The Testing Twilight Zone

The Swiss Cheese Model helps explain why accidents happen, often despite all our best intentions. It occurs when multiple small flaws line up perfectly to create a large failure. What appears to be a sudden disaster is usually the result of many small imperfections quietly lining up.

Continue Reading39 • Swiss Cheese Model

About the Author

Michael Gaigg is a UX designer, design educator, and creative technologist known for transforming complex design principles into clear, approachable, and often humorous stories.

He leads a multi-disciplinary design team (UX, UI, cartography, engineering) and teaches UX/UI principles across digital platforms—including spatial mapping tools, dashboards, and custom app experiences.

His work blends creativity, clarity, and delight, pushing design education beyond formalism and into the realm of relatable metaphors.

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More Patterns:

  • 46 • Streisand Effect
  • 45 • Diderot Effect
  • 44 • Red Herring
  • 43 • Breadcrumbs
  • 42 • Murphy’s Law
  • 41 • Kitchen Sink
  • 40 • Iceberg Model
  • 39 • Swiss Cheese Model
  • 38 • AI Oracle Effect
  • 37 • Cobra Effect
  • The Executive Seagull Effect in action
  • 36 • Hick’s Law
  • 35 • Recency Bias
  • 34 • Primacy Bias
  • 33 • Anchoring Bias
  • 32 • Confirmation Bias
  • 31 • Sunk Cost Fallacy
  • 30 • Broken Windows UX
  • 29 • HiPPO
  • 28 • Canary Release
  • 27 • UX Theater
  • 26 • Design by Committee
  • 25 • False Consensus Effect
  • 24 • Sad Path
  • 23 • Happy Path
  • 22 • Dogfooding
  • 21 • Executive Seagull Effect
  • 20 • A/B Cemetery
  • 19 • Wizard of Oz Testing
  • 18 • Pogo Sticking
  • 17 • Whack-a-Mole
  • 16 • Design Debt
  • 15 • Paving the Cow Path
  • 14 • Sandbagging
  • 13 • Rubber Ducking
  • 12 • Bike Shedding
  • 11 • Yak Shaving
  • 10 • Uncanny Valley
  • 09 • Dark Forest UX
  • 08 • Empty Fridge Syndrome
  • 07 • Lorem Ipsum Trap
  • 06 • Frankenstein Design
  • 05 • Pixel Peeping
  • 04 • Cargo Cult UX
  • 03 • Dribbblization
  • 02 • Mullet UI
  • 01 • Lipstick on a Pig
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Design" eBook (36 patterns, 164 pages, instant download)

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Design" eBook (36 patterns, 164 pages, instant download)

Instant download of the eBook, 164 pages including the first 36 design idioms describing their origins, pitfalls, and possible solutions

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