Exam 2 Question Pool

Questions on the exam may differ in wording, format, etc. but core concepts exercised with remain the same. Exam format will be announced at a later time.

RSME

• Summarize DIY usability testing. How do you recruit people? How do you decide what application features to test? How is it performed/administered?

Chapter 1

• What is “usability testing”?
• According to RSME, why does DIY usability testing work?
• What are the advantages of usability testing?

Chapter 3

• What are the guidelines for scheduling usability testing?

Chapter 4

• How much progress must be made before you can start usability testing?

Chapter 5

• What should be considered when trying to recruit participants with domain knowledge?
• How should issues discovered during the DIY usability testing be handled?

Chapter 10

• Describe how to run a debriefing meeting after the DIY usability testing?

• T/F Do-it-yourself testing is a low-cost, quantitative testing method to improve the software you are building.
• T/F Do-it-yourself is recommended to be done at least twice a month with three participants.
• T/F You need to wait until you have a functioning prototype before you can starting usability testing.
• T/F When fixing a usability problem, you should focus on doing the minimal change required to fix the problem.
• T/F When recruiting test participants, you need to ensure your participants are representative of your target audience.

DWTMIM

Chapter 1

• What things are cited in DWTMIM that biases of our perception?
• Explain three ways to minimize perception bias in user-interface design?

Chapter 2

• List an describe in one sentence each, the seven Gestalt Principles.
• Give an example of how you might use each of the seven Gestalt Principles in the context of an interface design.

Chapter 4

• What are the design factors that determine our ability to discriminate colors?
• What are the 5 guidelines for using color?

Chapter 5

• What are the three functions of the visual periphery?
  • What are uses of our peripheral vision? (Duplicate)
• What are the four common methods for making messages visible to your users?
• What are three heavy weight approaches to getting the user’s attention for messages? Other than potentially annoying users, why should they be used sparingly?
• What is the region of the human eye that has the highest resolution?

Chapter 6

• What are the 6 text presentation issues that disrupt reading?
• Explain feature-driven and context-driven reading.

Chapter 7

• What are three weaknesses of long term memory?

Chapter 8

• As users work through tasks, what stages should be supported by the user interface?
• Once a task is accomplished, it is very easy to forget “cleanup” steps. What are two ways we can alleviate this issue? Explain?
• Define inattentional and change blindness and discuss how we might design to accomodate these psychological phenomena.

Chapter 9

• What is the difference between recall and recogition?
• From a physiological perspective, what are memories?
• What are two ways memories are activated? (Section: Recognition is Easy)
• From a design perspective, what are 6 ways to help limit the amount of recall necessary for users? (Section: Implications for User-Interface Design)
• What are the interface design impliciations related to recall and recognition?

Chapter 10

• Explain the difference between system 1 and system 2.
• Describe three chracteristics of our System One brain.
• What are the eight design rules to help minimize the amount attention required from a user?
• Describe four issues with learning from experience.

Chapter 11

• What are the four primary factors that help people learn to use interactive systems faster?

Chapter 13

• Explain Fitts’ Law in the context of user interface design and provide at least one example.
• Explain the Steering Law in the context of user interface design and provide at least one example.

Chapter 14

• Explain the difference between performance and reponsiveness.
• How long does a system have to complete a user’s request or indicate how long it will take?
• How long does a system have to indicate a response to a user action?

• What is the most important factor in user satisfaction with a software application?

• T/F Your perception is a passive process that filters information that comes to you.
• T/F Human vision is optimized color brightness.
• T/F The human visual system contains has a tight matrix of photoreceptive cells spread uniformly across the interior of each eye.
• T/F Pop-up messages, sounds, and animations are the best design choices for indicating errors.
• T/F To help with abiguiuty, provide a user with detailed and descriptive text on the interface with instructions.
• T/F Providing operating modes for your software is a great way to limit the amount of controls and thus confusion with the interface.
• T/F Navigational hierarchies for menus or content provide an efficent means of traversal only if they are broad and shallow.
• T/F According to DWTMIM, our brains have three main parts.