Rubber stamps are a failure mode
The first version of our approval UI showed a diff and two buttons. Within a week, the median time-to-approve was four seconds. Nobody was reading anything; they were clearing a queue.
An approval that is always granted is not a control. It is a record that makes an unreviewed action look reviewed, which is worse than being honest about not reviewing it.
Show the consequence, not the payload
We rewrote the gate to lead with what will happen rather than what will be sent: the email recipient and subject, not the JSON body. The irreversible parts are called out separately, above the fold of the dialog.
Median time-to-approve went to twenty-eight seconds and the rejection rate went from near zero to about one in nine. The gate started doing its job when it started costing attention.