Measuring

When to use

Use it whenever you count the clicks, inputs or visible rows of a screen or form, and whenever you write the Pass line of a rule. To write a measurement, copy the template.

When not to use

Emails and documents have no counting protocol yet. Their rules still carry a Pass line, written as a check two people would answer the same way.

How it works

Count every pointer action as a click

A click is every pointer action, including field focus and the saved completion. Keyboard shortcuts do not count, so each route is the one a person walks with a mouse.

Pass: the count for a task lists each pointer action by name, from the first click to the saved result.

Count each field as one input

An input is a field or a value the person enters. The number of characters typed into it does not count.

Pass: the count for a task names each field the person typed into or picked from.

Count only enabled fields in a create form

A create form is measured by the fields the person can fill. Defaults and conditional controls are noted beside the count, never added to it.

Pass: the form’s count states its required fields, its optional fields, and the defaults and conditional controls it showed.

Measure density at 1180 x 757

Density is the number of full rows visible at 1180 x 757 pixels, at 100% zoom, with zero scroll. A row cut by the bottom edge does not count.

Pass: the screen was measured at 1180 x 757, 100%, without scrolling, and only full rows were counted.

Count the confirmation in a delete

The clicks of a delete confirmation count toward the delete. An irreversible step needs approval before anyone runs it in a test.

Pass: the delete count includes the confirmation, and no irreversible step ran without approval.

Rank the best result with ties included

Fewer clicks win, fewer required inputs win, and more optional fields win. Products that tie on the best result all share it.

Pass: every product that reaches the best value for a measure is marked best.

Time the same four tasks for every entity

Each entity is measured on four tasks: open a record, create a record with a name, edit the name, and delete the record.

Pass: every entity in a comparison has all four counts, or says why one is missing.

Task	Starts at	Ends at
Open	The entity’s main list	The record’s detail is showing
Named create	The entity’s main entry	A new record with a name is saved
Edit name	The record’s detail or row	The changed name is saved
Delete	The record’s detail or row	The record is gone, confirmation included

Give every rule a Pass line

Every rule states a Pass condition. When a reference product has been measured, the condition is a number taken from that measure, as in “Pass: 15 full rows fit”. When no measure exists, the Pass line states a check that two people would answer the same way.

Pass: every rule heading in the guide is followed by a Pass line, and the line holds a number wherever a measured reference exists.

Replace this

Pass: the form is short.

With this

Pass: save a named person in 3 clicks or fewer with 1 typed field.

A worked example

The Person section of the reviewer’s comparison, with its numbers as measured (comparison, lines 11 to 42). A measurement document repeats this shape for every entity: the entity and the human job, the verdict, the comparison table, the Fix list with a Pass line per item, notes on what was not verified, and the screens measured.

Person. Core. Identify and manage a person.

Verdict: Fix. Main form and named creation need fewer steps.

Person	Ours	Attio	folk
Default layout	Cards	Table	Kanban
Open · clicks	1	1	1
Named create · clicks	4	4	3
Edit name · clicks	2	2	2
Delete · clicks	3	3	Approval needed
Create form required	4	0	1
Create form optional	7	14	3
Typed fields · tested route	1	2	1
Selections used	0	0	0
Required defaults used · Not verified	0	0	0

Fix:

• Make the default People view a table. Copy Attio; keep Cards as an optional view.
• Make Name optional. Copy Attio.
• Make Company optional. Copy Attio and folk.
• Make Email optional. Copy Attio and folk.
• Make Phone optional. Copy Attio and folk.
• Autofocus Name in the main form. Copy folk. Pass: save an identifiable person in 3 clicks or fewer with 1 typed field.

How to read it. The best value in a row is the lowest click or required count and the highest optional count, and products that tie share it: folk wins named create with 3, Attio wins required fields with 0 and optional fields with 14. “Approval needed” means the step was not run because it is irreversible. “Not verified” marks a row measured without a second check. The comparison colours the best cells green; in Markdown, name the winner in a sentence under the table.

What the example does not decide. Four of the six fixes conflict with our model: Name is a formula, and Email, Company and Phone live in Core, not on the relationship. The measurement stays valid as a measurement. Whether a fix is applied, sent to a model decision or declined is the job of the triage, not of this page.

Template

Copy this block for each entity you measure. Keep the row names so documents can be compared.

# <Entity>

<Domain>. <The human job, in five words.>

Verdict: <Pass | Fix | Not scored>. <One sentence saying why.>

| <Entity> | Ours | <Reference 1> | <Reference 2> | <Reference 3> |
| :---- | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
| Default layout | | | | |
| Open · clicks | | | | |
| Named create · clicks | | | | |
| Edit name · clicks | | | | |
| Delete · clicks | | | | |
| Create form required | | | | |
| Create form optional | | | | |
| Typed fields · tested route | | | | |
| Selections used | | | | |
| Required defaults used | | | | |

Best: <who wins each row, ties included>.

## Fix

- [ ] <Imperative change>. Copy <reference>. Pass: <measurable condition>.

## Notes

- <What was not verified, what needed approval, what the route assumed.>

Sources: <one link per screen measured, ours first>

Research

The protocol is copied from the reviewer’s CRM usability comparison (2026-09-29/30), from its “How to read the comparison” table (comparison, lines 2353 to 2370). That table defines a click as “Every pointer action, including field focus and saved completion”, inputs as “Fields or values, not arbitrary test-name characters”, density as “Fully visible records at 1180 × 757, 100%, zero scroll”, creation fields as “Enabled fields only; defaults and conditional controls noted” and deletion as “Confirmation clicks count; irreversible steps require approval”. It excludes keyboard shortcuts from the pointer routes. Its best result “includes ties: lower clicks/required input; higher optional-field counts”.

The four tasks are the rows the comparison measures for each entity: Open, Tested named create, Edit name and Delete (comparison, lines 17 to 28).

The Pass line copies the comparison’s own phrasing, as in “Pass: 15 full rows fit at the same screen size when the view has enough records.” (comparison, line 615) and “Pass: no owner entry is needed.” (comparison, line 662). The comparison is internal and has no URL. Every rule in the guide now carries a Pass line. Where no measure exists, the line states a check two people would answer the same way, and it gains a number once a reference is measured.