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






2. 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.)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






12. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






24. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






29. 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.






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






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






32. 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






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






50. 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?)