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






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






3. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






8. 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.






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






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






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






12. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






20. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






38. 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.)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






50. Pictures are remembered better than words.