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 ratio within the elements of a form - such as height to width - approximating 0.618.






2. An original model on which something is patterned






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






4. Tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic






5. 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.






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






7. 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.






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






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


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






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






12. A method of managing system complexity that involves dividing large systems into multiple - smaller self- contained systems.






13. Using more elements than is necessary to offset the effects of unknown variables which may cause a system failure.






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






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






16. When participants realise the aim of the study and may change their behaviour to help or disrupt the study.






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






18. A method of creating imagery - emotions - and understanding of events through an interaction between a storyteller and an audience.






19. The quality of system output is dependent on the quality of system input.






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






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






22. 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.






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






24. 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.






25. A phenomenon of memory in which information that is analyzed deeply is better recalled than information that is analyzed superficially.






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






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






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






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






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






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






32. The debgree to which prose can be understood - based on the complexity of words and sentences.






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






34. A property in which a form is made up of parts similar to the whole or to one another.






35. 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.






36. A tendency to see objects and patterns as 3D when certain visual cues are present.






37. There are three ways to organize materials to support a load or to contain and protect something: Mass structures - frame structures - and shell structures.






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






39. A technique used to modify behavior by reinforcing desired behaviors - and ignoring or punishing undesired behaviors.






40. 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






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






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






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






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






45. 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)






46. A process of repeating a set of operation until a specific result is achieved.






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






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






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






50. As the flexiblity of a system increases - its usability decreases.