IAT 333, Design: Practice and Methods Week 2: Cultural Probes

IAT 333, Design: Practice and MethodsWeek 2: Cultural ProbesDr. Carman Neustaedter

based on course content by Ron Wakkary

Outline

cultural probesinformational probesexample probesinterviewsassignment

what is a cultural probe?

Cultural Probes

“We’ve brought you a kind of gift.”

– Gaver et al

source: Gaver, Dunne, and Pacenti

Cultural Probes

how do you design something relevant for an unfamiliar group?don’t want users to constrain designdon’t want users to reveal known needs

Cultural Probes


provoke inspirational responsespursue experimental design in a responsive way

Cultural Probes


provoke inspirational responsespursue experimental design in a responsive way

like “astronomic or surgical probes”wait for data over timehope for the unexpected

Types of Cultural Probes

Postcards8-10 postcards with questionsattitudes of elders towards their lives, culture and technology

oblique wording and evocative images provide space for people

informal and friendly (plus more engaging) way of asking questions



Maps7 maps with an inquiry exploring

elders’ relationship to their environments

activity: marking zones, locales to surreal situations

maps printed with textural materialsinvited folding, handling, and tactile

responses



Disposable camerarepackaged with no commercial entity

simple photo requests written on package

e.g., first person you see today, something desirable, something boring



Photo Albumassemble a story of 6-10 pictures

using pictures from the past, friends, families, and other meaningful things

Media Diarychronicle of TV shows watched,

radio listened to, telephone calls, etc.


Cultural Probes

not scientific or engineering endeavor

focus on aesthetic controlfocus on cultural implicationsfocus on impressionistic view of beliefs, culture, aesthetics

Cultural Probes

not scientific or engineering endeavor

focus on aesthetic controlfocus on cultural implicationsfocus on impressionistic view of beliefs, culture, aesthetics

trying to open the designnot existing designs or existing technologiesspeculative uses and boundary testing

Cultural Probes

probes were:delightful but not childish or condescendinginvaluable in providing individual views of each localea two-way dialogue between designers and the participants

informational probes

what is the difference between acultural probe and an informational probe?

how it is used: inspiration vs. information

Informational Probes

transforming cultural probes to informational probes - Crabtree et al

use of probes in sensitive settingstraditional ethnography is difficult

source: Crabtree et al




focus on gathering information aboutparticipants

participants act as self-observers





focus on gathering information aboutparticipants

participants act as self-observers

results used to focus user workshopsuse probes to figure out what to look at



postcards addressed to the researchers: residents express daily concernsmap of locale for residents to map daily geographies and unsafe areaspolaroid camera to document friends, objectsvoice activated dictaphone for ideasvisitor’s bookscrapbookdaily diary


Tips for Making Cultural Probes

do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignment


do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignmentengage people in conversation engage in a questionnaire


do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignmentengage people in conversation engage in a questionnairetry to make a friend act as a data collector


do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignmentengage people in conversation engage in a questionnairetry to make a friend act as a data collectorcreate a game create tasks with a

manual


do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignmentengage people in conversation engage in a questionnairetry to make a friend act as a data collectorcreate a game create tasks with a

manual

ask who, what, where, when, why and how questionscapture the entire experience: first showing of probe to pick up

Tips for Designing Cultural Probes

recruiting is the first design decisionpick reliable participantspick people you have access tobrainstorm possible audiences

Tips for Designing Cultural Probes

recruiting is the first design decisionpick reliable participantspick people you have access tobrainstorm possible audiences

two strategies:1. selective sampling: choose a particular type

e.g., soccer Momsrisk: you decide you can’t design for this audiencebenefit: good in-depth information

2. general sampling: choose a cross-section or general typee.g., Vancouver residentsrisk: information gathered is too generalbenefit: good cross section of interests

Cultural Probe Findings

no obvious resultsimplicit or inspirational meaningcertain responses are surprising, insightfulprobes provide a perspective that can be hard to achieve

Cultural Probe Findings

no obvious resultsimplicit or inspirational meaningcertain responses are surprising, insightfulprobes provide a perspective that can be hard to achieve

what surprised you the most?what gave you the most insight?what probe results will help future designs?

interviews

Interviews + Cultural Probes

optionally you can interview people when:

leaving cultural probes – ask questions about initial thoughts and feelings

picking up cultural probes – ask reactions to the probes, talk about the probes, e.g., pick one item and tell me about it

Types of Interviews

Unstructured / openmost like a conversation, no questions plannedpros: rich detail that interviewer may not have thought ofcons: hard to replicate, hard to analyzegood for cultural probes

Semi-structuredpre-select topic areas and potential questionspros: can guide interview but not enforce what is discussedcons: can go off topicgood for cultural probes

Types of Interviews

Structuredpredetermined questions that are short and clearly wordedconfirmatory rather than exploratorypros: easy to replicate, get specific answers, easy to analyzecons: restrictive answers, details can be lostnot recommended for cultural probes

Types of Interview Distortion

Internal distortionproblems internal to the interviewere.g., personal traits, lack of experience, listening skills

reduce by restating what people say, take notes, corroborate with other sources

Types of Interview Distortion

External distortionproblems with interaction between interviewer and -vieweee.g., distractions (finger tapping), violation of social norms, conflicting messages (body language), emotional discomfort

reduce by analyzing own behavior, be aware of social norms, arrange appropriate environment

assignment

Assignment

1. based on feedback in labs, redesign your probes (quickly!)make at least four copies of them

2. deploy the probes to 4 or more participant groups/individualsleave them with them for 5-7 days

3. design short interviews (10-15 min) to be used when:you give the probes out and when you pick them up

Assignment

due next lectureone-minute madness presentation of your final cultural probesupload your presentation on to my laptop at start of class

due next week in labposter of final cultural probesprinted 18x24 inches and ready to present in lab

Assignment

due in lab in *2 weeks* - Sept 30

1. poster of cultural probe resultsprinted 18x24 inches and ready to present in labwhat was most insightful or inspirational?what stories came to life?why did you chose these findings?

2. interview analysis and summary1-3 pages long, document your overall findingsmajor themes: back up with quotes/examplesdiscuss in lab

Examples

See examples on my laptop

Questions?

Stay after lecture if you are in a group of 2 or 3, or not in a group

Attendance

Attendance

Documents

IAT 333, Design: Practice and Methods Week 2: Cultural Probes