What:
Cultural probes are a series of provocative tasks designed to elicit revealing and inspirational information from people about their lives, interests, obsessions and aspirations. Details of their domestic routines; the sounds around their homes; the dreams they had at night.

Why:
As a method probes represent multiple, easy-to-use and interesting tasks which make the job of collecting data more engaging. As an approach, they advocate the use of open, ambiguous, and even surreal tasks as a way of undermining the assumptions both of participants and researchers.

Cultural probes are one way to access environments that are difficult to observe directly and also to capture more of what people actually feel, rather than do. Good experience design depends upon understanding the real needs and desires of end users. What is really important to them and what just mundane?

Used as inspiration the results of probes can also be used as a catalyst for the development of design proposals.

When:
Cultural probes are valuable when you need a deep insight into people’s lives with minimal influence on their actions, or when the process or event you are researching takes place intermittently or over a long period - for example a patient recovering from surgery.

How:
Participants are briefed and then given probe packs with items such as a disposable camera, a diary, scrapbook and specimen bottle linked to a series of tasks. The participants carry out the various task over a period of a few days or weeks and then return the pack.

The items in the pack depend on the circumstances, but are all designed to stimulate thought as well as capture experiences.