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






2. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. 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






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






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






14. 1) Physiological 2) Safety 3) Love 4) Self-Esteem 5) Self-Actualization


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






16. Pictures are remembered better than words.






17. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






31. 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)






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






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






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






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






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






37. A space that has territorial markers - opportunities for surveillance - and clear indications of activity and ownership.






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






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






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






41. 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.






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






43. The tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied






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






45. 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.






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






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






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






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






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