Evaluation Of Construct Elicitation As A Research Method To Obtain Design-Relevant Data From Children

摘要

In design research, the importance of the input of children is wellrecognized.Technology has immersed into schools and daily lives ofchildren, bringing with it adaption of user-centered design principles inthe field. Although early works concentrated mostly on usability testing(Hanna et al., 1997), methodological approaches that involve children inthe earlier design phases have also been gaining popularity. Methods suchas “informant design” (Scaife and Rogers, 1999) and “contextual inquiry”(Druin, 2002) aim to ensure the maximum contribution of children throughsustained participation. Generative tools and techniques such as collagesand stickers (Gielen, 2008), “write/draw task” and “photo voice” (Hussain,2010) and “KidReporter” (Bekker et al., 2003) also help designers to betterunderstand children’s needs. That said, the majority of studies in the fieldhave sought to garner children’s opinions in the testing phase (Jensenand Skov, 2005; Yarosh et al., 2010) rather than attempting to integratetheir subjective perspectives into major design decisions, which limitsthe contributions of children to usability improvement. User experience,however, goes beyond usability, embodying hedonic as well as pragmaticaspects of the interaction of the user with the product (Hassenzahl, 2004),and acknowledges the importance of social and cultural aspects in the wayswe experience products (Forlizzi and Ford, 2000).