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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






19. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






32. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






33. 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?)






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






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






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






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






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






39. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






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






41. 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






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


43. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






49. 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.






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