Glossary entry

User burden ratio

Definition

How much work a user must perform to correct or navigate system errors. This metric feeds directly into fair burden distribution.

Interpretation: UBR must be evaluated against the evidence burden ceiling (documentation) plus time/steps caps (process).

Targets & breach behavior. Measurement window: weekly median; monthly p95. Target / floor / ceiling: target ≤ 10 minutes, ≤ 5 steps, ≤ 2 documents; floor ≤ 15 minutes, ≤ 8 steps; ceiling 20 minutes / 10 steps. Owner: traceable ownership (required). Breach action: switch to burden inversion, offer staffed alternatives, or trigger safe pause. Public surface: receipt + time transparency + decision artifact showing burden caps.

Related mechanisms

Related terms

Exhaustion-biased instrument Score as acquittal Temporal exaction Burden index Burden ceiling Audit burden ceiling
Cite this glossary entry · v1.17.1 · updated Oct 6, 2026 · CC BY-SA 4.0

APA

Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). User burden ratio. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/user-burden-ratio

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute. "User burden ratio." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/user-burden-ratio.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute. "User burden ratio." Ethotechnics glossary. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/user-burden-ratio.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_user-burden-ratio,
  title={User burden ratio},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/user-burden-ratio},
  version={v1.17.1}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - User burden ratio
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/user-burden-ratio
ER  -

Authorship

Contact: hello@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Oct 6, 2026
  • Version: v1.17.1

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title and version, and link to the glossary permalink.

Archive: Wayback Machine history

Latest change

v1.17.1 · Oct 6, 2026 — Editorial revision. Titles are in sentence case. Pasted spec blocks are replaced with prose and worked examples, 79 operational tests are rewritten as pass conditions, 22 origin notes are rewritten or sourced, and unsourced superlatives are cut. No terms were added or removed, and permalinks are unchanged.

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