An invented number wearing a disclaimer.
SUPERSEDED · INVENTED RANK · CUSTOMER-FINDING TOOL · DASHBOARD
General notes
- 01My own dashboard showed "market position: 3rd of 5", with small print: default rank, no evidence. That is not honesty. That is a number in a costume.
- 02Rev B: "not ranked yet", no ordinal, and what would produce one. Empty states that tell the truth beat full states that lie.
- 03Rule for anything with a score: every number carries its written reason, or it does not render.
a lie in a costume.
Schedule of revisionsThe same card, before and after
| Rev | The card showed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| A | Market position: 3rd of 5 · default rank, no evidence | A lie with a disclaimer |
| B | Not ranked yet · needs a model run; here is what would produce one | The truth, with a next step |
As posted
My own dashboard showed a number I could not defend.
"Market position: 3rd of 5." Underneath, in small print: default rank, no evidence. I had written both lines, and I had told myself the small print made it honest. It did not. A disclaimer under an invented number is a lie in a costume.
I caught it on a fresh-install walkthrough, seeing the product the way a new user would. The rank looked like knowledge. It was a placeholder that rendered.
Rev B is plainer. "Not ranked yet." No ordinal. And a line saying what would produce one: a model run over the competitor set. An empty state that tells the truth beats a full state that lies, and it wins on the first day, when trust is decided.
The rule that came out of it applies to anything with a score. Every number carries its written reason, or it does not render. Not a tooltip. Not small print. A reason in the same row, from the same source, or nothing.
Superseded. Rev A stays on the sheet so the correction is visible.
Sheet 033.
Read with
- Sheet 038 · Never show a number the software can't explain.