MENTAL MODEL · M3985

Mooers' Law

BusinessHigh supportManagement

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

Mooers' law is a comment about the use of information retrieval systems made by the American computer scientist Calvin Mooers in 1959: An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than for him not to have it.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Mooers' law is a comment about the use of information retrieval systems made by the American computer scientist Calvin Mooers in 1959.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The adoption of an information system depends on the 'cost of use vs. the cost of not using': when obtaining information is more troublesome than not having it, people will abandon the system. Usability has veto power.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

First, measure the real friction cost for users to obtain information. Second, prioritize usability over features. Third, reduce logins, hierarchy, and steps. Fourth, measure success by adoption rather than feature richness.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

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Source support: Explicit

link
en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooers%27s_lawZH · Explicit
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