Label diagram arrows with specific verbs — 'causes' and 'blocks,' not 'affects' and 'relates to'

Why This Is a Rule

"Affects" and "relates to" are the diagram equivalents of prose transition words — they acknowledge a connection exists while concealing the mechanism. "Team size affects delivery speed" could mean team size causes slower delivery (too many coordination overhead), enables faster delivery (more capacity), or has a non-linear relationship (small teams are fast, medium teams are slow, large teams are medium). The word "affects" hides which mechanism operates.

Specific verb labels — causes, enables, blocks, amplifies, inhibits, triggers, depends on — force you to name the mechanism. Each verb implies a specific causal direction and relationship type. "Team size amplifies coordination overhead" is a testable, debatable claim. "Team size affects delivery" is a vague acknowledgment that says nothing actionable.

The labeling discipline is itself a comprehension test: if you can't label the arrow with a specific verb, you don't understand the relationship well enough to predict behavior or intervene effectively. The vague label is honest about your uncertainty — but the rule says: don't accept the vagueness. Investigate until you can label specifically.

When This Fires

• When drawing any diagram of a system, process, or conceptual model (Draw mental models as boxes and labeled arrows within 10 minutes — spatial layout reveals hidden gaps)
• When reviewing a diagram and finding vague relationship labels
• During collaborative model-building when team members use "relates to" as a placeholder
• Any visual thinking context where relationship mechanisms matter

Common Failure Mode

Labeling everything with "leads to" — slightly more specific than "affects" but still mechanism-free. "Poor sleep leads to lower productivity." How? Through what mechanism? "Poor sleep reduces working memory capacity" is specific enough to be actionable (you know what to protect on poor-sleep days). "Leads to" gives you a direction without a mechanism.

The Protocol

When labeling diagram arrows: (1) For each arrow, choose a specific mechanism verb: causes, enables, blocks, amplifies, inhibits, triggers, depends on, constrains, accelerates, degrades. (2) If you can't choose a specific verb → the relationship is vague in your understanding, not just in your diagram. Investigate until you can specify the mechanism. (3) If the relationship is genuinely unclear → label it "? mechanism unclear" rather than using a vague connector. Honest uncertainty is better than false precision — but both are better than "relates to."