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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






17. 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.)






18. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






28. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






47. 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.






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






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






50. An original model on which something is patterned