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 method of limiting the actions that can be performed on a system.






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






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






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






5. The relative ease with which a destination - idea - or concept may be reached.






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






7. The time it takes to make a decision increases as the number of alternatives increases.


8. 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.






9. 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.






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






23. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






32. A method of presentation in which information is presented in descending order of importance. (Critical information presented first).






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






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






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






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






37. Teh act of copying properties of familiar objects - organisms - or environments in order to realize specifice benefits afforded by those properties.






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






39. A relationship between controls and their movements or effects. When th effect corresponds to the expectation - the mapping is considered to be good or natural.






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






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






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






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






44. 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?)






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






46. 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.






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






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






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






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