For starting ease, I use the add-on AvgEase. It automatically sets it to the average ease of mature cards.
For lapses, I use the add-on autoLapseNewInterval in order to target an 85% success rate.
They seem to be working well and I prefer such an automated process over testing and using the stats screen to manually calibrate.
Also now you can easily filter any search in the stats. So you could filter recall cards, production cards, etc and see what setting change is getting higher retention.
That is cool! I’m still on Anki 2.1.22 because some add-ons don’t work with higher versions.
Let me reword the same idea, when you lapse a card once or twice and you think that the cause is genuinely caused by the formulation of knowledge, I suggest to edit that card right away (E) and maybe split it into different cards if needed. There is no need to leech a card 4+ times to take action.
In my post, I had the idea in mind that I quickly and automatically tag and suspend a card that needs reworking, so I can edit it at a later time.
Perhaps it is commendable to rework cards right away. After all, the 20 Rules of Formulating Knowledge recommend detecting and eliminating interference immediately. Also, I sometimes get ideas for amelioration right after a lapse, which could fade away from working memory.
On the other hand, reworking cards later makes it easier to prioritize.