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






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






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


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






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






6. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






12. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






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






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






15. A technique used to asociate a stimulus with an unconscious physical or emotional response.






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






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






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






19. 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.






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


21. The tendency for people to perform better or worse based on the expectations of another.






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






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






24. 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.)






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






26. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






33. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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