Entrevista: Pruebas con niños

How do you perform usability testing on children's applications?

Understanding how children interact with technology is critical in app development. Unlike adults, children have different ways of learning and different needs. Therefore, performing specific usability tests for apps aimed at them is key to their success. According to Raquel Suárez-Nett and Elena Itchell Flores of Puntalab Mexico, these tests allow us to identify how small users perceive and use an application, focusing not only on the child's interaction, but also on the parents' perception.

What was the problem and the proposed solution for the entertainment app?

Puntalab Mexico's client was facing a critical issue: its entertainment app for children between four and eight years old, although well designed, was not achieving the expected downloads and engagement. The solution consisted of carrying out usability tests specifically oriented to children users. Subsequently, diaries were implemented to further analyze the attractiveness of the content, both from the child's and the parent's perspective.

What are the differences between usability testing and diaries?

Although both methodologies seek to understand the interface and performance of the application, they differ in approach and scope:

• Usability Testing: these are conducted in moderated sessions of approximately 45 minutes. Users perform specific tasks, thus evaluating the intuitiveness and usability of the platform.

• Daily: It extends over a period of 10 days, where users receive daily tasks. This technique allows us to see the actual use of the application in a domestic context, identifying how attractive or problematic it can be outside a controlled environment.

How does children's sincerity influence testing?

Children are known for their transparency and honesty. They have no filters when expressing whether they like or are bored by something. For example, during an initial test, one child, frustrated by a technical glitch in the app, declared "how boring!" and stopped using the device. This, while causing tension at the time, gave the developers a clear indication that they needed to improve not only the technical performance, but also the interactive content offering.

How do you handle testing from a parent's perspective?

Since children could not fill out the diaries on their own, parents played a crucial role. This presented two challenges:

1. Avoiding bias: Ensuring that parents did not influence the child's interaction with the app by telling them where to click or how to proceed.

2. Parent engagement: Puntalab practitioners had to encourage active parental participation in filling out the diaries to obtain consistent and detailed data.

What learnings emerged from working with children?

Working with children in usability testing offers a unique set of lessons that differs from working with adults:

What challenges arise in recruiting child participants?

Recruiting children requires more than selecting the right participants. One must gain the trust of the parents, ensure that the environment is safe and comfortable, and be careful about the number of people present during the test so as not to overwhelm the children. In this case, a familiar setting, such as a mom's gathering at home, was chosen so that the children would be in a familiar environment.

What did the children's spontaneity reveal about the app design?

Children's spontaneity offers vital insights. Many of them immediately asked for games when opening the app, revealing their preference for active interactions over passive content consumption. In addition, it was noted that certain navigation gestures, such as scrolling, are not intuitive for younger children, which led to redesigning aspects of the app to accommodate their motor skills.

What did the client take away and how did it improve the app?

The client gained valuable lessons:

• Two crucial users: not only think of the child as the end user, but also the parent who decides on the use and download of the app.

• Device compatibility: It is advisable to develop for older devices, as children often inherit outdated tablets or phones.

• Interactivity and design ethics: The idea of increasing playful and interactive content in the app was promoted to align with children's natural expectations and behaviors, encouraging responsible and ethical use of technology.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is that while designing for young users, it is crucial to maintain a balance between entertainment and healthy development. Apps for children should not only be usable, but also stimulating and responsible.