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Software Engineering vocabulary · Web, Mobile and Interface Development

Mental model

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, mental model means: A person's own idea of how something works, based on past experience, which shapes what they expect a product to do.

In Turkish: zihinsel model

How it is used

Designers try to match the product to users' mental models, for example by using a shopping cart because people know it from real shops. Problems start when the system works differently from what users believe.

Example sentences

  1. In users' mental model, 'Save' also sends the document, so they never press 'Share'.

  2. The interviews helped us understand customers' mental model of how insurance works.

Common collocations

  • match users' mental models
  • mental model of
  • mismatched mental model
  • build a mental model
  • affordanceA quality of an object or interface element that suggests how it can be used, for example a raised button that looks pressable or a handle that invites pulling.
  • cognitive loadThe amount of mental effort a person needs to understand and use something; too much of it makes people slow, confused or likely to give up.
  • user interviewA one-to-one conversation with a user or potential user, usually 30 to 60 minutes long, to learn about their goals, habits, problems and opinions.
  • interaction designThe part of design that decides how a product behaves when people use it: what happens when they tap, type, swipe or wait, and how the system responds.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Web, Mobile and Interface Development

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