CS3041 Final Exam – B term -04
Solution set
1. You are creating a web-based data entry form. One of the pieces of information
to be collected is a user's date of birth. Describe a method for that date to entered,
including error processing. ( 15 points )
There are several options. You could do a simple text entry field (most prone to errors).
You could do multiple entry fields, or multiple combo boxes. You could also do full
calendar, which is the most natural. Error processing would involve testing for valid
dates (ie, Feb 31 or dates in the future). An error message would be something
constructive, such as “Sorry, the date you entered (Feb 31) is not recognized. Please
enter a date from the calendar.”
2. A user specified a telephone number incorrectly on a data entry screen. Give an
example of a good error message and a poor error message. ( 10 points )
Good message: “Sorry, the number you entered isn’t recognized, you entered too few
digits. You need to enter a 10 digit number. Please try again”
Bad message: “Invalid number”
3. Give two reasons, as discussed in class or from the text, why we should avoid
anthropomorphic designs for user interfaces. ( 10 points)
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anthropomorphic interfaces may distract users, often by being intrusive or not
providing enough emotional expression
anthropomorphic interfaces produce anxiety in some users by making them feel
less intelligent than the computer
4. You are writing an order entry system to allow a bookstore to order books from
their distributor. The user has the following data on a purchase sheet, in this order:
 title of book
 author
 publisher
 retailer
 ISBN number
The user may want to order multiple copies of the same book, and wants to specify
what date they would like the book delivered if they need to provide it as part of a
special order. For the following dialog box:
a. Does it optimally support this scenario? Why or why not? (5 points)
It supports the tasks, but not optimally. The entry fields don’t match the date order on the
purchase sheet.s
b. Does it conform to the standard dialog box guidelines? Why or why not? (5
points)
No. The buttons aren’t quite in the standard spot (bottom right). Additionally, it had
primary windows controls for minimize/maximize. The OK button looks like the default,
not the Cancel.
c. What improvements could you make to it? Defend your answer with UI
guidelines from the class(5 points)
Any of:
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Right justify the OK and Cancel buttons, putting them in more standard
locations
Line up the text entry fields. Improper alignment is distracting.
Reorder the text fields to better match the tasks. Work flow should be left to
right, top to bottom, and right now it’s fairly random.
Remove the window min/max controls. Dialog boxes don’t have them.
Give it a descriptive title. A dialog title should always match it’s task.
Be consistent in use of colons after labels.
5. Microsoft Office uses adaptive menus. Describe what an adaptive menu is, and
give an advantage and a disadvantage to using that menu style. ( 10 points )
An adaptive menu is one that changes the content and ordering of the menu items to
based on the selections the user makes while running the application. An advantage is
that the most commonly used selections are available quickly. Disadvantages include
longer search times for less commonly used items and the user getting confused because
selections have moved in the menus (which is generally bad).
6. Describe the problem of specifying a search query in natural language versus in
boolean algebra. (10 points)
In natural language, AND is inclusive (“List all users who live in Boston and New
York”) while in code it’s used as refinement ( if ( userLivesIn(Boston) &&
userLivesIn(NewYork)) ). Similarly, in language, OR is exclusive (“Give me this or
that”) while in code it signifies inclusion. Thus, a search query needs to have options that
make sense to the target user, such as “Match all or” or “Match any of”
7. What is the difference between a menu mnemonic and an accelerator? Who
benefits more from them, expert or novice users? ( 10 points)
A mnemonic is a keyboard shortcut that’s specific to a menu, such as Alt-F, Alt-S being
“Save” only for a File menu; basically a way of navigating a menu without using a mouse.
An accelerator is a one-step shortcut, such as Ctrl-S from anywhere being uniquely
“Save”. Expert users tend to benefit more from using them.
8. Answer ANY TWO (and only two) of the following (20 points total):
a. List and describe three differences between an application main window and a
dialog box (10 points).
An application main window is one that stays up on the screen for a long time, typically
the entire time an app is running. A dialog box is only active for a short time, just to give
or get information from a user. Main windows are resizable, dialogs usually are not.
Main windows often have menus or toolbars, dialogs should not. Application window
title bars typically list the document/data that is being manipulated, while a dialog title
bar typically lists the function being performed.
b. List and briefly describe three types of multi-dimensional data visualization
techniques (10 points).
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Parallel Coordinates, where each values gets graphed on a parallel Y axis and then
the points are connected
Glyphs, where each value is represented by the magnitude of an arm in a small
polygon
Scatterplots, where different X/Y values are graphed as points, and different
groups are compared together
Dimensional Stacking, where different X/Y values are put into a graph, one
against another, X1 within X2, Y1 withinY2, etc.
c. What are the four layers of software that you can apply interface building tools?
(10 points)
Windowing system layer, GUI toolkit layer, Application framework layer, Application
layser
Extra Credit (2 points): From the 12/9 lecture, what was the title of the instructor’s MS
thesis?
N-Land: a Visualization Tool for N-Dimensional Data
“Exploring N-Dimensional Databases” was a presentation, not the actual thesis (partial
credit)