Cognitive Overload Just Killed Your User Experience.

This article is part of Pensieve AI’s Intro to UX Research series.

The goal of any user experience is to keep things lean and clean. That means, you need to avoid cognitive overload. Cognitive overload occurs when there’s too much information that impedes decision-making and the overall experience.

Similar to how our computers start to overheat and crash because there are many tabs and applications in use, our human brains are the same exact way too. But the difference between the two is that electronics come with a form of computer memory called Random-Access Memory (RAM) that stores and retrieves any amount of data instantly regardless of where the data is exactly located within its memory; while for humans, each individual’s brain memory varies because we can only learn and remember information so much all at once.

Every time your user is on your platform and stops to think about what their next action is, regardless of how short their thought process takes, they’re adding more “brain power” on top of what’s already on their mind (Do I need to go to the grocery store? When can I find the product I’m looking for? Did I turn off the lights at home?). Because users have more variables in their external life and environment beyond your control, even the “smallest” design variable can bring a toll to the user’s brain if it’s reaching its maximum capacity.

When a user asks questions regarding what they’re supposed to be doing like “Does this button work? Will this bring me back to the home page?” it will ruin their user experience on your platform as it weighs down their working memory. It’s important to remind ourselves that every individual user has a different capacity for their working memory. For instance, you can have users who’ve downloaded multiple mobile apps and know how your app would generally work, and you can have users who just bought their smartphone for the first time and are not familiar with mobile apps due to their inexperience in technology. Thus, there is no way to visibly and logically “get rid of” cognitive overload and retain your users with an irritating user experience, especially in times where there are limitless options for apps and a declining of people’s attention span.

So how does one minimize cognitive load to offer great user experience?

Think about your users.

When designing any platform, the first thing you need to do is think about who your users will be and what their needs are so that you can provide value to them as quickly as possible. Oftentimes, unless you’re in a niche market, your users vary vastly. And until you find your target users, you should be designing for as many users as you can. The attribute to unmatched user experience is to keep things as simple, easy, and consistent so your users are not distracted from their overarching tasks.

Technically, your users should not need instructions to navigate your platform. They should know where they need to go to complete their goal because of the clear and subtle interface that follows familiar design elements. Because of the limitation of human memory, UX designers should create a simplified interface to allow users to intuitively use and recognize a certain feature rather than having to think about what they’re supposed to be doing.

The more steps the user takes to achieve their goal, the more working memory will be added to their cognitive load. Unnecessary actions, inconsistent designs, overload of words and designs will overburden the user’s thoughts, working memory, and patience, thus ultimately irritating them. Keep it easy and to the point so that your users don’t have to think. The more confusing and time consuming it is, the higher chance your users won’t return.

Talk to your users.

Your goal is to have your users get to their intended goal as easily and self explanatory as possible. Although time consuming, if you want to build a product for your users and retain them, you will need to directly talk to them and understand their thought process and behavioral patterns to know you are going in the right direction. During your information architecture phase, build around how your users think so that when you are user testing, it will uncover the most intuitive navigation strategies for your target group.

Without a solid UX process, your product teams will be building in the dark. Each project is unique and has its own needs, so there is no one-size-fits-all UX design. Rather, your team needs to keep adapting the design process as you design your product and talk to as many real users as possible. Oftentimes, designers and engineers think their users have similar behaviors as them, which is a very huge misconception. The more you test your product out with real people, the more you will understand what works and what doesn’t work — even if it’s just a minor button.

Every little action, typing or clicking, adds to the user’s workload. As a UX designer, your task is to minimize as much as you can through short forms, autofills for type forms, placeholder examples, smart defaults, etc. It’s basically a balance between giving enough options to your users so they think they’ve got plenty of choices but not to the point where it will overtax their brain. Once you’ve removed the visual clutters along with the irrelevant options, you can group them under an umbrella or in a hidden mega-menu. This way, your users will have options in an absorbable way without burdening or overstimulating their working memory.

Remember, designing is an iterative process, not a linear process. Your entire UX design process will consist of going back and forth with your stakeholders, removing, adding, revisiting, and redesigning various ideas that are usually all in flux. And to top it off, you have to constantly prototype and continuously test it out.

It’s inevitable to want to think and design out of the box as a designer. However, there are design patterns that have been identified by researchers and scientists in the field of human computer interaction that service as natural guides that the human brain can easily absorb, process and act upon. By bringing in experts in this field to help you visualize your grand ideas in ways that the human brain can easily comprehend them, without taking on any cognitive overload, is always a best practice that we recommend.

Because you want to appeal to as many users, with whatever busy lives they have, your design should be more of a quick shortcut rather than another “learning experience.” So in order to minimize cognitive overload, keep your UX design simple, easy, engaging, and rely on the experts when needed.

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