epäkohtat

Epäkohtat is a term used in Finnish discourse to describe a subset of issues within a system, process, or product that are inconvenient or suboptimal but do not constitute major faults. The concept functions as a label for low-severity problems that degrade user experience or efficiency but can be resolved with comparatively modest effort.

Semantically, epäkohtat combines the negating prefix epä- with kohtat, a form related to kohta meaning "point" or "aspect." The standard plural is epäkohdat, but epäkohtat appears in some contemporary writings as an alternative form, especially in informal or sector-specific usage. The term is not part of standard dictionaries and its precise scope can vary by context.

Typical epäkohtat include inconsistent terminology, small UI misalignments, unclear instructions, minor data-entry ambiguities, or misfitting procedural steps. They are usually tracked in issue lists or continuous improvement programs as less urgent items, distinct from technical defects or critical failures.

In practice, organizations distinguish epäkohtat from more serious defects by severity, frequency, and impact on safety, compliance, or core functionality. They are targets for iterative fixes during releases, product updates, or process optimization.

Related terms include epäkohta (a single such issue) and more general notions of defect, flaw, or inconvenience. The concept shares affinities with quality-management practices that emphasize continuous improvement and user-centered design.