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






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






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






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






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






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






7. 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?)






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






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






10. Teachers treat students differently based on their expectations of how students will perform.






11. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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


14. 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.)






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






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






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






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






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






20. 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






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






22. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






27. 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.






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






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






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






32. 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.






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






43. Designs should help people avoid errors and minimize the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.






44. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






48. A technique that influences decision making and judgement by manipulating the way information is presented.






49. A sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the preceding two.






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