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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






14. 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.)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. A tendency to interpret shaded or dark areas of an object as shadows resulting from a light source above the object.






23. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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


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






28. 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.






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






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






31. 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.






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






33. 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






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






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






36. Elements that are connected by uniform visual properties - such as color - are perceived to be more related than elements that are not connected.






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






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






39. 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.






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






41. 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.






42. Beauty in design results from purity of function. Interpreted in 2 ways: A description of beauty or a prescription for beauty.






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


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






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






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






47. A state of mental focus so intense that awareness of the 'real' world is lost - generally resulting in a feeling of joy and satisfaction.






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






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






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