Adapting the modern operating room (OR) for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a challenge that begins with the more general problem of designing the OR. Apart from the scarcity of practical publications and details in this area, the highly technical nature of many of the issues, and the difficulty of communicating them, often result in mistakes being made in planning at a very simple level. Three specific ways of improving communication in planning are: using a checklist, sharing a planning handbook among the intended users, and modifying architects' drawings to 1:10 scale floor plans with movable cut-outs to represent equipment and staff.