The Human Brain is essentially like a super-computer, however we have a very limited capacity for dealing with new information – generally between 3 to 7 elements maximum at any one time, particularly when those elements are interactive.

When presented with a situation where we have to process too much at once we experience “cognitive overload” and this seriously impairs our ability to perform effectively, much like your own computer or laptop, when you have too many programs running at once the machine will slow down and cease to perform efficiently.

With a totally unique methodology, the Cognitive Load Mapping process combines the analysis of data through both Artificial Intelligence, which removes all conscious or subconscious bias from the process, together with the expertise of clinical psychologists to provide unprecedented levels of insight that can identify when your key people are in an overload situation, and this can deliver a hugely positive impact across any organization. The CLM is a highly effective way of monitoring the available capacity of a person – effectively providing the warning signal that indicates when your valuable Human Machines are operating in that red light zone of overload.

Operating in overload is a situation which will absolutely prevent them from performing anywhere close to their optimal levels and meaning that their decision -making capabilities are likely to be seriously flawed – and what might the consequence of that be?

A major challenge is to be sensitive towards a person’s ability to process the ‘load’ in daily life. It is readily acknowledged that any machine is likely to experience technical difficulties when overloaded, the human brain will also experience disruption in their cognitive processing capability when overloaded. When you are using several applications on your phone or iPad, you often find it slowing down or even worse, frozen. Similarly to your mobile devices or laptops, your brain also becomes overwhelmed and finds it hard to run all the ‘programs’ efficiently. Often this situation can be greatly compounded due to additional pressures from one’s home or personal life too.

Cognitive load mapping is a process of evaluating, formulating and creating awareness of cognitive load on a person’s well-being and task performance. It is based on decades of work on cognitive load theory in the areas of teaching and learning.

Almost all work relies heavily on cognitive functioning, some more than others, making use of attention, working memory, learning and decision-making. All of these mental processes are affected if there is too much strain in any way. People at any age have a maximum capacity for the mental effort they can exert while working or learning and taking in too much or working too quickly for their capacity results in ‘overloading the system’ meaning that your memory can no longer keep up.

Trace Data Science’s cognitive load mapping is theoretically unchallenged and involves identifying these mental stressors compromising one’s cognitive functioning and work performance. Our unique approach establishes longitudinal data to assess traces of cognitive load over the period of 4 months for clear identification of overload that can not only have a massive impact on performance and decision making but also have a potentially serious impact upon the mental health of a person. CLM will not only identify the indicators that a person is working beyond their cognitive capacity but also create awareness about the impact on one’s well-being.