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






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






3. 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.






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






27. 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.






28. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






36. 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.






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






44. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






49. The designs that help people perform optimally are often not the same as the designs that people find most desirable.






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