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






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






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






4. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






9. 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?)






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






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






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






13. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






21. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






34. The deliberate use of a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system from damage.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






48. 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






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






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