Test your basic knowledge |

Design Principles

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A tendency to assume that a system that works at one scale will also work at a smaller or larger scale. (2 kinds: Load assumptions and Interaction assumptions)






2. A method of reorganizing information to make the information simpler - more meaningful and easier to remember. (ie. First Letter - Keyword - Rhyme - Feature Name)






3. An attribute of an object that allows people to intuitively know how to use it






4. A technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.






5. Elements that are similar are perceived to be more related than elements that are dissimilar.






6. A state of mental focus so intense that awareness of the 'real' world is lost - generally resulting in a feeling of joy and satisfaction.






7. Adjusting parts of a device in relation to each other to create a sense of unity and cohesion.






8. A tendency to prefer faces in which the eyes - nose - lips and other features are close to the average of a population.






9. Elements that are close together are percieved to be more related than elements that are farther apart.






10. The visual clarity of text - generally based on the size - typeface - contrast - text block - and spacing of the characters used.






11. There are five ways to organize information: Category - time - location - alphabet - and continuum.






12. A diagram that describes the general pattern followed by the eyes when looking at evenly distributed - homogeneous information.






13. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






14. An activity will be pursued only if its benefits are equal to or greater than the costs. (ie. How much reading is too much to get the point of a message?)






15. A process in which similar characteristics evolve independently in multiple systems.






16. Hierarchical organization is the simplest structure for visualizing and understanding complexity.






17. The use of more elements than necessary to maintain the performance of a system in the event of failure of one or more of the elements.






18. Teh act of copying properties of familiar objects - organisms - or environments in order to realize specifice benefits afforded by those properties.






19. A method of limiting the actions that can be performed on a system.






20. A tendency to see people and things iwth baby- faced features as more naive - helpless - and honest than those with mature features.






21. A strategy for managing information complexity in which only necessary or requested information is displayed at any given time.






22. Tendency to perceive a set of individual elements as a single - recogniable pattern - rather than multiple - individual elements.






23. The tendency to see attractive people as more intelligent - competent - moral and sociable than unattractive people.






24. A technique of combining many units of information into a limited number of units or chunks - so that the information is easier to process and remember.






25. The usability of a system is improved when its status and methods of use are clearly visible.






26. A space that has territorial markers - opportunities for surveillance - and clear indications of activity and ownership.






27. Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs - the simplest design should be selected.


28. The time required to move to a target is a function of the target size and distance to the target.


29. An ability to detect threatening stimuli more efficiently than nonthreatening stimuli.






30. People understand and interact with systems and environments based on mental representations developed from experience.






31. The distressing state of thought caused by recognizing an inconsistency between behavior/thought and value/belief.






32. The tendency for people to perform better or worse based on the expectations of another.






33. A phenomenon of memory in which noticeably different things are more likely to be recalled that common things. (AKA Isolation/Novelty Effect)






34. A method of presentation in which information is presented in descending order of importance. (Critical information presented first).






35. A Gestalt law of organization; elements arrange in a straight line or a smooth curve are perceived as a group - and are interpreted as being more related than elements not on the line or curve.






36. Elements that are connected by uniform visual properties - such as color - are perceived to be more related than elements that are not connected.






37. An original model on which something is patterned






38. It is often preferable to settle for a satisfactory solution - rather than pursue an optimal solution.






39. The usability of a system is improved when similar parts are expressed in similar ways.






40. The greater the effort to accomplish a task - the less likely the task will be accomplished successfully.






41. The relative ease with which a destination - idea - or concept may be reached.






42. A technique used to teach a desired behavior by reinforcing increasingly accurate approximations of the behavior.






43. A technique of composition in which a medium is divided into thirds - creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of a design.






44. Elements perceived as either figures (objects of focus) or ground (the rest of the perceptual field)






45. Teachers treat students differently based on their expectations of how students will perform.






46. Beauty in design results from purity of function. Interpreted in 2 ways: A description of beauty or a prescription for beauty.






47. People tend to prefer savanna- like environments to other types of environments. Open areas - scattered trees - water - and uniform grassiness rather than other natural environments such as desert - jungle - and complex mtns.






48. A relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.






49. All products progress sequentially through four stages of existence: introduction - growth - maturity - and decline.






50. The tendency to perceive objects as unchanging - despite changes in sensory input. (such as perspective - lighting - color or size)