EECS 3461: USER INTERFACES
MIDTERM EXAM 2025/2026 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 100% PASS.
What is HCL? - ANS Human Computer Interaction
The study, planning, design of the interaction between people (users) and computers.
Discipline concerned with the design, evaluation, implementation of interactive computing
systems for human use.
What is design? - ANS A plan or conceptual model produced to show the look and function of
a system or product.
What is a user interface? - ANS Digital medium: facilitates interaction between user and
technology
UI design: process of designing the look, feel, and functionality of UI
What is user interaction? - ANS Digital dialog: observable two way exchange of actions and
messages between human and computer
Interface: supporting software and hardware for the two way exchange
What are the 4 interaction types? MICE - ANS Manipulating (select, rotate)
Instructing (print, open)
Conversing (siri, chatgpt)
Exploring (google maps)
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,What is usability? - ANS How well a product's features accomodate users' needs and
contexts.
What is usability? EMULESS - ANS Effectiveness
Memorability
Utility
Learnability
Efficiency
Safety
Satisfaction
What is user experience? - ANS encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with
the company, its services, and its products.
History of Computers - ANS ENIAC (1945)
UNIVAC I (1951)
UNIVAC 2 (1958)
Birth of HCL (Late 1970s)
Xerox Alto (1973)
Apple (1976)
Trinity of personal computing: Commodore PET 2001, Apple 2, TRS 80 (1977)
Applesoft (1978)
Xerox Star, Mac (1980)
What are the common design principles? CAMTECC - ANS Constraint
Affordance
Mapping
Transfer Effect
Causality
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Cultural Idioms
What are constraints? - ANS Limits the perceived potential actions based on object's
appearance. Opposite of affordances
Ex: for managing user input(square peg cannot fit in round hole, red is for stopping)
What are affordances? - ANS Actions suggested by design of the object
Ex: buttons should be pressed
What is mapping? - ANS set of possible relations between objects (between controls and
displays)
action --> result blueprint
Ex: speaker volume wheel, turn right for volume increase, turn left for volume decrease
Transferred Effect - ANS transfer of learning from similar objects to current objects Ex:
typewriter to keyboard
Positive transfer: previous learning is applicable and correct
Negative transfer: previous learning conflicts
Causality - ANS the relationship between cause and effect (everything has a cause)
Ex: button, result is assumed to be because of button
Two principles:
Causal order: cause before order
Continuity: changes are a continuous visible path from cause to effect
Cultural Idioms - ANS Use of commonly known cultural things (red=danger, green=safe)
3 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
MIDTERM EXAM 2025/2026 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 100% PASS.
What is HCL? - ANS Human Computer Interaction
The study, planning, design of the interaction between people (users) and computers.
Discipline concerned with the design, evaluation, implementation of interactive computing
systems for human use.
What is design? - ANS A plan or conceptual model produced to show the look and function of
a system or product.
What is a user interface? - ANS Digital medium: facilitates interaction between user and
technology
UI design: process of designing the look, feel, and functionality of UI
What is user interaction? - ANS Digital dialog: observable two way exchange of actions and
messages between human and computer
Interface: supporting software and hardware for the two way exchange
What are the 4 interaction types? MICE - ANS Manipulating (select, rotate)
Instructing (print, open)
Conversing (siri, chatgpt)
Exploring (google maps)
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,What is usability? - ANS How well a product's features accomodate users' needs and
contexts.
What is usability? EMULESS - ANS Effectiveness
Memorability
Utility
Learnability
Efficiency
Safety
Satisfaction
What is user experience? - ANS encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with
the company, its services, and its products.
History of Computers - ANS ENIAC (1945)
UNIVAC I (1951)
UNIVAC 2 (1958)
Birth of HCL (Late 1970s)
Xerox Alto (1973)
Apple (1976)
Trinity of personal computing: Commodore PET 2001, Apple 2, TRS 80 (1977)
Applesoft (1978)
Xerox Star, Mac (1980)
What are the common design principles? CAMTECC - ANS Constraint
Affordance
Mapping
Transfer Effect
Causality
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Cultural Idioms
What are constraints? - ANS Limits the perceived potential actions based on object's
appearance. Opposite of affordances
Ex: for managing user input(square peg cannot fit in round hole, red is for stopping)
What are affordances? - ANS Actions suggested by design of the object
Ex: buttons should be pressed
What is mapping? - ANS set of possible relations between objects (between controls and
displays)
action --> result blueprint
Ex: speaker volume wheel, turn right for volume increase, turn left for volume decrease
Transferred Effect - ANS transfer of learning from similar objects to current objects Ex:
typewriter to keyboard
Positive transfer: previous learning is applicable and correct
Negative transfer: previous learning conflicts
Causality - ANS the relationship between cause and effect (everything has a cause)
Ex: button, result is assumed to be because of button
Two principles:
Causal order: cause before order
Continuity: changes are a continuous visible path from cause to effect
Cultural Idioms - ANS Use of commonly known cultural things (red=danger, green=safe)
3 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
