NOT.7:4.2 - Explain which work the current form imposes

Describe the burden through operations: repeated searching, uncertain grouping, reconstruction of an unstated dependency, simultaneous retention of distant values, or many edits for one intended change. Choose the description that explains the observed case.

Locate the source of the burden. The expression, the construction rule, the editing environment and the reader’s preparation can make different contributions. An editor that cannot show two needed passages together may be changed without introducing a new notation. A missing dependency needs expression even when the display is large enough.

Use Cognitive Dimensions as a vocabulary for such trade-offs when it helps the design conversation. Its activity-relative descriptions suggest where to look; a list of dimension names does not establish that a reader can perform the operation.

Retain successful uses of the current form. They identify what the repair must preserve and may reveal why an apparently awkward convention exists.