Rank Workflows by Frequency and Friction to Choose What to Fix First
The Workflow Frequency × Friction Matrix
Companion to You Are Not the User · Updated 2026-09-29
Use this when you have more friction to fix than time to fix it and need to know which workflow to fix first. Worked in “Friction Matters in Proportion to How Often the Work Happens.”
Friction cost = occurrences × seconds lost × loaded cost per second. For a month, occurrences are times per user per day × number of users × working days (about twenty-one).
The Frequency × Friction worksheet: one workflow per row.
| Workflow (and who performs it) | Frequency (times per user per day, and how many users) | Friction per occurrence (seconds lost, errors, memory load) | Friction cost per month | Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Place each workflow in one quadrant:
Fix first:: High frequency, high friction. Protect:: High frequency, low friction. Don’t break what works. Guide:: Low frequency, high friction. Use checklists, defaults, and in-context help. Leave alone:: Low frequency, low friction.
Write errors and memory load in the friction column beside the seconds; they’re friction even when they don’t cost seconds, and the formula can’t price them. The Protect quadrant is the one teams forget: a redesign that adds two seconds to a task done a hundred times a day can cost more than the fix it was meant to deliver.