Systems Analysis and Design, 9e (Kendall/Kendall)

Chapter 14 Human-Computer Interaction

14.1 Multiple Choice

1) To reach HCI goals, managers and developers need to be knowledgeable about the interplay
among:
A) users.
B) tasks.
C) the environments in which systems are used.
D) All of the above.
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 399

2) In HCI, well-being means concern for the human's:

A) physical state, such as comfort, safety, and health.
B) physical and psychological state.
C) psychological state, such as system acceptance, technology-stress, and software frustration.
D) physical environment, such as keyboard ergonomics and lighting.
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 399

3) Which of the following is not covered by usability standards?

A) the physical environment (work area, lighting)
B) the user interface and interaction
C) the capability of an organization to apply user-centered design
D) the process used to develop the product
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 400

4) Usability heuristics include which of the following?

A) user restrictions and limitations, including activity monitoring
B) recall rather than reconnection
C) the match between the system and the real world
D) diagnosis and recovery from disasters
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 400

5) Which of the following allow users to arrange data in any way they choose?
A) pivot tables
B) parameter queries
C) natural language queries
D) indirect manipulation interface
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 400

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6) Which of the following is not a physical consideration in HCI design?
A) vision
B) hearing
C) touch
D) smell
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 404

7) Which of the following is a guideline for the HCI approach to system design?
A) Design with prototyping to accommodate the average employee, considering that all
employees will receive the same training.
B) Examine the software used and consider the fit between the human and the computer.
C) Identify what obstacles exist for users in their attempts to accomplish their assigned tasks.
D) Examine the actual usefulness and perceived usefulness from post-implementation evaluation
surveys.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 406

8) Which is not an objective of designing interfaces?

A) matching the user interface to the task
B) making the user interface efficient
C) generating usable queries
D) appropriate feedback to the interface from users
E) improving productivity
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 407

9) Which of the following types of interface is the ideal for inexperienced users, requiring no
special skills?
A) dialog box
B) natural language
C) command
D) question and answer
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 408

10) Which is a type of question/answer interface?

A) dialog box
B) natural language
C) menu
D) summary
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 408

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11) Which is not a characteristic of a menu interface?
A) It provides the user with an onscreen list of available selections.
B) A user is limited to the options displayed.
C) The user need not know what task should be accomplished, but does need to know the
system.
D) To be properly utilized, menu users must know which task they desire.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 408

12) Which is not an advantage of nested menus?

A) They allow the screen to appear more cluttered.
B) They provide good screen design.
C) They allow users to avoid seeing menu options in which they have no interest.
D) They can move users quickly through the program.
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 408

13) Which is not a guideline used when designing GUI menus?

A) The main menu bar is always displayed.
B) The main menu should have secondary options grouped into similar sets of features.
C) Menu items that are unavailable at this time should be grayed out to signify that they cannot
be used at this time.
D) The menus that display when a main menu item is clicked must consist of only one word.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 408

14) User interfaces include all except:

A) natural-language interfaces.
B) indirect manipulation interface.
C) question-and-answer interfaces.
D) menu interfaces.
E) form-fill interface.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 408

15) A small message that appears when the cursor is placed over a command button to identify
its function is called:
A) a hypertext link.
B) a shortcut keystroke.
C) a context sensitive menu.
D) tool tip help.
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 412

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16) A menu that appears when an object is clicked with the right mouse button is called:
A) a hypertext link.
B) a shortcut keystroke.
C) a context sensitive menu.
D) tool-tip help.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 413

17) Which of the following helps to achieve the goal of minimal user action?
A) Only enter data that are not already stored on files.
B) Use appropriate default values on screens.
C) Provide keystrokes for selecting pull-down menu options.
D) All of the above.
E) A and C above.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 413

18) Which of the following is not a way to use a default value?

A) A menu option is pulled down when the form first displays.
B) An input field contains text when the form first displays.
C) A radio button is selected when the form first displays.
D) A check box is checked when the form first displays.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 413

19) Which of the following helps to achieve the goal of standard operation and consistency?
A) Use the same icons for all programs regardless of their function.
B) Cancel a transaction in a consistent way.
C) Change the background color as the user moves from screen to screen in a consistent manner.
D) When using different keys to obtain help from screen to screen within a system, provide the
location of the help key message in a consistent line on the screen.
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 414

20) Context sensitive help means providing help:

A) on a sensitive corporate issue.
B) in a specific context about a corporate issue.
C) about the current screen or area of the screen.
D) about text that is linked to other text screens.
E) on sensitive user personal problems.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 417

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21) Which feedback is needed to let the user know that the computer is unable to complete a
request?
A) explaining a delay in processing
B) acknowledging that a request is completed
C) notifying that a request was not completed
D) offering the user more detailed feedback
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 417

22) The query method that uses a series of keywords and commands to select the rows and
columns for a query is called:
A) a parameter query.
B) SQL.
C) QBE.
D) query design grid.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 426

23) The overarching goal of ________ is to achieve both organizational and individual user
effectiveness and efficiency.
A) human-computer interaction
B) performance
C) Structured Query Language (SQL)
D) feedback
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 399

24) It is important that the fit among the ________, ________ and ________ all correspond.
A) user; computer; task
B) user; display; task
C) designer; computer; task
D) user; display; feedback
Answer: A
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 399

25) ________ in HCI refers to a combination of the efficiency involved in performing a task and
the quality of the work that is produced by the task.
A) Performance
B) Fit
C) Task
D) Well-being
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 399

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26) How users feel about themselves, their identities, their work life, and performance can all be
gauged through assessing their ________.
A) attitudes
B) well-being
C) usability
D) fit
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 400

27) One important consideration is that data are made available in different forms so that users
with different ________ abilities can make sense of them.
A) technological
B) behavioral
C) psychological
D) cognitive
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 400

28) ________ allow users to arrange data in a table in any way they choose.
A) Pivot tables
B) Databases
C) Menus
D) Display screens
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 401

29) As a designer, you are constantly examining the fit between the ________, the ________,
and the ________ set by the organization.
A) human; computer; tasks
B) human; display; tasks
C) designer; computer; tasks
D) human; display; feedback
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 405

30) When designing from an HCI perspective, you start realizing that limitations are often
discussed in terms of ________.
A) disabilities
B) talents
C) skills
D) beliefs
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 405

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31) Designers need to think about the ________ before programming a gesture simply because it
exists.
A) look and feel
B) query
C) alert
D) metaphor
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 411

32) ________ are for critical information that the user needs to know in a timely manner.
A) Badges
B) Alerts
C) Queries
D) Notices
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 411

33) Which query type is used to find the value of an entity based on an entity's attribute?
A) Query Type 1
B) Query Type 2
C) Query Type 3
D) Query Type 4
Answer: A
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 422

14.2 True/False

1) The over arching goal of human-computer interaction is to achieve efficiency.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 399

2) It is important that the fit among the user, computer, and task all correspond.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 399

3) Better fit results in greater efficiency but many times more stress for the human involved in
the system.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 399

4) One important consideration is that data are made available in a single form so that users can
make sense of them.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 400

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5) A pivot table is useful because it gives users greater control over how they look at data in
different ways within a table.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 400

6) From an HCI perspective, the analyst should think in terms of limitations on human vision.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 404

7) When designing from an HCI perspective, you start realizing that limitations are often
discussed in terms of cost.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 405

8) The foremost concern when designing from an HCI perspective will always be assisting a user
in using technology.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 406

9) To most users, the interface is the system.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 407

10) To be properly utilized, the menu user must know which task he/she desires.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 408

11) Menus can be nested within one another to lead a user through options in a program.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 408

12) A disadvantage of nested menus is that they require users to consider menus in which they
have no interest.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 408

13) An ecommerce site should only provide feedback to users.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 417

14) The standard type of navigational approach used for ecommerce is called "one-click."
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 419

15) An Internet site map is used to improve navigational efficiency.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 420

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16) A Boolean expression may link conditions using AND and OR operators.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 423

17) SQL uses a grid to select query records.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 426

18) QBE uses a series of keywords and commands to select the rows and columns for a query.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 426

19) The foremost concern when designing from an HCI perspective will always be assisting a
user in accomplishing a task, set by the organization, with the use of technology.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 406

20) No special skills are required of the user who interfaces with the computer using natural
language.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 408

21) A question-and-answer interface provides the user with an onscreen list of available
selections.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 408

22) Nested menus allow users to avoid seeing menu options in which they have no interest.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 408

23) Feedback is the communication between the computer and a person.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 412

24) A hyperlink is a text field that may be selected with a mouse to display additional related
text.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 412

25) Tool tip help displays a small message identifying the function of a command button.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 412

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26) A derived value is used when the user enters the same data value for a screen field most of
the time.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 413

27) An application programming interface is a set of small programs and protocols used like
building blocks for building software applications.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 421

28) When two or more APIs are used together they form a GUI.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 421

29) Each query involves three items: an entity, an attribute, and a value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 421

30) Structured Query Language (SQL) uses a grid to select query records.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 424

31) Query by example uses a series of keywords and commands to select the rows and columns
for a query.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 426

32) A query type 4 is similar to query type 1, except that the values of all attributes are desired.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 422

33) The intent of a query type 2 is to find an entity or entities when an attribute and value are
given.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 422

34) The purpose of a query type 3 is to determine which attributes fit the description provided
when the entity and value are given.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 422

35) Using Structured Query Language (SQL) is easy for anyone to do since there are no words or
commands needed.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 426

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36) An example of a multitouch gesture is enlarging a photo on a tablet by flicking your fingers
outward.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 410

37) Each app on a tablet should have their own gestures that do not relate to the gestures of other
apps. This will make it easier for the user to interface with the device.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 410

38) Smartphone alerts are used as an unobtrusive way to send a message to the user.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 411

39) A system should clearly present information to the user by having an appropriate title for
each display, minimizing the use of abbreviations, and providing clear user feedback.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 412

40) Many GUIs incorporate tool tip help, displaying a small help message identifying the
function of a command button when the cursor is placed over it.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 412

14.3 Short Answer

1) Define HCI. What is performance in the HCI context?

Answer: HCI is a way of ensuring system functionality and usability, providing effective user
interaction support, and enhancing a pleasant user experience. In this case, the term performance
refers to a combination of the efficiency involved in performing a task and the quality of the
work that is produced by the task.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 399

2) List three physical considerations that HCI design addresses.

Answer: Vision, hearing and touch are the three physical considerations that HCI design
addresses.
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 404

3) List three ways to notify a Web user that the input is not in the correct form.
Answer: When data are incorrect, the system can generate a window that briefly describes the
problem, display a text message on the page that is large enough to be seen or make a beeping
sound to indicate an error.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 415

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4) What are the seven situations that require feedback for users?
Answer:
1. Acknowledging acceptance of input
2. Recognizing that input is in the correct form
3. Notifying that input is not in the correct form
4. Explaining a delay in processing
5. Acknowledging that a request is completed
6. Notifying that a request was not completed
7. Offering the user more detailed feedback
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 415

5) List five of the eight ways to minimize user action when keying in data.
Answer:
1. Key codes, such as airport codes when making a flight reservation, instead of whole words
on entry screens.
2. Enter only data that are not already stored on files.
3. Supply the editing characters (for example, slashes as date field separators).
4. Use default values for fields on entry screens.
5. Design an inquiry (or change or delete) program so that the user needs to enter only
the first few characters of a name or item description.
6. Provide keystrokes for selecting pull-down menu options.
7. Use radio buttons and drop-down lists to control displays of new Web pages or to
change Web forms.
8. Provide cursor control for Web forms and other displays so that the cursor moves
to the next field when the right number of characters has been entered.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 413

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