I was playing “one thing leads to another” this morning (aka following links) and came across this fantastic article by Allison Druin of the University of Maryland’s  Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. In Druin’s article, “The Role of Children in the Design of New Technology,” she builds a case for the involvement of children directly in the technology being designed specifically for them. She goes on to describe four primary levels of involvement (user, tester, informant, and design partner) and discuss the methods, historical context, strengths, and weaknesses of each level. If you are interested in participatory, cooperative or collaborative forms of design, this article is an excellent starting point. It is packed from beginning to end with Druin’s experience, wisdom, ideas and resources.

It opens with this great reminder for designers (and can be applied to any user group):

Children have their own likes, dislikes, curiosities, and needs that are not the same as their parents or teachers. As obvious as this may seem, we as designers of new technologies for children, sometimes forget that young people are not “just short adults” but an entirely different user population with their own culture, norms, and complexities (Berman, 1977). Yet, it is common for developers of new technologies to ask parents and teachers what they think their children or students may need, rather than ask children directly (Druin et al., 1999; Druin, 1996). This may in part be due to the traditional power structure of the “all-knowing” adult and the “all-learning” child, where young people are dependent on their parents and teachers for everything from food and shelter, to educational experiences. At times, these relationships may make it difficult for children to voice their opinions when it comes to deciding what technologies should be in schools or at home. In addition, we as designers of technologies have our own biases and assumptions about children.

I’m a strong believer in the power of user involvement in design. Unfortunately, user involvement is more time consuming and therefore, can be expensive. I was inspired by Druin’s article, though, to re-visit user involvement in my design work (whether children or adults) and start to look for creative ways to include it.