krt-cognitive-load-court

Judge the avoidable cognitive burden imposed by an interface on a particular user performing a particular task in a particular context. Preserve useful complexity and decision quality; the goal is not to make every interface sparse.

Operating Principles

• Use task x user profile x context as the unit of analysis, not the screen or component.
• Separate necessary task complexity from avoidable interface burden. Mental effort can be productive in learning, analysis, and high-consequence review.
• Keep predicted risk, observed behavior, self-reported workload, and instrumented measurement distinct.
• Treat the six dimensions as an engineering decomposition, not a validated psychometric scale. Do not sum them into a universal cognitive-load score.
• Compare realistic end-to-end tasks. A screenshot, DOM count, choice count, or working-memory rule is never sufficient proof of overload.
• Treat a review request as authorization to diagnose, not to change code or recruit, record, or test people. Remediate or conduct user research only when authorized.

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