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06 · Trust
Show enough of the machinery.
People can make better decisions when the system explains itself at the moment it matters.
The idea
Transparency is not a wall of documentation; it is a well-timed answer to a reasonable question.
Explain why a recommendation appears, where a number came from, and what will happen next. The goal is not to expose every implementation detail. It is to give people a mental model they can use.
Try this
01
Pair automated decisions with a reason a human can understand.
02
Label sponsored, personalized, and experimental experiences clearly.
03
Keep a visible record of changes that affect someone’s experience.
Field notes
See it in practice
A few places to
start looking.
CV Open project
Common Voice
A community-built dataset that makes participation and the wider purpose of the work legible.
Notice this → Contribution feels meaningful when the destination is visible.
UK Public service
GOV.UK
A task-first public service that turns complex government processes into clear, navigable steps.
Notice this → Plain language is treated as infrastructure.