Working Memory
Working memory briefly holds and works with information needed for the task at hand.
The interface should carry context that the person would otherwise have to keep in mind.
Someone compares two plans on separate pages. By the time they open the second, they are trying to remember the first price, storage limit, and renewal terms. A persistent comparison turns memory work into a visible decision.
Origin
Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch proposed a multi-component model of working memory in 1974. Their account treated temporary storage and active processing as more than a single, uniform short-term store.
Keep values visible while they are being compared or used. Do not make people memorize a code, price, date, or instruction from another screen.
Carry confirmed information forward. Repeated entry spends attention, creates errors, and makes the system feel unaware of its own state.
Show calculations and differences when they matter to a decision. Mental arithmetic is rarely the task people came to complete.
Design for interruption. Save progress, show the current state, and make the next unfinished step obvious when someone returns.
Digital systems
A verification code offered in place
The verification screen can offer a code received in a message, so the person does not have to switch apps, rehearse the digits, and type them from memory.
Physical signals
A recipe beside the work
Keeping the recipe open beside the ingredients lets the cook check quantities and sequence as needed. The page acts as external memory when attention moves to the next step.
Information disappears before it is used, so the person must rehearse details while navigating, comparing, calculating, or recovering from interruption.
Keep relevant details visible, preserve state between steps, and return people to a clear point of progress after they leave or get interrupted.