HCI Midterm 2025

These are my answers for the HCI midterm exam from last year, found here: Midterm 2025 (Google Drive).

Unless otherwise noted, these are my personal answers and are NOT cross-checked with any other source.

Question 1

  1. D
  2. C
  3. B
  4. C (Source: Quizlet)
  5. C (Source: Quizlet and Lecture 1 Part 2 Slide 30)
  6. C
  7. B
  8. A
  9. D

Question 2

  1. False (instructing note conversing; Source: 469 Ch3 (Quizlet))
  2. True (Slide 43 Lecture 1 Part 2)
  3. False (Slide 45 Lecture 1 Part 2)
  4. True
  5. True
  6. False (Source: CPSC HCI Chapter 2 Quiz 2 (Quizlet))

Question 3

Physical constraints refer to the way physical objects restrict the movement of things.

Example: There is only one way to put a key in a lock

Logical constraints exploits people’s everyday common sense reasoning about the way the world works.

Example: The relationship between the physical layout of a device and the way it works.

Usabililty Goal User Experience Goal
Main Focus Practical & Functional Emotional & Psychological
Key Question “Can the user do it?” “How does the user feel doing it?”
Example of goals
  • Effectivness
  • Efficiency
  • Safety
  • Utility
  • Learnability
  • Memorability
  • Enjoyment
  • Fun
  • Motivation
  • Satisfaction
  • Aestheitcally Pleasing
  • Emotionally Fullfilling

Internal consistency refers to designing operations to behave the same within an application.

Example: Using the same font and color at different pages in a website

External consistency refers to designing operations, interfaces, etc., to be the same across applications and devices.

Example: Using shared widgets (buttons, menus, textbox) across all apps in Android application

Question 4

The main difference is that design B includes only the necessary elements. This makes design B better.

The reason is that design A is full of clutter. The existence of unnecessary elements in design A increases the cognitive load on the user, leading to slower interactions. Design B is superior because it doesn’t bog the user’s attention with unnecessary elements.

Effectiviness