Friction Score

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The four dimensions

Your Friction Score combines four independently calculated dimensions of operational friction. Each captures a different way time leaks from structure.

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Tool Fragmentation

How spread across applications a given class of work is. Many applications touched for one workflow usually means more context recovery and coordination overhead. Lower: A tight toolset per workflow. Higher: Constant switching across many applications.

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Workflow Consistency

How repeatable your workflow sequences are. Stable A → B → C patterns are easier to execute reliably than ad-hoc ordering every time. More friction: High variance run-to-run — a different order every time. Less friction: Predictable, repeatable sequences.

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Context Switching

How often you change focus in rapid succession. Rapid back-and-forth usually reads as coordination cost, interruption load, or cross-app copy-paste overhead. Lower: Meaningful dwell time per application. Higher: Rapid, frequent switching.

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Workflow Duration

Sessions that run materially longer than your established baseline for comparable work. Duration spikes often flag blockage, rework, or handoffs that did not complete. Lower: Stable, predictable session durations. Higher: Frequent unexplained spikes.

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Score bands

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The confidence gate

Vantic IQ does not publish the composite Friction Score (0–100) until the Pattern Engine has sufficient confidence. That means:

• A minimum number of workflow instances detected — repetition, not a single unusual day
• Enough dimensions crossing a reliability threshold independently
• Signal quality high enough that a published headline score is not misleading

The Pattern Engine uses a two-tier confidence model:

• Engine gate: The minimum bar to produce any result at all. Below it, the engine returns nothing — no score, no estimate.
• Display gate: A higher bar that must be cleared before the full composite Friction Score is published. Between the two gates, partial signal context may appear in the conversational interface without a composite score.

Note: before the full composite score is ready, you may see individual dimension signals in the conversational interface. Those are partial signals, not a partial Friction Score — the composite score is only published when all required dimensions reach the confidence threshold. If the composite gate is not met, you do not get a headline Friction Score that implies the full model is ready — not a partial composite, not a “low” estimate. That is separate from early-window signals: you may still see Friction Pulse signals (single facts, no multi-pattern claim), and some accounts may show per-dimension readouts before the composite is final, as described in First use and Quickstart. The confidence gate applies to the full composite, not to every individual signal detection.

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Why waiting is a feature

A score built from thin or non-representative data would be worse than no score. If your first week was unusually busy, unusually quiet, or atypical in any way, the Pattern Engine will wait for a clearer picture. This is by design.

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Optional benchmarking

If sector benchmarking is enabled on your account, your Friction Score is displayed alongside a contextual range for your industry vertical. This is opt-in and can be disabled at any time. See Sector benchmarking.

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