To "minimize user memory load", computers should take over the burden of memory from the user as much as possible. They are very good at remembering things very precisely whereas humans are not. This can be accomplished by promoting recognition over recall. In general, people have a much easier time at recognizing something that is shown to them rather than having to recall the same information from memory without help.
Displaying dialogue elements allows users to select items through recognition. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) such as menus and icons achieve this goal, as opposed to command lines. It is also easier for the user to modify information displayed by the computer than to have to generate all of the desired results from scratch. For example, when users want to rename a file, the text field should be prepopulated with the old name allowing users to make modifications instead of typing a new name.
Visibility of the objects of interest to the user also helps to promote recognition. Unfortunately, displaying too many objects will result in contradiction with the 'less is more' rule. Therefore, a compromise must be made to match object visibility as much as possible with the user's needs.
Whenever users are asked to provide input, the system should describe the required format and, if possible, provide an example of legal input, such as default value. For example, a system asking the user to enter a date should do it as follows: 'Enter date (DD-Mmm-YY, e.g., 2-Aug-93)'.
To minimize the user's memory load, the system should be based on a small number of rules that apply universally throughout the user interface. The use of generic commands is one way to let a few rules govern a complex system. Generic commands make similar things happen in different circumstances; therefore, users only need to learn a few commands in order to work with many different types of data. They support transfer of learning from one application to the next, since users do not need to relearn those commands they already know.