Check What a Change Does Beyond the One Screen
The Four Consequences
Companion to You Are Not the User · Updated 2026-09-29
Use this when a proposed change looks good on one screen and you need to check what it does to the rest of the system. Worked in “Unit Economics Is Part of the User Experience.”
The Four Consequences of one proposed workflow change.
| Consequence | Before the change | After the change | Better, worse, or unknown |
|---|---|---|---|
| User experience | |||
| Operational effect (work created or removed elsewhere) | |||
| Unit economics (revenue, labor, and error cost per unit of work) | |||
| Clinical consequence (in healthcare) or consequence for the affected party |
The best interface helps the whole human system produce the intended outcome, and it isn’t always the one with the fewest clicks. A change that wins the first row and loses the second or third has moved work, not removed it.