--- title: "Working Memory" url: "https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/working-memory" language: "en" description: "What is working memory and why does it matter in UX design? Explained with the Baddeley model and an example. Learn how to reduce memory load in your UI." published: "2026-10-14T15:20:24+02:00" updated: "2026-10-14T15:20:24+02:00" --- # Working Memory Working memory holds information for a short time so you can work with it. It has very little capacity, so interfaces should ask people to remember as little as possible. - **Buchstabe:** W - **Englischer Begriff:** Working Memory UX glossary · engl. Working Memory # Working Memory Working memory holds information for a short time so you can work with it. It has very little capacity, so interfaces should ask people to remember as little as possible. Imagine you’re logging in to your online banking. The app texts you a six-digit code. You switch to your messages, read the code, switch back, and suddenly you’re not sure about the fourth digit. So you go back again. For just a few seconds you had to hold six numbers in your head, and even that was a stretch. The place where you held them is called working memory. ## Explained simply Working memory is the part of our memory where we hold information for a brief moment while working with it. A good comparison is a sticky note next to your keyboard: you jot something down, use it and then throw the note away. Only this note is tiny, and anything you don’t keep repeating fades fast. The best-known model comes from psychologists Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in 1974. It splits working memory into several components: a **phonological loop** for speech and sound, a **visuospatial sketchpad** for images and positions, and a **central executive** that directs attention. In 2000, Baddeley added a fourth component, the **episodic buffer**, which links information from different sources into a coherent whole. ## Working memory vs. short-term memory The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they don’t mean quite the same thing. Short-term memory mainly describes the fact that we store something briefly. Working memory emphasizes that we do something with that information at the same time: compare, calculate, decide. For the basics, see [Basics of Human Perception: Short-Term Memory](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/blog/basics-of-human-perception-short-term-memory). How much fits is debated. The often-quoted “seven, plus or minus two” goes back to George Miller in 1956. After reviewing many studies, psychologist Nelson Cowan argued in 2001 for a smaller limit of about four units of information, known as chunks. The exact number depends on the task and the person. What’s clear: there isn’t much room. For design, this means every piece of information people have to remember across several steps adds to their [cognitive load](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/cognitive-load), the mental effort a task requires. Once working memory is full, mistakes happen or people have to jump back. ## An example Here’s an example: a comparison site for phone plans shows each plan on its own detail page. Anyone who wants to compare three plans has to remember price, data allowance and contract length while jumping between pages. Many lose track. After the redesign, people can add plans to a shortlist with one click and view them side by side in a comparison table. The information now lives on the screen instead of in their heads. ## In practice - **Show it, don’t make people remember it.** Key details from earlier steps should stay visible, such as an order summary at checkout. Plenty of examples are collected in [Forms Nobody Abandons](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/blog/forms-nobody-abandons-12-rules-for-better-form-ux). - **Group information.** An IBAN in groups of four or a phone number in blocks is easier to take in than a long string of digits. - **Offer tools as external memory.** Shortlists, comparison tables and codes that fill in automatically take work off people’s minds. ## Related terms [Cognitive Load](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/cognitive-load), [Miller’s Law](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/millers-law), [Progressive Disclosure](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/progressive-disclosure), [Mental Model](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/mental-model) ## Sources - [Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch: Working Memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation 8, 1974](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60452-1) - [Alan Baddeley: The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4 (11), 2000](https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01538-2) - [Nelson Cowan: The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24 (1), 2001](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X01003922) - [Raluca Budiu: Working Memory and External Memory. Nielsen Norman Group, 2018](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/working-memory-external-memory/) ## More terms [ ### A/B Testing An A/B test is an experiment that shows two versions of a page or element at the same time to randomly split groups of visitors. It lets you decide with real data which version works better. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/a-b-testing) [ ### ARIA ARIA is a W3C standard that adds roles, states and properties to HTML. It tells screen readers what an element is and how it currently behaves. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/aria) [ ### Accessibility Accessibility means designing websites, apps and digital documents so that everyone can use them, including people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/accessibility) [ ### Affordance An affordance describes what action an object makes possible and whether people can recognize it: a button invites you to press it, a handle invites you to pull. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/affordance) [ ### Alt Text Alt text is a short text version of an image, stored in the HTML alt attribute. Screen readers read it aloud so people who can’t see the image get the same information. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/alt-text) [ ### Atomic Design Atomic Design is a method for building user interfaces from small, reusable building blocks, from single elements like buttons all the way up to complete pages. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/atomic-design) [ ### BFSG The BFSG, Germany’s Accessibility Strengthening Act, has required many companies since 28 June 2025 to make certain products and digital services, such as online shops, accessible. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/bfsg) [ ### Card Sorting Card sorting is a research method in which people sort terms written on cards into groups. It shows you how they mentally organize content, so you can plan navigation that makes sense to them. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/card-sorting) [ ### Cognitive Load Cognitive load is the mental effort it takes to understand and use an interface. The less unnecessary thinking a design demands, the easier the actual task becomes. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/cognitive-load) [ ### Color Vision Deficiency A color vision deficiency means someone has a harder time telling certain colors apart than most people. The most common type is red-green deficiency. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/color-vision-deficiency) [ ### Contextual Inquiry Contextual inquiry is a research method where you observe and interview people in their real work environment. It shows you how they actually get tasks done, not just how they describe it. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/contextual-inquiry) [ ### Contrast Ratio The contrast ratio describes how much two colors differ in brightness, such as text and background. WCAG requires at least 4.5:1 for normal text. ](https://insideuxdesign.com/en/glossar/contrast-ratio)