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






2. Successful products typically follow four stages of creation: requirements - design - development - and testing.






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






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






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






6. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






17. 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?)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






27. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






31. The process of organizing information into related groupings in order to manage complexity and reinforce relationships in the information.






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






33. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. 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






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






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






48. 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.






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






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