Uploaded byOleg Ulyansky
User Research and Testing with Children
User research will be conducted with 8 year olds to inform the design of a new game about Clyde's Adventures for the Commonwealth Games. The research plan involves conducting focus groups of 4-6 children at a local community center after school. Permission will be obtained from parents beforehand. The sessions will explore what games children currently enjoy and don't enjoy playing, what sports they like, and ideas for Clyde's morning routine. A topic guide, visual activities, and refreshments will keep the children engaged during the 45 minute sessions. Feedback will be analyzed across groups to validate ideas for the new game.
More Related Content
Similar to User Research and Testing with Children
User Research and Testing with Children
- 1. User Research andTesting with Children UX Scotland 2014 Tutorial Claudio Franco @dubit @clauzdifranco Esther Stringer @BCM_Tweets @EstherBCM
- 2. Introduction: Dubit &Border Crossing Media Senior Research Manager - Games and Media Dubit, digital entertainment studio based in Leeds Ongoing Professional Doctorate (PhD) Digital books, storytelling and audience involvement Managing Director – Border Crossing Media, User Specialists MMRS User research, analytics, facilitator and trainer UX Scotland 2014
- 3. Agenda UX Scotland 2014 ●Introduction to games research with Children ● In Theory: o General Principles o Best Practices ● In Practice: o Game Production Tools and Techniques o Set-up your own user research test ● In Other Sectors (if time): o Education
- 4.
- 5. ● What isgame design? ● What are the different stages of game design / production? ● How can research and testing help throughout different stages of game design / production? ● What de-risking strategies can be used through player involvement? UX Scotland 2014 Introduction: Research for Game Design
- 6. “In the broadestsense, game design refers to the idea behind a game. But it's come to mean a whole lot more than that. In large immersive games, game design refers to the central theme or point, as well as the story and plot and the characters' back-stories. In smaller games and in games in which there are no significant characters or plot (for example, in a racing game), game design refers to how one plays the game. What are the rules? How is the game scored? How does the level of difficulty change with play? What makes the game fun or challenging?” Source: http://www.gamecareerguide.com UX Scotland 2014 Introduction: Game Design
- 7. ● Game design- ‘evolutionary’ process ● Inspiration / conventions from previous titles, genres and stories ● Developer creativity is essential ● Research can “de-risk” design and production ● Audience Involvement - children as potential players o fine-tune ideas o find usability issues o understand what’s most enjoyable through play-testing and observation o tap into their creativity ● Often termed a LEAN or ITERATIVE approach o LOOPS: insight > design > build > test > design > build > test... UX Scotland 2014 Introduction: Games Research
- 8.
- 9. Main resources forguiding principles: www.mrs.org.uk www.coppa.org UX Scotland 2014 Guiding Principles, Standards and Best Practice
- 10. Purpose of theCode: 1. To support all those engaged in market, social or opinion research in maintaining professional standards. 2. To reassure the general public and other interested parties that research is carried out in a professional and ethical manner. Full Code is available at www.mrs.org.uk • Largest research society World-Wide • Members in >60 countries around the World • Supports best practice by setting and enforcing standards UX Scotland 2014 The MRS Code of Conduct
- 11. 1. Ensure thatparticipation in their activities is based on voluntary informed consent. 2. Be straightforward and honest in all their professional and business relationships 3. Be transparent as to the subject and purpose of data collection. 4. Respect the confidentiality of information collected in their professional activities. 5. Respect the rights and well-being of all individuals. 6. Ensure that respondents are not harmed or adversely affected by their professional activities 7. Balance the needs of individuals, clients and their professional activities. 8. Exercise independent professional judgement in the design, conduct and reporting of their professional activities. 9. Ensure that their professional activities are conducted by persons with appropriate training, qualifications and experience. 10. Protect the reputation and integrity of the profession. UX Scotland 2014 MRS Code of Conduct: 10 Guiding Principles
- 12. UX Scotland 2014 MRSCode of Conduct :Children ● Obtain the consent of a parent or Responsible Adult (loco parentis) when interviewing a child under 16.* ● When consent is required, ensure the adult is given sufficient information about the nature of the project to enable them to provide informed consent. ● Consent from the adult must be recorded (name, relationship or role). ● For self-completion/postal surveys, ensure: o When it is known (or ought reasonably to be known) that all or a majority of respondents are likely to be under 16, these are addressed to the parent or Responsible Adult;and o when it is known (or ought reasonably to be known) that all or a majority of Respondents are likely to be under 16, that all questionnaires carry a note or notice explaining that consent is required for all Children to participate. *can be waived under special circumstances but only with prior approval from MRS Market Research Standards Board
- 13. ● For projectsadministered with electronic communications, where it is known (or ought reasonably to be known) ensure that Respondents are asked to give their age before any other personal information is requested. Further, if the age given is under 16, the child must be excluded from giving further personal information until the appropriate consent from a parent or Responsible Adult has been obtained and verified. ● In all cases, members must ensure that a child has an opportunity to decline to take part, even though a responsible adult has given permission for their participation. This remains the case if a project takes place in school. ● Members must ensure that information about other individuals is not collected from a child unless for the purposes of gaining permission from a responsible adult. UX Scotland 2014 The MRS Code of Conduct: Children
- 14. Who is itfor? Anyone that operates a commercial website or an online services that is directed to children under 13 that collects personal information from children or if you operate a general audience website and have actual knowledge that you are collecting personal information from children. Full Guidance: www.coppa.org UX Scotland 2014 COPPA: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 • US Federal Law • Effective from April 2000, Revised in 2008 • Applies to online collection of personal information from Children under 13
- 15. UX Scotland 2014 COPPA:Privacy Policy Must have link placed on the home page Must make link clearly distinguishable from other links
- 16. 1. Name andcontact information of all operators collecting or maintaining information. 2. The kinds of information being held and how the information is being collected. 3. How the operator will use the information. 4. Whether the information is disclosed to 3rd parties and if so who they are, what is it for, confidentiality agreements. 5. That the parent can opt to only consent for information to be used by the operator and not 3rd parties. 6. The child is not asked to disclose more information than is necessary for participation. 7. That the parent can review the child’s information, ask to have it deleted and refuse further collection or use of information and how to do this. COPPA: Content of Privacy Policy: UX Scotland 2014
- 17. Piaget’s Central Theory: Childrencannot undertake certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so. UX Scotland 2014 Age-appropriate methods
- 18. Stage in DevelopmentPlay patterns Needs Loves ● 0 – 2: Physical Beings, dominated by senses ● 2 – 3: Increased use of verbal representation but speech is egocentric ● 0 -2: Highly tactile – manipulate objects ● 2 – 3: Symbolic play/role play- using a stick as a magic wand ● Security and safety ● Love from parent ● Colourful ● Simple sounds/repetition ● Music Impact on Research: ● Hard to research, but it is possible at around 18 months ● Make sure your test material is visual and physical element to it ● Be careful they are reacting to your test material and not to YOU! ● Need to be in their environment (at home, with mum nearby) UX Scotland 2014 Under 3
- 19. Stage in DevelopmentPlay patterns Needs Loves ● Learning social skills ● Pre-logical ● Black and white thinking ● Self centred /Impulsive ● Short attention spans ● Beginning to use language, read and write ● Times of regression ● Emulatory ● Imaginative/dramatic play ● Girls: house, princesses, fairies ● Boy: crash and bash ● Security and safety ● Love from parent ● Fun, safe, fantasy, empowerment ● Structure to story, social learning ● Animation with clear outlines ● Slapstick, silly action ● Sudden surprise – boo! ● High sensory ● Magical, everyday is filled with new experiences Impact on Research: • Material must be visual • Children can be creative – tap into their fantasy world • Empower them/role play • Interview them at their home or an environment they know well • Still important to have an adult they know around to provide reassurance and help them chat • Important to lay down ground rules in research context 3 - 6
- 20. Stage in DevelopmentPlay patterns Needs Loves ● Fitting in stage, social conformists – peers important, group orientated and love clubs ● Logical and reasoning skills are developing – reversibility and class inclusion ● Push away from “childhood” in order to affirm new identity ● Impressionable ● Friendship based on play interests and activities ● Boys and girls are likely to play separately ● Imaginative play diminishes considerably. ● Collecting: ownership/ uniqueness/responsibility ● Play ground hierarchy and competition ● Autonomy – pushing away from parents ● Acceptance ● Success ● More concrete thinking ● Prefer ‘realistic’ heroes and aspirations ● Social stress - Turn to properties and people (best friend) that will help them ● Understanding of abstract (random) humour, slapstick ● Dark humour becomes appealing - testing morals ● Puns, sarcasm, innuendo Impact on Research: • Language and memory skills have developed - but can still struggle with ‘difficult language’ • Older children are more capable but it’s still important to use appropriate language • Memory can be limited – helps to have stimulus in front of them • Best to talk to them with a friend (confidence, honesty, self esteem) • Giving them pre-tasks prior to the focus group can prevent group effect 6 - 11
- 21. Stage in DevelopmentPlay patterns Needs Loves ● Looking for an identity, a desire for self expression ● Swinging between leaving childhood and becoming an adult ● Beginning to feel interested in the opposite sex ● Hormonal ● Group companionship activities ● Life style magazines ● Concert and music collecting ● Pets ● Friendship – peer approval is essential ● Friendships are more established ● Freedom and independence ● Seek increased power over their own lives ● Need to connect to properties within a realistic framework in which to fantasise ● Can be self conscious, shy and insecure ● Cognitive ability means they can process complex humour ● Drawn to shows with a dark side (gross, violent, taboo) – outlet for their emotions Impact on Research: • Young people of this age are generally more capable of abstract thinking • Can have in depth discussions about hypothetical issues (the what ifs) • They appreciate being treated like adults, more likely to respond maturely/share ideas • They’ve developed personal interests and tastes, • It’s important to treat them as individuals and not to patronise or presume anything • Don’t try too hard (this won’t look cool) 11 - 16
- 22. When only faceto face will do: ● For children under 7 ● When discussing certain topics ● When you need to observe their behaviour directly ● For some children with additional support needs Practical Tips: • Be aware of your influence and set the tone • Think about the bigger picture • Give them clear boundaries, tell them when they have over-stepped. • Keep language simple and appropriate. • Let them speak - 8 second rule • Give them ownership of tasks – scribes etc. • At least every 20 minutes give them a break or a different stimulus. • Avoid Groupthink by assigning individual tasks and giving praise for individual thought. • Try using creative techniques to enable children such as: drawing, cartoons, word association. UX Scotland 2014 Face to face interviews and focus groups
- 23. • Be awareof your influence and set the tone by sharing information about yourself • Think about the bigger picture – children’s backgrounds and situations will impact their answers considerably until they start abstract thinking. • Give them clear boundaries and tell them when they have over-stepped. • Keep language simple and appropriate. • Let them speak - 8 second rule • Give them ownership of tasks – scribes etc. • At least every 20 minutes give them a break or a different stimulus. • Avoid Groupthink by assigning individual tasks and giving praise for individual thought. • Try using creative techniques to enable children to give a free answer such as: Cartoons and image strips Draw their answers Word Association Z UX Scotland 2014 Best Practice Tips for Face to Face
- 24. Discussion Guides: • Startwith simple easy questions – favourite things, family friends • Keep discussion open without too many questions • Write them out exactly who you will say them • Children like to be involved as part of the process so explain it to them • Make sure there is enough time for them to complete the tasks • Have lots of activities and keep flexible! Trouble Shooting: Best Practice Tips for Face to Face They all stop talking Change it up (subject/environment) One wants to go to the toilet If under 11 take them all (if alone) They say they are bored Find out why and then change it up! They get distracted and go off topic Let them go (within the boundaries set) They start whispering Give them a look, then take them out of the room One doesn’t speak Let them be scribe, ask direct but easy questions
- 25. 1. Digital Ethnography ●Study of online communities and human-technology interactions through the use of qualitative research methods ● Lurkers and watchers in forums and games ● Monitoring and aggregating information about human behaviour, interactions and networking ● Utilise other techniques such as surveys, analytics reviews, heuristic evaluation, guerrilla research 2. Blogging/Panels ● Children keep online blogs and/or diaries ● Can be used to track specific behaviour or tasks ● Can be used to track general behaviour 3. Clickroom: ● Virtual focus group tool ● Creates an interactive environment that engages and excites participants! UX Scotland 2014 Digital Options
- 27. Game Production Stages UXScotland 2014
- 28.
- 29. Core stages andapproaches ● Early Design: o Concept Testing ● Later Design: o “Paper” prototyping ● Production: o Play testing Z UX Scotland 2014 Tools and Techniques
- 33. ● Where toconduct research: home or kid-friendly space ● How to dress ● Give them a role: kids as game designers ● Don’t overdo it – trying to be cool ● Refreshments – yes, some… (crunch, crunch, crunch!) ● Encouraging participation in groups ● Body language ● Accumulating feedback and ideas validation (from group to group) Top Tips UX Scotland 2014
- 34. UX Scotland 2014 Yourturn…… • You are researching a new game about Clyde’s Adventures getting ready for the Common Wealth Games for 8 year olds. • You are asked to discover: - What games are they currently playing and why - Why they like to play games they do - What they don’t like about the games they play - What they sports they like - What they think that Clyde does for his morning routine • Using the worksheet being handed round and what we have learnt today about child appropriate minutes design a research plan – 5 minutes • When the time is up – share you plan with your neighbour
- 35. Overview of research Environment (where,what time of day) Who will be present ( # participants, others) Who to get permission from how Data Collection Technique Boundaries to set Shopping list Key Topic Guide Questions Activities / Techniques
- 36. Stage in DevelopmentPlay patterns Needs Loves ● Fitting in stage, social conformists – peers important, group orientated and love clubs ● Logical and reasoning skills are developing – reversibility and class inclusion ● Push away from “childhood” in order to affirm new identity ● Impressionable ● Friendship based on play interests and activities ● Boys and girls are likely to play separately ● Imaginative play diminishes considerably. ● Collecting: ownership/ uniqueness/responsibility ● Play ground hierarchy and competition ● Autonomy – pushing away from parents ● Acceptance ● Success ● More concrete thinking ● Prefer ‘realistic’ heroes and aspirations ● Social stress - Turn to properties and people (best friend) that will help them ● Understanding of abstract (random) humour, slapstick ● Dark humour becomes appealing - testing morals ● Puns, sarcasm, innuendo Impact on Research: • Language and memory skills have developed - but can still struggle with ‘difficult language’ • Older children are more capable but it’s still important to use appropriate language • Memory can be limited – helps to have stimulus in front of them • Best to talk to them with a friend (confidence, honesty, self esteem) • Giving them pre-tasks prior to the focus group can prevent group effect 6 - 11
- 37.
- 38.
- 39. For more informationcontact: Claudio Franco @dubit @clauzdifranco Esther Stringer @BCM_Tweets @EstherBCM Thank You
Editor's Notes
- #8 The creation of a game is a typically an ‘evolutionary’ process. Designers draw inspiration from previous titles, genres and stories Existing conventions, often genre-specific, and developer creativity are essential for the creation of a great game Research can help by grounding decisions on evidence - and to a certain extent “de-risk” the design and production processes This is where children - as potential players - come into the equation. At Dubit we like to call this Audience Involvement. (and we say audience, not player involvement because the approaches can effectively apply to any media or product). By involving kids at various stages of design and production you can fine-tune your ideas, find usability issues, understand what’s most enjoyable through play-testing and observation, and even tap into their creativity. This kind of approach is often termed a LEAN or ITERATIVE approach - you don’t just make a game and launch it, but design, produce and test on an ongoing basis, with successive waves or loops of insight informing the next step Please note that here we’re talking about DIRECT research with children, about a specific game. There are many other kinds of research that inform decisions on game design and production - for example, competitor and market analysis, often involving kids; the use of research-based player personas, or archetypes; or more recently the design of business models and game economies that also influence the design of many freemium games. We will come back to research approaches later, but for now let’s focus on some theory and guidelines that inform the ways in which you should do research with children...
- #10 So lets crack on with the theory behind research with Children. In general there are two key sources for principles. standards and best practice they are the Market Research Society and COPPA: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
- #21 As children reach 6 they reach the period of concrete operations and they start to become more emotionally stable as they aren’t learning at the pace of a baby where everything is new every day. They want to be part of the gang and fit in. Their logic and reasoning is improving but they still struggle with solving problems and dealing with hypothetical situations and spotting patterns. So still best to stay away from what ifs when researching with children under 11. They can start to understand that 2x3 = 6 and 3x2 = 6, reversibility, and class inclusion . They want to push away from their childhood but are still extremely impressionable. Their friendships start to change with {…..} but they doing still like objects and start to collect them…..
- #22 Then we come to teenagers who enter the period of formal operations. It’s a difficult period governed by a mix of hormones and the desire for self-expression and finding your identity. […..] Their activities change they become…..but not just what they love and what they do changes so does they way they think, They can now have abstract thoughts and they can discuss things they have no experience. Their problem soling becomes systematic and they can think rationally though a problem rather than guessing at it. That means that you can have more in depth discussions {…..}
- #23 There are lots of techniques that you can use for primary research with children, both online and real world, and there is always secondary research. However there are some circumstances when only face 2 face research will do. This is when ……….
- #24 Face 2 face techniques with children require a lot of planning. Here are some top tips for you……..
- #25 Key to your plan for research, and not just for children, is your discussion guide. I like to think of my discussion guides like my project bible It is key to ensuring that you get the information you want, the way you want it. So when working with children it is essential to keep these things in mind.
- #26 However there are other methods you can use with children that may be more appropriate to your research – digital ethnography. SO much like real world ethnography this the study of online communities and human-technology interactions. It generally uses qualitative methods and there is no one way to do it. Sometimes researchers get a bad wrap as lurkers or watchers in forums and games (especially MMOs). It seems a little big brother but they are there to monitor and aggregate real behaviour and interactions. There are other, maybe less creepy ways, to collect such as surveys, analytic reviews, heuristic evaluation, guerrilla research/testing. But it can also be useful to get children to capture their own thoughts – both because you get it from the horses mouth but also because you are getting them involved in the task and giving them ownership which children embrace. The idea is that you get children to keep online blogs or diaries and get them to write or draw or describe through recording techniques either a specific behaviour or task for example their progress in a particular game. Get them to give you a detailed account of what they did, how they did it and how they felt about it. It can also be used to discover and track more general behaviour by asking them to spend 10-15 minutes describing their day and how they feel. This is a great way to develop a panel of children that you can apply your findings to a variety of research projects. The final option to tell you about today is virtual tools such as Clickroom a great platform developed by Dubit – so I will let Claudio tell you about it.
- #28 As we said before, research can “de-risk” design and production processes With Audience Involvement, engaging with children as potential players and as co- game designers we can: fine-tune ideas find usability issues understand what’s most enjoyable through play-testing and observation tap into their creativity This can happen at different stages Now, there are many ways to split the process of making a game into different stages. This table presents a very granular view, with lots of methods that can be used at different stages… what gets actually done is often down to budgets and timescales... The most common is pre-production vs. production. Design up to the point of an agreed GDD, before production actually starts, would fall into pre-production… From the moment you start coding you can refer to the production stage… however, in iterative approaches, you will most certainly go back to design and testing, more production, more design and testing again… you start with a small product, often with a core golden mechanic, and then build it up and keep on adding to it - even after launching. Think of Candy Crush, with an ever-increasing number of levels; or MMORPGs with regular expansions…
- #29 We will start with different tools and techniques required at the different stages of game production, and then do a little exercise….
- #30 The main techniques that we have been using at Dubit are: Concept testing at the design stage - sometimes this develops into co-design with children... Paper prototype testing - where we make a simulation of a game using a variety of materials and invite potential players to play it Alpha and Beta play testing - where early digital versions of the game are tested with kids. Often this is called usability testing, but in our case it goes further than that. Testing does inform usability issues, but also engagement, enjoyment, and ways to improve the chances of success of a game… And then there are many others...
- #31 Such as eye-tracking, ranking methods for game features...
- #32 Player motivations and gap analysis
- #33 And design based on what we know about the behaviours of sub-groups of players… Now I’d like to run through some tips for conducting research with children…
- #34 Some of these tips are pretty much common sense, but it helps to have a list to prepare… and other things you only learn by doing… For younger kids the ideal place to conduct research is at home; from ages 6/7 they also enjoy going out to a games studio - they become fascinated every time they see game developers at work at my office Don’t dress too formally - I personally like jeans and a t-shirt, preferably with no branding give kids a role from the first minute - introduce the research as an activity with them where their opinion will feed into the making of a game; we often tell kids they’ll be game designers for a day - and their faces shine with excitement! don’t use cool / street / kid language if you don’t usually do it - you’ll sound like an idiot… give them refreshments, offer toilet breaks and breaks whenever they need or want to stop for any reason… as for refreshments, just beware that crisps and crunchy biscuits don’t go along too well with microphones… try to pay attention to kids who aren’t saying much in a group context… probe them, give them a chance to speak… of course they may be shy and happier not to speak much, in which case you can use different communication modes - give them a pen and paper, ask them to draw, write, mimic action in a game, whatever they prefer to express themselves! pay attention to body language. kids are very honest in their communication, and will often give you clues on how they’re feeling just with their posture… sighs… leaning back… heads on shoulders… are all signs, try to get them finally, one thing I love to do is to bring findings from one group, or a game testing session, into the next one.. so if initially I’m testing 3 ideas for power-ups for my game, and a group of kids come up with another 2 they absolutely love, I will test them with the next kids… this means your research is like an organism… good interview and testing scripts prior to a research sessions are essential, but don’t get stuck to them, and let them change and evolve with the research… Right, enough talk, let’s now all get busy with our exercise...
- #38 Claudio - pick an area, or more, show visual case studies - depends on time - C4 Clipbank / Skype
- #39 Not sure it was for a Dubit case study… think so - if there is time/space for this.. (E) Yep it was but looking at it I think we may need to cut this section as it may run over!! .