Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

33

Chapter 13
Designing Forms and Reports
True-False Questions
1.

In general, forms are used to present or collect information on a single item.

Answer: True

2.

Reference: p. 434

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 435

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 435

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 436

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 436

Designing usable forms and reports requires your active interaction with users.
Answer: True

11.

Difficulty: Med

Structure charts, flowcharts, and dialogue diagrams are the major deliverables for the designing forms
and reports stage.
Answer: False

10.

Reference: p. 434

The major deliverables from the designing forms and reports stage are logic models.
Answer: False

9.

Difficulty: Med

Often, the initial prototypes of forms and reports are mock screens that are not working modules or
systems.
Answer: True

8.

Reference: p. 434

When preparing an initial prototype of a form or report, the structuring and refinement of the
requirements requires much input from the end users.
Answer: False

7.

Difficulty: Med

On the Internet, form interaction is the standard method of gathering and displaying information when
consumers order products, request product information, or query account status.
Answer: True

6.

Reference: p. 434

Invoices and mailing labels are examples of forms.

Answer: False

5.

Difficulty: Med

The data on all forms and reports must consist of data elements in data stores and on the E-R data
model for the application or else be computed from these data elements.
Answer: True

4.

Reference: p. 432

The contents of a form or report correspond to the data elements contained in an associated data flow
located on a data flow diagram.
Answer: True

3.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 439

The purpose of the testing and usability assessment section of a form design specification is to explain
to those who will actually develop the final form why this form exists and how it will be used.

34

Designing Forms and Reports

Answer: False
12.

Reference: p. 441

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 441

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 442

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 442

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 443

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 443

The guidelines for displaying text include case, spacing, and justification guidelines.
Answer: True

23.

Difficulty: Med

Where possible, text should appear in all upper case on forms.

Answer: False

22.

Reference: p. 441

In business-related systems, textual output is becoming less important as the text-based applications
that use these systems are slowly disappearing.
Answer: False

21.

Difficulty: Med

Generally speaking, highlighting methods appear the same on all output devices.
Answer: False

20.

Reference: p. 441

Highlighting methods should be consistently selected and used based upon the level of importance of
the emphasized information.
Answer: True

19.

Difficulty: Med

Color, intensity, and size differences are methods of highlighting.

Answer: True

18.

Reference: p. 440

Form designers should use highlighting as often as possible to distinguish the different categories of
data.
Answer: False

17.

Difficulty: Easy

Highlighting should be used as often as possible to draw the user away from or to certain information.
Answer: False

16.

Reference: p. 439

Highlighting techniques can be used singularly or in combination, depending upon the level of
emphasis desired by the designer.
Answer: True

15.

Difficulty: Med

Gaining an understanding of the skills of the intended system users and the tasks they will be
performing is invaluable when constructing a form or report.
Answer: True

14.

Reference: p. 437

Notifying the user on the last page of a multipaged sequence is a guideline for designing forms and
reports.
Answer: True

13.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 443

When designing textual output, the texts case should be displayed in mixed upper and lower case.
Answer: True

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 443

Chapter 13

24.

Designing Forms and Reports

When designing textual output, you should use single spacing wherever possible.
Answer: False

25.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 445

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 445

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 445

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

When selecting tables versus graphs, you should use tables to forecast activities.
Answer: False

36.

Reference: p. 443

When selecting tables versus graphs, you should use graphs for detecting trends over time.
Answer: True

35.

Difficulty: Med

When selecting tables versus graphs, you should use graphs for reading individual values.
Answer: False

34.

Reference: p. 443

Tables are very beneficial for analyzing data changes over time.
Answer: False

33.

Difficulty: Med

When displaying tables and lists, you should break long sequences of alphanumeric data into small
groups of three to four characters each.
Answer: True

32.

Reference: p. 443

When displaying tables and lists, you should right-justify numeric data and align columns by decimal
points or other delimiters.
Answer: True

31.

Difficulty: Med

The context and meaning of tables and lists are significantly derived from the format of the
information.
Answer: True

30.

Reference: p. 443

When using color, printing or conversion to other media, may not easily translate.
Answer: True

29.

Difficulty: Med

When displaying textual information, use abbreviations and acronyms as often as possible.
Answer: False

28.

Reference: p. 443

When designing textual output, both the left and right margins should appear justified.
Answer: False

27.

Difficulty: Med

When designing textual output, you should hyphenate words between lines.
Answer: False

26.

35

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

When selecting tables versus graphs, you should use tables to provide a quick summary of data.
Answer: False

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

36

Designing Forms and Reports

37.

One of the primary advantages of impact printers is their ability to exactly replicate a screen report on
paper.
Answer: False

38.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 450

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 451

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

Difficulty: Hard

Reference: p. 452

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

To avoid outdated information on your web site, you should make sure your site is continuously
updated so that users feel that the site is regularly maintained and updated.
Answer: True

48.

Reference: p. 449

Nonstandard colors confuse the user and reduce ease of use.

Answer: True

47.

Difficulty: Hard

To avoid the nonstandard use of GUI widgets, make sure that users do not need the latest browsers or
plug-ins to view your web site.
Answer: False

46.

Reference: p. 449

When designing the layout of Web pages, you should avoid using bleeding-edge technology.
Answer: True

45.

Difficulty: Easy

When designing the forms and reports for an Internet-based electronic commerce application, a
prototyping design process is most appropriate.
Answer: True

44.

Reference: p. 449

When designing forms and reports, issues related to a users experience, skills, motivation, education,
and personality should not be considered.
Answer: False

43.

Difficulty: Med

Referencing the general design guidelines for form and report usability, the ease usability factor means
that information should be viewed and retrieved in a manner most convenient to the user.
Answer: False

42.

Reference: p. 449

Referencing form and report usability, special symbols, such as decimal places, dollar signs and +/signs should be used as appropriate.
Answer: True

41.

Difficulty: Med

Referencing form and report usability, the consistency guideline means that formatting should be
designed with an understanding of the task being performed and the intended user.
Answer: False

40.

Reference: p. 449

Reliability is an overall evaluation of how a system performs in supporting a particular user for a
particular task.
Answer: False

39.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

Fixed-formatted text processing refers to the use of small simple images to allow a Web page to more
quickly be displayed.

Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

Answer: False
49.

Reference: p. 452

XML icons are templates that display and process common attributes of higher-level, more abstract
items.
Answer: False

50.

Difficulty: Med

37

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 453

One key to designing quality business processes is the delivery of the right information to the right
people, in the right format, at the right time.
Answer: True

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 453

Multiple Choice Questions

51.

Presenting or collecting information on a single item is the purpose of a:

a.
b.
c.
d.

diagram
form
report
none of the above

Answer: b
52.

Reference: p. 432

The type of document that is used to convey information on a collection of items is a:

a.
b.
c.
d.

report
diagram
letter
form

Answer: a
53.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 432

Which of the following is not a true statement?

a.

Forms and reports are integrally related to various diagrams developed during requirements
structuring.
b. Every input form will be associated with a data flow leaving a process on a DFD.
c. The contents of a form or report correspond to the data elements contained in an associated data
flow.
d. The data on all forms and reports must be data elements in data stores and on the E-R data model
for the application, or must be computed from these data elements.
Answer: b
54.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 434

A class registration sheet is an example of a:

a.
b.
c.
d.

report
diagram
memo
form

Answer: d

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 434

38

Designing Forms and Reports

55.

Which of the following is not a true statement concerning forms?

a.
b.
c.
d.

Most forms have a stylized format and are usually not in a simple row and column format.
Forms may be displayed on a video display and may be used for data display or data entry.
Forms are used to convey information on a collection of items.
Every output form will be a data flow produced by a process on a DFD.

Answer: c
56.

report
diagram
memo
form

Answer: d

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 434

A passive document that contains only predefined data best describes a:

a.
b.
c.
d.

report
diagram
form
none of the above

Answer: a
58.

Reference: p. 434

A business document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas where additional
data are to be filled in best describes a:
a.
b.
c.
d.

57.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 434

Which of the following is a true statement?

a. An employee application is an example of a report.
b. Reports are only for reading and often contain data about multiple unrelated records in a computer
file.
c. Reports are used to convey information on a single item.
d. Generally, reports are only printed on paper.
Answer: b

59.

Reference: p. 434

A pie chart of population by age categories is an example of:

a.
b.
c.
d.

a statistical chart
a report
a form
regression analysis

Answer: b
60.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 434

Which of the following is a report?

a.
b.
c.
d.

employment application
class registration sheet
product order form
invoice

Answer: d

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 434

Chapter 13

61.

Designing Forms and Reports

39

When designing forms and reports, the first activity is to:

a.

gain an understanding of the intended user and task objectives by collecting initial requirements
during requirements determination
b. structure and refine the requirements independent from the users
c. ask users to review and refine prototypes of the form or report
d. structure and refine the requirements with the users
Answer: a
62.

Who will use the form or report?

What is the purpose of the form or report?
Where does the form or report need to be delivered and used?
all of the above

Answer: d

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 435

The focus placed on forms and reports during logical design is on:
a.
b.
c.
d.

the content and layout design of the forms and reports

identifying how specific forms or reports should be implemented
identifying the content, layout design, and implementation method
none of the above

Answer: a
64.

Reference: p. 434

Which of the following is a fundamental question to ask when designing forms and reports?
a.
b.
c.
d.

63.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 435

In the case of designing forms and reports, the major deliverables are:
a. the design specifications
b. an updated baseline project plan and updated statement of work
c. entity-relationship diagrams
d. the implemented forms and reports
Answer: a

65.

Reference: pp. 436-437

Which of the following is a design specification section?

a.
b.
c.
d.

management issues
system description
testing and usability assessment
feasibility assessment

Answer: c
66.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 437

The section of a design specification that explains to those who will actually develop the final form
why this form exists and how it will be used is called:
a.
b.
c.
d.

testing and usability assessment

rationale and benefit
narrative overview
usage and application

Answer: c

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 437

40

Designing Forms and Reports

67.

If a form is delivered on a visual display terminal, which design specification section would describe
the capabilities of this device?
a.
b.
c.
d.

sample design
narrative overview
testing and usability
management issues

Answer: b
68.

meaningful titles
meaningful information
balanced layout
easy navigation

Answer: c

Reference: p. 439

meaningful titles
meaningful information
balanced layout
easy navigation

Answer: a

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 439

All of the following are general guidelines for the design of forms and reports except:
a.
b.
c.
d.

meaningful titles should be used

extraneous information should be used to provide additional information as needed
the user should be able to navigate easily through the document
the layout should be balanced

Answer: b
71.

Difficulty: Med

Providing a valid date (or time) that identifies when the data in the form or report were accurate refers
to the general guideline of:
a.
b.
c.
d.

70.

Reference: p. 437

Clearly labeling all data and entry fields refers to the general guideline of:
a.
b.
c.
d.

69.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 439

In general, highlighting:
a. should not be used to warn users of errors in data entry or processing
b. should not be used to provide warnings to users regarding possible problems such as unusual data
values
c. should not be used in tandem
d. should be used sparingly to draw the user to or away from certain information and to group
together related information
Answer: d

72.

Difficulty: Med

Which of the following is a highlighting method?

a.
b.
c.
d.

using all capital letters

using different fonts
underlining
all of the above

Reference: p. 441

Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

Answer: d
73.

Difficulty: Easy

41

Reference: p. 441

Research conducted on highlighting suggests:

a. highlighting should be used conservatively
b. highlighting methods should be consistently used and selected based on the level of importance of
the emphasized information
c. blinking and audible tones should only be used to highlight critical information that requires an
immediate response from the user
d. all of the above are correct
Answer: d

74.

printing or conversion to other media may not easily translate

evokes more emotional reactions
resolution may degrade with different displays
color pairings may washout or cause problems for some users

Answer: b

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 443

Which of the following is not a benefit of using color?

a.
b.
c.
d.

soothes or strikes the eye

facilitates subtle discriminations in complex displays
evokes more emotional reactions
printing or conversion to other media may not easily translate

Answer: d
76.

Reference: p. 441

All of the following are problems with using color except:

a.
b.
c.
d.

75.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 443

Research conducted on the usage of color found that:

a.

color had positive effects on user task performance and perceptions when the user was under time
constraints for the completion of a task
b. color is universally better than no color
c. the benefits of color are apparent regardless of the presentation format of the information
d. limiting the number and amount of color is not a good idea
Answer: a
77.

Reference: p. 443

When displaying text, a person should:

a.
b.
c.
d.

right justify text

hyphenate words between lines
use double spacing if space permits
use obscure abbreviations and acronyms

Answer: c
78.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 443

Which of the following statements is not true?

a.

The context and meaning of tables and lists are significantly derived from the format of the
information.
b. The usability of information displayed in tables and alphanumeric lists is likely to be much more
influenced by effective layout than most other types of information.

42

Designing Forms and Reports

c. Place a blank line between every ten rows in long columns.

d. Use a single type face, except for emphasis.
Answer: c
79.

providing meaningful labels for all columns and rows

allowing white space on printed reports for users to write notes
breaking long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to four characters each
all of the above

Answer: d

Reference: p. 445

comparing points and patterns of different variables

forecasting activities
reading individual data values
detecting trends over time

Answer: c

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

Graphs should be used instead of tables for all of the following except:
a.
b.
c.
d.

comparing points and patterns of different variables

forecasting activities
reading individual data values
detecting trends over time

Answer: c
82.

Difficulty: Med

Tables should be used instead of graphs when the user will be:
a.
b.
c.
d.

81.

Reference: p. 445

The general guidelines for displaying tables and lists include:

a.
b.
c.
d.

80.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 447

Which of the following is not a true statement?

a.

Tables are best when the users task is related to finding an individual data value from a larger data
set.
b. Line and bar graphs are more appropriate for gaining an understanding of data changes over time.
c. Providing sufficient white space often entails printing a report in portrait rather than the landscape
orientation.
d. The key determination as to when you should select a table or a graph is the task being performed
by the user.
Answer: c
83.

Reference: pp. 447-448

All of the following are usability characteristics except:

a.
b.
c.
d.

satisfaction
completeness
speed
accuracy

Answer: b
84.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 449

An overall evaluation of how a system performs for supporting a particular user for a particular task
refers to:

Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

a.
b.
c.
d.

usability
testing
quality check
feasibility assessment

Answer: a
85.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 449

The general design guideline stating that outputs should be self-explanatory and not require users to
remember information from prior outputs in order to complete tasks is:
a.
b.
c.
d.

efficiency
ease
flexibility
format

Answer: b

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 449

The general design guideline stating that formatting should be designed with an understanding of the
task being performed and the intended user refers to:
a.
b.
c.
d.

efficiency
ease
flexibility
format

Answer: a
88.

Reference: p. 449

efficiency
ease
flexibility
format

Answer: c

87.

Difficulty: Med

The general design guideline stating that information should be viewed and retrieved in a manner most
convenient to the user is:
a.
b.
c.
d.

86.

43

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 449

When designing forms and reports, the user characteristic addresses:

a. issues related to experience, skills, motivation, education, and personality
b. social issues such as the users status and role, lighting, sound, task interruptions, temperature, and
humidity
c. job activities that differ in the amount of information that must be obtained from or provided to
the user
d. the platform in which the system is constructed, influencing interaction styles and devices
Answer: a

89.

Difficulty: Hard

Reference: p. 450

When designing forms and reports, the task characteristic addresses:

a. issues related to experience, skills, motivation, education, and personality
b. social issues such as the users status and role, lighting, sound, task interruptions, temperature, and
humidity
c. activities that differ in the amount of information that must be obtained from or provided to the
user
d. the platform in which the system is constructed influencing interaction styles and devices

44

Designing Forms and Reports

Answer: c
90.

Difficulty: Hard

Reference: p. 450

When designing forms and reports, the environment characteristic addresses:

a. issues related to experience, skills, motivation, education, and personality
b. social issues such as the users status and role, lighting, sound, task interruptions, temperature, and
humidity
c. job activities that differ in the amount of information that must be obtained from or provided to
the user
d. the platform in which the system is constructed influencing interaction styles and devices
Answer: b

91.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 450

When designing forms and reports, the system characteristic addresses:

a. issues related to experience, skills, motivation, education, and personality
b. social issues such as the users status and role, lighting, sound, task interruptions, temperature, and
humidity
c. job activities that differ in the amount of information that must be obtained from or provided to
the user
d. the platform in which the system is constructed influencing interaction styles and devices
Answer: d

92.

subjective satisfaction
speed of performance
rate of errors
all of the above

Answer: d

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 450

To assess usability, information can be collected by:

a.
b.
c.
d.

observation
interviews
keystroke capturing
all of the above

Answer: d
94.

Reference: p. 450

Which of the following are methods used for assessing usability?

a.
b.
c.
d.

93.

Difficulty: Med

Difficulty: Easy

Reference: p. 450

When designing Web pages, which of the following is the recommendation for avoiding nonstandard
use of GUI Widgets?
a.

avoid using large images, lots of images, unnecessary animations, or other time-consuming
content
b. avoid scrolling text and animations since they are both hard to read and users often equate such
content as advertising
c. make sure that users do not need the latest browsers or plug-ins to view your site
d. make sure that when using standard design items, that they behave in accordance to major
interface design standards
Answer: d

Difficulty: Hard

Reference: p. 452

Chapter 13

95.

Designing Forms and Reports

45

When designing Web pages, which of the following is the recommendation for avoiding bleeding-edge
technology?
a.

avoid using large images, lots of images, unnecessary animations, or other time-consuming
content
b. avoid scrolling text and animations since they are both hard to read and users often equate such
content as advertising
c. make sure that users do not need the latest browsers or plug-ins to view your site
d. make sure you avoid designing any legitimate information in a manner that resembles advertising
Answer: c
96.

Difficulty: Hard

Reference: p. 452

When designing Web pages, which of the following is the recommendation for the displaying long
lists as long pages error?
a.

avoid using large images, lots of images, unnecessary animations, or other time-consuming
content
b. show only N items at a time, use multiple pages, or use a scrolling container within the window
c. make sure that users do not need the latest browsers or plug-ins to view your site
d. make sure you avoid designing any legitimate information in a manner that resembles advertising
Answer: b
97.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

When designing Web pages, which of the following is the recommendation for avoiding anything that
looks like advertising?
a.

avoid using large images, lots of images, unnecessary animations, or other time-consuming
content
b. avoid scrolling text and animations since they are both hard to read and users often equate such
content as advertising
c. make sure that users do not need the latest browsers or plug-ins to view your site
d. make sure you avoid designing any legitimate information in a manner that resembles advertising
Answer: d
98.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

When designing Web pages, which of the following is the recommendation for avoiding slow
download times?
a.

avoid using large images, lots of images, unnecessary animations, or other time-consuming
content
b. avoid scrolling text and animations since they are both hard to read and users often equate such
content as advertising
c. make sure that users do not need the latest browsers or plug-ins to view your site
d. make sure you avoid designing any legitimate information in a manner that resembles advertising
Answer: a
99.

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

The use of small simple images to allow a Web page to be displayed more quickly best describes:
a.
b.
c.
d.

icons
lightweight graphics
cookie crumbs
MPEG files

Answer: b

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 452

46

Designing Forms and Reports

100.

Templates used to display and process common attributes of a higher-level and more abstract items
best describes:
a.
b.
c.
d.

object-oriented templates
CGI scripts
Java
template-based HTML

Answer: d

Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 453

Fill In the Blanks

101.

A form is a business document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas where
additional data are to be filled in.
Difficulty: Easy

102.

A report is a business document that contains only predefined data; it is a passive document used only
for reading or viewing.
Difficulty: Easy

103.

Reference: p. 443

Usability is an overall evaluation of how a system performs in supporting a particular user for a
particular task.
Difficulty: Med

109.

Reference: p. 439

Guidelines for displaying text include case, spacing, justification, hyphenation, and abbreviations.
Difficulty: Hard

108.

Reference: p. 437

Guidelines for designing forms and reports address using meaningful titles, including meaningful
information, balancing the layout, and designing an easy navigation system.
Difficulty: Hard

107.

Reference: p. 437

The narrative overview section of a design specification provides a general overview of the
characteristics of the target users, tasks, system, and environmental factors in which the form or report
will be used.
Difficulty: Med

106.

Reference: p. 434

The three design specification sections are narrative overview, sample design, and testing and
usability assessment.
Difficulty: Hard

105.

Reference: p. 434

Designing forms and reports is a user-focused activity that typically follows a prototyping approach.
Difficulty: Med

104.

Reference: p. 434

The three usability characteristics are speed, accuracy, and satisfaction.

Reference: p. 449

Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

Difficulty: Med
110.

Reference: p. 451

When designing the layout of Web pages, making sure that when using standard design items that they
behave in accordance to major interface design standards is the recommendation for the nonstandard
use of GUI Widgets error.
Difficulty: Hard

120.

Reference: p. 450

Pine Valley Furnitures design guidelines for its WebStore included lightweight graphics, forms and
data integrity rules, and template-based HTML.
Difficulty: Hard

119.

Reference: p. 450

Time to learn reflects how long it takes the average system user to become proficient using the
system.
Difficulty: Med

118.

Reference: p. 450

When assessing usability, you can collect information by observation, interviews, keystroke capture,
and questionnaires.
Difficulty: Hard

117.

Reference: p. 450

Time to learn, speed of performance, rate of errors, retention over time, and subjective satisfaction
are methods for assessing usability.
Difficulty: Hard

116.

Reference: p. 450

When designing forms and reports, the environment characteristic suggests that social issues be
considered.
Difficulty: Med

115.

Reference: p. 449

When designing forms and reports, the user characteristic suggests that issues related to experience,
skills, motivation, education, and personality be considered.
Difficulty: Med

114.

Reference: p. 449

The ease general design guideline for usability of forms and reports specifies that outputs should be
self-explanatory and not require users to remember information from prior outputs in order to
complete tasks.
Difficulty: Med

113.

Reference: p. 449

The efficiency general design guideline for usability of forms and reports specifies that formatting
should be designed with an understanding of the task being performed and the intended user.
Difficulty: Med

112.

Reference: p. 449

The flexibility general design guideline for usability of forms and reports specifies that information
should be viewed and retrieved in a manner most convenient to the user.
Difficulty: Med

111.

47

Reference: p. 452

When designing the layout of Web pages, making sure that you avoid designing any legitimate
information in a manner that resembles advertising is the recommendation for the anything that looks

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Designing Forms and Reports

like advertising error.

Difficulty: Hard
121.

When designing the layout of Web pages, making sure that users do not need the latest browsers or
plug-ins to view your site is the recommendation for the bleeding-edge technology error.
Difficulty: Hard

122.

Reference: p. 452

Lightweight graphics is the use of small simple images to allow a Web page to be displayed more
quickly.
Difficulty: Med

125.

Reference: p. 452

When designing the layout of Web pages, making sure your site is continuously updated so that users
feel that the site is regularly maintained and updated is the recommendation for the outdated
information error.
Difficulty: Med

124.

Reference: p. 452

When designing the layout of Web pages, avoid scrolling text and animations since they are both hard
to read and users often equate such content as advertising is the recommendation for the scrolling test
and looping animations error.
Difficulty: Hard

123.

Reference: p. 452

Reference: p. 452

Templates to display and process common attributes of higher-level, more abstract items are called
template-based HTML.
Difficulty: Med

Reference: p. 453

Matching Questions
For each of the following statements, answer a if it is a problem using color, or answer b if it is a
benefit.
126.

Resolution may degrade with different displays.

Answer:

127.

128.

129.
130.

Reference: p. 443

Emphasizes the logical organization of information.

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Evokes more emotional reactions.

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Draws attention to warnings.

Printing or conversion to other media may not easily translate.

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Chapter 13

131.

132.

133.

134.

135.

Designing Forms and Reports

49

Color pairings may washout or cause problems for some users.

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Soothes or strikes the eye.

Facilitates subtle discriminations in complex displays.

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Accents an uninteresting display.

Color fidelity may degrade on different displays.

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

50

Designing Forms and Reports

Match each of the following common errors to its recommendation.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
136.

bleeding-edge technology
scrolling test and looping animations
nonstandard link colors
nonstandard use of GUI widgets
anything that looks like advertising
outdated information
displaying long lists as long pages
fixed-formatted text
slow download times

Avoid requiring users to scroll down a page to view information, especially navigational controls.
Answer:

137.

Reference: p. 452

Reference: p. 452

Reference: p. 452

Reference: p. 452

Make sure that you avoid designing any legitimate information in a manner that resembles advertising.
Answer:

144.

Make sure that your users do not need the latest browsers or plug-ins to view your site.
Answer:

143.

Reference: p. 452

Avoid scrolling text and animations since they are both hard to read and users often equate such
content as advertising.
Answer:

142.

Avoid using nonstandard colors to show links and for showing links that users have already used.
Answer:

141.

Reference: p. 452

Make sure your site is continuously updated so that users feel that the site is regularly maintained
and updated.
Answer:

140.

Avoid using large images, lots of images, unnecessary animations, or other time-consuming content.
Answer:

139.

Reference: p. 452

Avoid fixed-formatted text that requires users to scroll horizontally to view content or links.
Answer:

138.

Reference: p. 452

Make sure that when using standard design items, that they behave in accordance to major interface
design standards.
Answer:

Reference: p. 452

Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

51

Match each of the following usability factors with its description.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
145.

consistency
ease
efficiency
flexibility
format

Formatting should be designed with an understanding of the task being performed and the intended
user. Text and data should be aligned and sorted for efficient navigation and entry. Entry of data
should be avoided where possible.
Answer:

146.

Reference: p. 449

Reference: p. 449

Outputs should be self-explanatory and not require users to remember information from prior outputs
in order to complete tasks.
Answer:

149.

Information format should be consistent between entry and display.

Answer:

148.

Reference: p. 449

Information should be viewed and retrieved in a manner most convenient to the user.
Answer:

147.

Reference: p. 449

Use of terminology, abbreviations, formatting, titles, and navigation within and across outputs should
be consistent.
Answer:

Reference: p. 449

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Designing Forms and Reports

For the following statements, answer a if the statement is a guideline for displaying text, or answer b if
the statement is not a guideline.
150.

Hyphenate words between lines.

Answer:

151.

153.

154.

Reference: p. 443

To shorten the message, use abbreviations and acronyms frequently.

Answer:

152.

Reference: p. 443

Display text in mixed (upper and lower case), and use conventional punctuation.
Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Answer:

Reference: p. 443

Reference: p. 443

Left- and right-justify text.

Use double spacing if space permits.

Answer:

For the following statements, answer a if the statement is a guideline for displaying tables and lists, or
answer b if the statement is not a guideline.
155.

Left-justify textual data.

Answer:

156.

Reference: p. 445

Reference: p. 445

Labels should be separated from other information by using highlighting.

Answer:

159.

Similar information displayed in multiple columns should be sorted vertically.

Answer:

158.

Reference: p. 445

Break long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to four characters each.
Answer:

157.

Reference: p. 445

Re-display labels when the data extends beyond a single screen or page.
Answer:

Reference: p. 445

Chapter 13

Designing Forms and Reports

53

Essay Questions
160.

Differentiate between a form and a report.

Forms are defined as business documents that contain some predefined data and may include some
areas where additional data are to be filled in. Examples of forms are order forms, employment
applications, and class registration sheets. Reports are business documents that contain only
predefined data. Reports are considered to be passive documents used only for reading or viewing.
Examples of reports include invoices, a pie chart of population by age categories, and a weekly sales
summary by region report.

161.

Identify several general guidelines for the design of forms and reports.
The guidelines can be grouped into four categories: meaningful titles, meaningful information,
balanced layout, and easy navigation. Clear and specific titles describe the content and use of the
document. By providing a revision date or code, the document is distinguished from earlier versions.
A valid date identifies on what date (or time) the data in the form or report was accurate. Only needed
information should be displayed; information should be provided in a usable manner without requiring
modification. Information should be balanced on the screen or page. Adequate spacing and margins
should be used. Data and entry fields should be clearly labeled. Easy navigation is provided by
clearly showing how to move forward and backward, clearly showing the user where he or she is, and
by notifying the user when he or she is on the last page of a multipaged sequence.

162.

What are the general guidelines for displaying tables and lists?
Three categories of guidelines were provided in the textbook, including using meaningful labels,
formatting columns, rows, and text, and formatting numeric, textual, and alphanumeric data. Table
13-6 provides specific guidelines for each category.

163.

When should you use tables? When should you use graphs?
Tables are recommended for reading individual data values. Graphs are recommended for providing a
quick summary of data, detecting trends over time, comparing points and patterns of different
variables, forecasting activities, and reporting vast amounts of information when relatively simple
impressions are to be drawn.

164.

What is usability? Identify three characteristics for assessing usability.

Usability is an overall evaluation of how a system performs in supporting a particular user for a
particular task. Speed, accuracy, and satisfaction are the three characteristics.

165.

Identify nine common errors that occur when designing the layout of Web pages.
The nine common errors are nonstandard use of GUI widgets, anything that looks like advertising,
bleeding-edge technology, scrolling test and looping animations, nonstandard link colors, outdated
information, slow download times, fixed-formatted text, and displaying long lists as long pages.

166.

Define template-based HTML. What is its advantage?

Template-based HTML refers to templates that display and process common attributes of higher-level,
more abstract items. HTML templates enable the easy maintenance of interfaces, allowing a module
to be reused.

167.

Identify four problems from using color.

54

Designing Forms and Reports

Four problems were identified in the textbook, including color pairings may wash out or cause
problems for some users, resolution may degrade with different displays, color fidelity may degrade
on different displays, and printing or conversion to other media may not easily translate.
168.

Identify five guidelines for displaying text.

The guidelines presented in the textbook include: (1) text should be displayed in mixed upper and
lower case and use conventional punctuation; (2) when possible, double spacing should be used; (3)
text should be left-justified; (4) words should not be hyphenated between lines; and (5) abbreviations
and acronyms should be used only when they are widely understood by users and are significantly
shorter than the full text.

169.

Identify five methods of highlighting.

Ten methods were presented in the textbook; these include blinking and audible tones, color
differences, intensity differences, size differences, font differences, reverse video, boxing, underlining,
all capital letters, and offsetting the position of nonstandard information.