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






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






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






4. 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)






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






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






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






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


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






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






11. 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.






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






13. 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.






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


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






16. 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.






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






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






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






20. People tend to prefer savanna- like environments to other types of environments. Open areas - scattered trees - water - and uniform grassiness rather than other natural environments such as desert - jungle - and complex mtns.






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






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






23. A technique used to modify behavior by reinforcing desired behaviors - and ignoring or punishing undesired behaviors.






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






25. 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.






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






27. 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?)






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






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






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


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






32. A phenomenon in which mental processing is made slower and less accurate by competing mental processes.






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






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






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






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






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






38. The visual clarity of text - generally based on the size - typeface - contrast - text block - and spacing of the characters used.






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






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






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






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






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






44. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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






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