Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

How Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
Gold
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Share the love for this talk
How Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
Speakers: Mila Kuznetsova and Lucy Denton
Link:

Summary

Every researcher wants to get the most out of a testing session but that’s easier said than done. It requires expert navigation of the nuances of different personalities, distinct power dynamics, and the varied abilities of each participant. Dovetail’s Head of Design and Research, Lucy Denton sits down with Mila Kuznetsova, Senior Director of User Research and Product at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to get a better insight into her experiments with methodologies and techniques as she’s navigated testing with a distinct participant group—children. In this session, we’ll hear from Mila about staying nimble, adjusting her approach to cater to the individual, and how we could bring the same level of understanding and grace to testing with adults. This session isn’t to be missed!

Key Insights

  • Children require tailored research methods because they are not just smaller adults.

  • Recruitment for child research involves securing adult consent and partnerships with schools or community groups.

  • Informed consent and ethical sensitivity are critical due to children's vulnerability and power dynamics.

  • Young children benefit from tactile, engaging tools like touchscreens and craft supplies during sessions.

  • Building comfort through warm-up conversations and clear session previews helps improve data quality with kids.

  • Middle schoolers handle longer sessions and complex tasks but may become self-critical or shy, requiring gentle encouragement.

  • One-on-one sessions with middle schoolers yield richer insights than group settings, which can become chaotic.

  • Parental presence can bias data; involving parents in separate, meaningful activities helps mitigate interference.

  • Flexibility in research protocols is essential to accommodate varied abilities and responses, especially in children.

  • Lessons from child research improve adult studies, such as providing multiple response options and addressing power dynamics.

Notable Quotes

"Kids are not little adults. You can’t just simplify an adult product and call it for kids."

"Recruiting kids means recruiting adults who act as proxies, so building relationships with schools and parents is key."

"Informed consent means making sure kids and guardians understand what will happen, sometimes involving background checks."

"Give children a preview of the session so they know what to expect next — it reduces anxiety."

"Young kids have different ability levels, so check comprehension and adapt on the spot."

"Middle schoolers are super curious and will ask detailed questions about how their data is used."

"One-on-one sessions with middle schoolers work better than group interviews, which can go off the rails."

"Parents wanting to interpret for children can bias sessions, so give them their own tasks to keep them engaged."

"I have a growth mindset in research — it’s okay to adapt protocols as long as you document changes."

"Power dynamics between researcher and participant exist with adults, too, so always be mindful and simplify language."

Ask the Rosenbot
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Catherine Dubut
Bridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design (Videoconference)
2021 • Enterprise Community
Mitchell Bernstein
Organizing Chaos: How IBM is Defining Design Systems with Sketch for an Ever-Changing AI Landscape
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Rusha Sopariwala
Remote, Together: Craft and Collaboration Across Disciplines, Borders, Time Zones, and a Design Org of 170+
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Sharon Banh
Reimagining research: What does the field need to grow? [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
2024 • Advancing Research Community
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Luca Rager
Empowering Gaming at Scale: How Xbox Builds Powerful, Automated, and Distributed Design Systems with Sketch
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Natalie M. Dunbar
DesignOps and Content Strategy: Envisioning the Future Together
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Shanti Mathew
Civic Design at Scale: Introducing the Public Policy Layer Cake
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Janelle Estes
UX Research Trends (Videoconference)
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Alla Weinberg
Workers Are Sick of Change: The Cure is Psychological Safety
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Lisa Spitz
Building Trust Through Equitable Research Practices
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Terry Buckman
Wargaming (An Introduction) (Videoconference)
2023 • Enterprise Community
Victor Udoewa
Radical Participatory Research: Decolonizing Participatory Processes
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
Coffee with Lou (Videoconference)
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Mackenzie Cockram
Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research from Discovery to Live
2022 • QuantQual Interest Group (Rosenfeld Community)

More Videos

Allison Sanders

"Onboarding lasts four weeks to allow people to shake off old habits and study before practicing work."

Allison Sanders

Operating with Purpose

January 8, 2024

Amy Jiménez Márquez

"Managing teams remotely right now means checking who is alone, who is an extrovert, and tailoring support accordingly."

Amy Jiménez Márquez Michael J. Metts Joie Chung

The Atypical UX Manager Path (Videoconference)

July 23, 2020

Dan Mall

"The closest parallel to a mature design system is Agile—it’s not something you do sometimes; it’s how you consistently work."

Dan Mall

“Ask Me Anything” with Dan Mall, Author of Upcoming Rosenfeld Title, Design that Scales

October 2, 2023

Caroline Jarrett

"In research, hypothesis is just a fancy word for a guess you pull out of your ass to start testing."

Caroline Jarrett Erin Weigel

Have fun with statistics?

December 12, 2024

Onur Kocan

"Some old-fashioned solutions bring new problems."

Onur Kocan Ayhan Ensici

Understanding the Strategy for Civic Design in a Complex City: Istanbul

November 16, 2022

Andrew Custage

"It costs less to keep existing customers happy than to acquire new ones, reinforcing the ROI of experience improvements."

Andrew Custage Michael Mallett

The Digital Journey: Research on Consumer Frustration and Loyalty

March 29, 2023

Dan Donald

"Your job with a design system is not to make the best components, it’s to help your peers do great work."

Dan Donald

Design Systems as a Vehicle for Systemic Change (Videoconference)

June 1, 2023

Jennifer Kanyamibwa

"We started doing something interesting: every Monday, instead of having a stand-up, we would journal and share."

Jennifer Kanyamibwa

Creating the Blueprint: Growing and Building Design Teams

November 8, 2018

Greg Petroff

"Live your life like it’s a movie, where the montage represents the hardest work leading to breakthrough transformation."

Greg Petroff

Design is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry

June 9, 2021