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






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






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






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






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






6. A process in which similar characteristics evolve independently in multiple systems.






7. Pictures are remembered better than words.






8. 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.






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






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






11. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. 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.






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






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


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






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






42. 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)






43. 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?)






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






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






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






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






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






49. A technique used to teach a desired behavior by reinforcing increasingly accurate approximations of the behavior.






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