Interaction Design Jargon

I am learning new words, and some new meanings for old words, in the course of my graduate education and thought it might be helpful to start compiling a list for my own reference. Keep in mind that these are the definitions I have pieced together from various readings and, as such, they may be incomplete, wrong, or atypical interpretations of their use within the design discourse.

affordance
noun
invitation to a particular action

A rubber sheath of a suitable diameter on a kitchen gadget, for instance, may be an affordance to grip that spot.

feedforward
noun
relating to control design (buttons, knobs, touchscreens, etc.), communication of the purpose of an action

The iPhone’s “slide to unlock” message, as a feedforward mechanism, communicates the purpose of the sliding action.

inherent feedback
noun
feedback strongly coupled to the action

The audible click when one presses a mouse button signals that the mouse has registered the action.

teleological
adjective
the philosophical study of design and purpose

Sometimes academics casually strew words throughout their papers that I’ve never heard of and can’t find in a standard dictionary. I’ve included a few below. Please comment with their meanings if you know them.

inforced
verb

heterarchical
adjective

“…it fails when applied to problems that involve people as informed agents, in heterarchical forms of organizations like markets.”     – The Semantic Turn: A New Foundation for Design

praxiographic
adjective

This one, I suspect, is rooted in the word “praxis,” which refers to practice as opposed to theory.