iat 333, design: practice and methods week 2: cultural probes
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IAT 333, Design: Practice and Methods Week 2: Cultural Probes. Dr. Carman Neustaedter. based on course content by Ron Wakkary. Outline. cultural probes informational probes example probes interviews assignment. what is a cultural probe?. Cultural Probes. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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
how do you design something relevant for an unfamiliar group?don’t want users to constrain designdon’t want users to reveal known needs
provoke inspirational responsespursue experimental design in a responsive way
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
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
source: Gaver, Dunne, and Pacenti
Types of Cultural Probes
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
source: Gaver, Dunne, and Pacenti
Types of Cultural Probes
Disposable camerarepackaged with no commercial entity
simple photo requests written on package
e.g., first person you see today, something desirable, something boring
source: Gaver, Dunne, and Pacenti
Types of Cultural Probes
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.
source: Gaver, Dunne, and Pacenti
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
Informational Probes
transforming cultural probes to informational probes - Crabtree et al
use of probes in sensitive settingstraditional ethnography is difficult
focus on gathering information aboutparticipants
participants act as self-observers
source: Crabtree et al
Informational Probes
transforming cultural probes to informational probes - Crabtree et al
use of probes in sensitive settingstraditional ethnography is difficult
focus on gathering information aboutparticipants
participants act as self-observers
results used to focus user workshopsuse probes to figure out what to look at
source: Crabtree et al
Informational Probes
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
source: Crabtree et al
Tips for Making Cultural Probes
do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignment
Tips for Making Cultural Probes
do don’tmake it a gift make it an assignmentengage people in conversation engage in a questionnaire
Tips for Making Cultural Probes
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
Tips for Making Cultural Probes
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
Tips for Making Cultural Probes
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