Tool details
Cultural Probes
Probes or information gathering packages are handed out to participants and they are asked to track themselves for a certain period.
Tool category:
Tool thumbnail
When to use
When you need details about the user`s life and context.
Why you should
Unobtrusive manner to collect information for design process.
What you get
Collection of data from the user´s life and context.
Steps to take
Gather your team and decide on a specific target user you would like to understand better. Also decide what type of medium is necessary to uncover those insights.
Prepare the probe and if it includes different types of tools, divide preparation between team members. Also decide whether your probe is digital or physical, or a combination.
Hand out the probe to the targeted group of users. Make sure to give clear instructions on how to use it and when to hand it in.
Gather the probes and schedule a meeting with the team to go through them. Try and cluster insights in this meeting and prepare a summary.
Write a short report (document) summarising the main insights and share this with the team.