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 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)






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






3. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






25. 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?)






26. 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.






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






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






29. An original model on which something is patterned






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






31. 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.






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






33. The act of measuring certain sensitive variable in a system can alter them - and confound the accuracy of the measurement.






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






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






36. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






43. 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.






44. 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.






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






46. 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.






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






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






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






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