## Definition > "[the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4/abstract)" Three types of cognitive load:  [^fn1] [^fn1]: [Forget monoliths vs microservices. Cognitive load is what matters](https://techbeacon.com/app-dev-testing/forget-monoliths-vs-microservices-cognitive-load-what-matters) by [[@Matthew Skelton]] and [[@Manuel Pais]] (authors of [[Team Topologies (book)]]) 1. **Intrinsic cognitive load,** which relates to aspects of the task fundamental to the problem space. Example: How is a class defined in Java? 2. **Extraneous cognitive load,** which relates to the environment in which the task is being done. Example: How do I deploy this component, again? 3. **Germane cognitive load,** which relates to aspects of the task that need special attention for learning or high performance. Example: How should this service interact with the ABC service? ## See also - [[Cognitive load in software teams]]