There are many things to consider when user testing remotely. But when dealing with children, additional factors come into play.
Why
For most adults, doing a user test can feel intimidating. But for children, the challenge comes with even more uncertainties. Video calls, speaking to unfamiliar adults, and sharing their thoughts may all be completely new—and potentially frightening—experiences for them.
Similarly, many parents may be uncomfortable with the idea of letting their kids talk to strangers online. This can feel like a big step, so it’s important to set their minds at ease. Convincing one person to participate is challenging enough, but now we need to win over both parent and child!
Before the user test
Direct communication with parents
We recommend only having direct communications with the parent or guardian rather than with the child. Communicating with a child directly could be inappropriate and make both the parent(s) and child uncomfortable.
Consent form
Send the parents or guardians a consent form to sign prior to the session. This form should include details like:
- An overview of what a user test is and why they are important.
- Relevant details like the date, time and duration of the session.
- An overview of typical questions we might ask.
- An outline of who will be in attendance from your team.
- Details around confidentiality and data usage.
Recording
When testing with adults, we usually recommend asking for permission to record the test at the beginning of the call. Recordings can be useful for reviewing details later.
However, when testing with children we recommend not recording the session to protect the child’s privacy and anonymity. Instead, see if a colleague can join you to take notes. This allows you to focus on the interview while still capturing key insights, without parents feeling uncomfortable that a recording of their child exists somewhere in a company’s cloud storage.
Parental presence
In most cases we recommend inviting a parent or guardian to attend the test too, especially for younger children. Having a known and comforting presence on the call can put the child at ease. It can also take away some of the awkwardness from the introductions because the parent can often answer the questions or frame them differently for their child to answer.
A note of caution with this approach: you must consider the type of product you are testing. In some cases, especially with older teenagers, they may not feel comfortable expressing their true opinions in front of their parents, so having a parent or guardian there might influence their answers.
During the user test
For the most part, the user test itself is the same as a remote adult user test. There are just a few key areas that require extra attention.
Stress-free
Keep it friendly and light to ensure the child is relaxed and not stressed. For example, when a participant gets stuck and says, “I don’t know what to do” the typical approach with adults is to gently push back with questions like “What were you expecting to see here?”.
But with children, it is important to read the room before giving this kind of pushback. If they are shy or timid, they may need some additional help to build the confidence required to express their opinion.
If this is the case, try guiding them through a difficult exercise by telling them where to click. At the end of the flow, revert back to some questions about what was unclear when they got stuck, what they thought about the flow and whether there are ways to improve it. Having finished the task, children might feel a bit less stressed now that the hard, unknown part is over.
Encouragement
We’d also recommend giving children more encouragement than you might typically give an adult during a user test. Encouragement can help the child to come out of their shell and open up. Try to be enthusiastic, high energy and positive.
Bringing positive energy is especially important for tasks that are difficult or that the child fails to complete. It’s important not to let this get them down. Be encouraging or even make fun of your designs by saying “Well, you did well to even get that far, we definitely need to improve that flow. It is harder to follow than a conversation with Minions!”.
If your child tester suggests an improvement or an idea, be sure to respond positively and with encouragement. Ask a followup question so that they can elaborate; “Can you tell me more about that?”, “Oh cool, have you seen something like that in Game X or Movie Y?”. Let them know that it’s a great idea and, while we can’t guarantee it will be included in the final product, we will definitely try it out.
Depending on the child’s age, this could be one of the first times in their lives that a stranger is listening to them like an adult and taking their opinions seriously. While new, this can be a really positive experience for young children, so leverage this as best you can.
Extreme shyness
Every child will have different levels of comfort in this new environment and some will struggle more than others. For children who are very shy, try to begin by directing questions at their parents as an icebreaker and then ask the child if they agree or have anything to add. This takes the pressure off the child to express a full opinion early on in the conversation. As the test goes on and everyone becomes more familiar with the experience, you can start directing more questions to the child, allowing the parent to gradually take a backseat.
After the user test
Just like the pre-test process, we recommend having any follow-up communications with the parent or guardian rather than with the child. Be sure to reach out and thank them both for their time. Pay the child an enthusiastic compliment about an idea they had. If you think it will be necessary, ask permission to stay in contact in case you need to complete more rounds of testing or to let them know when the product is ready to launch.
The same, with more care
While a lot of the same basic principles of running a good remote test ring true for both children and adults, there are some key differences. Remember to bring a positive and enthusiastic energy to the interviews and to make children feel comfortable in a totally new setting. Take extra precautions around privacy and data protection to create a safe and stress-free environment.
Author Note: For the sake of brevity, we frequently used the term “parents” in this article but this term is intended to apply equally to guardians and to single parent or single guardian households.