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 process in which similar characteristics evolve independently in multiple systems.






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


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






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






5. 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






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


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






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






10. 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.






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






12. A tendency to prefer environments with unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges).






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






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






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






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






17. Memory for recognizing things is better than memory for recalling things.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






25. The tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied






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






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






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






29. 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?)






30. A technique that influences decision making and judgement by manipulating the way information is presented.






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






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






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






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






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






36. A method of illustrating relationships and patterns in system behaviors by representing two or more system variables in a controlled way.






37. A sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the preceding two.






38. The designs that help people perform optimally are often not the same as the designs that people find most desirable.






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






40. A tendency to interpret shaded or dark areas of an object as shadows resulting from a light source above the object.






41. 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.






42. A phenomenon in which perception and behavior changes as a result of personal expectations or the expectations of others. (Halo effect - Hawthorne effect - Pygmalion effect - Placebo effect - Rosenthal effect - Demand characteristics.)






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






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






45. 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.






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






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






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






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






50. The ratio of relevant to irrelevant information in a display. The highest possible signal- to- noise ratio is desirable in design.