A scorecard for each journey
Count the minutes, retries, and documents requested on each journey, so readers can compare one program with another.
What is a burden index?
A burden index measures the minutes, retries, and documents a system demands from people who comply, challenge, or recover.
A burden index counts the time and effort a system demands of people who comply with it, challenge it, or recover from it. It turns friction into a number a team can be held to.
Published on a schedule, the index shows whether the cost to people rose or fell since the last report.
A hypothetical case. A benefits portal tracks the total minutes each appeal takes. It publishes a burden index each month and commits to lowering it each quarter.
In the glossary: Burden index.
In practice
What to look for
The people who wait longest
An average hides the people who spend the most time. Report p90 and p99 burden to show who spends longest on the paperwork.
The logs behind each drop
Attach the raw journey timings, the points where people gave up, and the changes that explain each drop in the index.
Where the standards use it:
- STD-01 — The Temporal Bill of Rights (standard). Tie burden measures to the transparent burden and bounded duration clauses.
- STD-01 evidence pack. Record burden measurements and what was done to reduce them.
What inputs should the burden index include?
The time each task takes, the number of steps, the time spent waiting, and any help the person needed from support to finish.
How often should it be reported?
At least monthly for systems with high impact, with extra checks during peak volume or an incident.