CS488: Take Home Assignment #1

Due: before the start of class, Tuesday, October 3rd
Submit via e-mail to hmkabir@yahoo.com (with a cc to mohammad_hossain@ndsu.nodak.edu)

Answer the following questions (hint: 1 pt questions usually call for 1-2 word answers):

  1. (5 pts) What can design principles help clarify?

  2. (6 pts) What should you do when you find out that you can't design in accordance with all of the principles all of the time?

  3. (6 pts) Define metaphor

  4. (7 pts) Why is using metaphor an important design principle?

  5. (5 pts) Give an example of Direct Manipulation (other than a file or folder icon being dragged across the desktop)

  6. (1 pt) What, when used sparingly, is one of the best ways to show a user that a requested action is being carried out?

  7. (10 pts) How is selecting an item and then choosing an action on a menu similar to dragging one icon onto another icon?

  8. (5 pts) What is the most difficult kind of consistency to achieve?

  9. (6 pts) Why use menus?

  10. (5 pts) When do people learn best?

  11. (6 pts) What should you do when your application can't respond to user input because it's processing a different task?

  12. (5 pts) What does forgiveness mean?

  13. (5 pts) What is aesthetic integrity?

  14. (5 pts) Assuming an application uses modes, give a good example of a clear visual indicator of the current mode.

  15. (5 pts) What two things are among the most important first steps when you start designing product?

  16. (1 pt) Should you involve users throughout the design process and observe them working in their environment?

  17. (5 pts) How do you make your application accessible to people around the world?

  18. (8 pts) List four (4) cultural icons to avoid in an application interface hosted on the web.

  19. (1 pt) When you create dialog box items, should their display rectangles be the same size?

  20. (5 pts) What does universal access mean?

  21. (6 pts) What should you be careful not to do when designing for a wide range of abilities in your target audience?

  22. (6 pts) How can you accommodate most people's physical needs in software or hardware?

  23. (5 pts) Should you use only color coding to convey important information? If not, what?

  24. (5 pts) What is collaborative computing?

  25. (1 pt) Should interacting with remote resources be as simple as using local resources?

  26. (5 pts) What is feature cascade?

  27. (5 pts) What will help you find the 80 percent solution?

  28. (1 pt) What is good design?

  29. (5 pts) What is progressive disclosure?

  30. (1 pt) Is it best to keep all controls visible at all times?

  31. (5 pts) What should a preference be?

  32. (6 pts) What do visual cues do?

  33. (5 pts) What happens when interface elements behave differently in different situations?

  34. (5 pts) What is the first step in involving users in your design process?

  35. (5 pts) What is the second step in involving users in your design process?

  36. (5 pts) Name two techniques for prototyping.

  37. (6 pts) What sort of data do you get from user interventions?

  38. (5 pts) What sort of equipment is used for a user observation?

  39. (6 pts) What is the most valuable information you can gain from user observation?

  40. (6 pts) What, if you see a participant struggling or making mistakes, should you attribute this to?

Total: 196 points