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


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






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






4. A phenomenon of memory in which items presented at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be recalled than items in the middle of a list.






5. A preference for a particular ratio of waist size to hip size in men and women. Men prefer 0.7 in women. Women prefer 0.9 in men.






6. The ratio of face to body in an image that influences the way the person in the image is perceived. (High = intelligent / Low = physical)






7. A technique for bringing attention to an area of text or image.






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






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






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






11. 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.






12. A tendency to interpret ambiguous images as simple and a complete unit - versus complex and incomplete. (Gestalt principle of perception).






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






14. 1) Functionality 2) Reliability 3) Usability 4) Proficiency 5) Creativity. In order for design to be successful - it must meet ppl's basic need before it can attempt to satisfy higher- level needs.






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






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






17. The level of control provided by a system should be related to the proficiency and experience levels of the people using the system.






18. A Gestalt principle of organization holding that aspects of perceptual field that move or function in a similar manner will be perceived as a unit






19. 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)






20. The process of using spatial and environmental information to navigate to a destination.






21. The use of pictorial images to improve the recognition and recall of signs and controls.






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






23. A phenomenon of visual processing in which certain line orientations are more quickly and easily processed and discriminated than other line orientations.






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






26. A technique used to asociate a stimulus with an unconscious physical or emotional response.






27. 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.






28. The act of measuring certain sensitive variable in a system can alter them - and confound the accuracy of the measurement.






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






30. 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?)






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






32. A term used to describe a set of data - that when plotted - forms a symmetrical - bell- shaped curve.






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






34. Patients experience treatment effects based on their belief that a treatment will work.






35. An action or ommission of action yielding an unintended result.






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






37. Repeated exposure to stimuli for which people have neutral feelings will increase the likeability of the stimuli.






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






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






40. The use of simplified and incomplete models of a design to explore ideas - elaborate requirements - refine specifications - and test functionality.






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






42. A point of physical or attentional entry into a design. (Minimal Barriers - Points of Prospect - Progressive Lures)






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






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






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






46. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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


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






49. Designs should help people avoid errors and minimize the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.






50. A phenomenon in which mental processing is made slower and less accurate by competing mental processes.