Interface bloat

An image depicting three red buttons of importance, clustered with tertiary or otherwise unnecessary buttons. — An example of interface bloat source ↗

Interface bloat is a phenomenon in software design where an interface incorporates too many (often unnecessary) operations or elements, causing issues such as difficulty navigating and usability.¹²

Definition

While the term bloat can refer to a variety of terms in software design,³ Interface bloat refers to the phenomenon where the user interface (UI) becomes unnecessarily complex and overloaded with features, options, or elements that can overwhelm users.⁴ This often leads to a cluttered experience, decreased usability, and increased difficulty for users to accomplish their tasks efficiently.¹² Interface bloat can arise from various sources, including the addition of excessive functionality without proper consideration of user needs, the merging of disparate features, or pressure to include numerous options to cater to a broader audience.²

References

"Do Computers Have to Be Hard to Use?". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
Akiki, Pierre; Bandara, Arosha; and Yu, Yijun (24–27 June 2013). "The Open University's repository of research publications regarding minimizing the bloat in enterprise applications Conference Item". Fifth ACM SIGCHI Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems. London, UK. S2CID 2935087.
Kaufman, Leah; Weed, Brad (1998-04-01). "Too much of a good thing?: Identifying and resolving bloat in the user interface". CHI 98 Conference Summary on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI '98. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 207–208. doi:10.1145/286498.286693. ISBN 978-1-58113-028-7.
McGrenere, Joanna; Moore, Gale (15–17 April 2000). Graphics Interface. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society. pp. 187–196. ISBN 0-9695338-9-6. Retrieved 9 November 2024.

[:0-1] "Do Computers Have to Be Hard to Use?". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-11-09.

[:3-2] Akiki, Pierre; Bandara, Arosha; and Yu, Yijun (24–27 June 2013). "The Open University's repository of research publications regarding minimizing the bloat in enterprise applications Conference Item". Fifth ACM SIGCHI Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems. London, UK. S2CID 2935087.

[:2-3] Kaufman, Leah; Weed, Brad (1998-04-01). "Too much of a good thing?: Identifying and resolving bloat in the user interface". CHI 98 Conference Summary on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI '98. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 207–208. doi:10.1145/286498.286693. ISBN 978-1-58113-028-7.

[:1-4] McGrenere, Joanna; Moore, Gale (15–17 April 2000). Graphics Interface. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society. pp. 187–196. ISBN 0-9695338-9-6. Retrieved 9 November 2024.

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