Solving Cognitive Load Challenges, The Paperchase Approach
One key challenge in UX design is ensuring ease of use, particularly when creating complex products with diverse features and applications. The question we continually address is how to guarantee intuitive, effortless navigation and operation for the user, regardless of the task at hand. A critical factor in achieving this is minimizing cognitive load, a concept we’ll illustrate through our project with Paperchase, an accounting firm specializing in the hospitality sector.
Firstly, it’s essential to understand cognitive load, which refers to the mental effort required for a task. This includes three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. Intrinsic load is the inherent difficulty of a task. Extraneous load arises from any unnecessary elements that impede focus. Germane load is the mental effort needed to comprehend and remember how to use the product.
Addressing these three aspects is vital to reduce cognitive load. For intrinsic load, our approach involves presenting information logically and helpfully, such as through color-coded tables and sorting options.
In the invoice management module, our strategy was aimed at simplifying a variety of tasks, including approving invoices for processing or payment, tracking overdue invoices, and monitoring the progress of payments. When users enter this module, they’re presented with a screen divided into four distinct cards, each providing an overview of a key task within the module. This design allows users to select and concentrate on a single task at a time. Clicking on any of these cards directs them to a detailed, table-based interface that lists all relevant invoices along with their details, and provides prefilled suggestions for each invoice that can be adjusted before approving or rejecting.
Further enhancing flexibility, we introduced an optional feature enabling users to group invoices by vendor. This addition offers the convenience of handling invoices either individually or in bulk, depending on the user’s preferred workflow. By implementing these features, we aimed to make the invoice approval process as seamless and user-friendly as possible.
Addressing extraneous cognitive load is all about reducing information clutter to enhance user focus. It’s crucial that users can easily identify and concentrate on their tasks without being overwhelmed or confused by too much data at once.
A prime illustration of this principle in action can be found in one of the changes we made to the EDocs module. The module was actually very simple in terms of function: users needed to upload documents to the portal and keep track of their upload history. However, the old design lumped these two features together on a single, page, resulting in a very visually chaotic screen for what was ostensibly a very simple task.
To streamline this process, we reorganized these features into separate tabs. Now, when users access the EDocs module, they’re directly taken to the upload tab, which is the default view. For those needing to review their upload history, a second tab dedicated to tracking past uploads is readily available. This reconfiguration effectively simplifies the user experience, eliminating unnecessary stress and confusion.
Reducing germane cognitive load involves storytelling to aid in forming a coherent mental model of the product. An example is the transformation of the dashboard module. Previously, it comprised a dense array of graphs and figures that would overwhelm anyone looking through them.
The new design focused on offering users a coherent, single-page overview, presenting key information upfront with options to delve deeper. This narrative approach is tailored towards ensuring that the user always understands what’s going on, and feels more in control of their exploration of data.
More on that later though — stay tuned for our upcoming article dedicated to exploring the redesign of the dashboard and reports modules!
