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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






12. 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






13. 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.






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






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






16. 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.






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






18. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






24. A method of reorganizing information to make the information simpler - more meaningful and easier to remember. (ie. First Letter - Keyword - Rhyme - Feature Name)






25. 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?)






26. A tendency to assume that a system that works at one scale will also work at a smaller or larger scale. (2 kinds: Load assumptions and Interaction assumptions)






27. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






40. 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.






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






42. Hierarchical organization is the simplest structure for visualizing and understanding complexity.






43. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






50. A relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.