A facade built to be inspected, sufficient for the inspection and for nothing else.
Named for Potemkin's reported 1787 facades along Catherine's route. The historical account is probably exaggerated, which does not affect the usefulness of the term for inspection-driven display.
In practice
- An inspection-ready ward is staffed to establishment for one week a year.
- A supplier audit that is announced three weeks ahead measures the supplier's ability to prepare for audits.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Organizations & Bureaucracy
- Essay
- The folklore of office life