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






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

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






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






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






6. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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

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11. 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.






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

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






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






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

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






17. 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)






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






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






20. 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.






21. A property in which a form is made up of parts similar to the whole or to one another.






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






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






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






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






26. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






36. An action or ommission of action yielding an unintended result.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






48. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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