# CNT-2 — Feature and page names use plain language; no invented portmanteaus, no internal codenames in UI

L1 · judgment · Content & naming

**Fails when:** names that require explanation

## Requirement

Name features, pages, and labels in plain language your users already use. Name by
function, not metaphor. A name that requires explanation has already failed.

## Rationale

Every feature, page, and label is a brand touchpoint. Users navigate dozens of
platforms; a clever name is one more thing to decode between tasks. This control
applies at *intent and plan time* — the cheapest moment to catch a bad name is before
it spreads into navigation, copy, and training material.

## Evaluator guidance

Flag, quoting the name:

- Invented portmanteaus: "SyncFlow", "InsightHub", "EduConnect".
- Internal codenames or project names leaking into UI.
- Technical jargon or unexplained acronyms in navigation or page titles.
- Metaphor over function: "Compass" for a settings page.
- Cleverness that needs a tooltip to explain.

Good names name the job: "Task Planner", "Customer Notes", "Log Hours".

Do not flag: product names that passed the identity rule (these are settled
identities), or terms your users genuinely use even when they look like jargon to
outsiders (for example, an industry acronym they use every day).

## Waiver

`documented` — a name that fails the plain-language test but is retained needs a
named approver and the reason in the decision record (e.g. a policy-mandated
programme name that must appear verbatim).