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






2. A technique of composition in which a medium is divided into thirds - creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of a design.






3. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






9. 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?)






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






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






12. 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.






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






14. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






21. 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.)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






36. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






41. 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.






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






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






44. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






47. The distressing state of thought caused by recognizing an inconsistency between behavior/thought and value/belief.






48. The deliberate use of a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system from damage.






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






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