HCI 590: Information Architecture

Autumn 2003

Small Project #2

Categorization

Due Tuesday September 30 at class time

Categorization Exercises

1. Provide examples of the following (ideally your examples should be something that someone might look for in a navigation structure):
   1. An artifact
   2. A natural kind
   3. An activity, process or action
2. For each of your examples, provide the following:
   1. Name for its basic-level category
   2. A list of necessary and sufficient features describing the basic-level category (if possible)
   3. Name for a super-ordinate category
   4. Name for a sub-ordinate category
   5. A prototypical description of the basic-level category
   6. An exceptional example of the basic-level category
3. Attempt to verify your answers by consulting another person. You may want to use the following questions:
   1. What name would you give this item?
   2. How would you define this category?
   3. Is this item a good example of category X?
4. Discuss how these principles might apply to information architecture. (2 or 3 paragraphs)

Submission

Before class time of the due time, have your answers printed out.

Be prepared to discuss your results and analysis in class.