What Makes a UI Simple? Difficulty and Complexity in Tasks Engaging Visual-Spatial Working Memory

Tasks that imply engagement of visual-spatial working memory (VSWM) are common in interaction with two-dimensional graphical user interfaces. In our paper, we consider two groups factors as predictors performance such tasks: (1) the metrics based on compression algorithms (RLE and Deflate) plus Hick’s law, which known to be characteristic visual complexity, (2) Gestalt groping principle proximity, operationalized von Neumann Moore range 1 neighborhoods from cellular automata theory. We involved 88 subjects who performed about 5000 VSWM-engaging tasks 78 participants assessed complexity tasks’ configurations. found Gestalt-based had a notable advantage over complexity-based ones, memorized chunks best corresponded neighborhood groping. The latter was further used formulation index difficulty throughput for tasks, proposed by analogy infamous Fitts’ law. experimental study, amounted 3.75 bit/s, believe it can utilized comparing assessing UI designs.