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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






12. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






24. 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.






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






34. 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.






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


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






37. 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.






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






39. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






50. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.