A prototype ready with no child's opinion on it yet
You have built a children’s product prototype, and every opinion you have heard about it so far has come from an adult, not a child.
A Dawani service
UX research and testing with children
We run research and testing sessions with real children on your product's prototype, with their parents' consent and their protection throughout the session. We deliberately work with small groups, and observe the child's interaction with the prototype specifically, not their development or abilities.
What you get
- A written consent form for the guardian, and a question in the child's own words checking their own willingness too
- A session plan naming the age band, the small group of children, and a setting familiar to them
- Notes built on what the child did before what they said, recorded through questions that do not suggest their own answer
- A list of the changes the session suggests for your design, not a report filed away and never reopened
How we work
We hold to our four laws in every decision, the most relevant here being that the final verdict belongs to the child; and we follow the same stage of our process where a real prototype is tested with real children.
Read how we run a test session, start on your own with the Screen Value Score, or browse our lenses on the expertise page.
When you need this service
Three situations before requesting a research session
An internal disagreement over a design decision
Your team disagrees over a design decision, and the disagreement needs a real child’s opinion, not the majority vote in a meeting.
A major change before it reaches every user
You plan a major change to an existing product, and want to know its effect on a small group before it reaches everyone who uses it.
How the service runs
Four stages, a gate after each
1 Understanding the goal
We hear from you specifically what you want to learn from the session, and the age band your product serves.
Gate: This stage ends once we agree on one clear question the session will answer.
2 A written frame
We write the session plan, the guardian's consent form and the child's own willingness question, before inviting a single child.
Gate: This stage ends once you sign off on the plan and the consent forms are ready.
3 The session with a small group
We run the session with a small group of real children, and observe what they do before what they say.
Gate: This stage ends once every child has left the session at their own comfort, not merely once the planned time is up.
4 Delivery and measurement
We deliver the notes and the list of suggested changes, and an indicator you can use to check their effect once applied.
Gate: This stage does not close until every note is tied to an actual change in the design file.
In scope and out of scope
| Aspect | In scope | Out of scope |
|---|---|---|
| The nature of the observation | Observing the child's interaction with your product's prototype specifically. | A medical or developmental assessment of any child; we are not a diagnostic body. |
| Scale of participation | Small groups that allow a deep observation of every child in them. | A wide survey looking for a general share, not one child's actual action. |
| Consent | The guardian's written consent, the child's own willingness in their own words, and their right to withdraw at any moment. | A child's participation without their guardian's consent, however brief the opportunity looks. |
| Time and price commitment | A written proposal naming the deliverables for your case, once we understand the request. | A price published on the site, or a delivery time before we understand the request. |
Before you write to us
A tool, a post and a reference
Try the Screen Value Score
A tool describing one of your child's sessions, saying what raised or lowered its value, before we design a full research session.
Try the scoreRead how we run a test session
A post explaining the two consents before a session, what we observe during it, and how a child's word becomes an actual change.
Read the postBrowse our expertise page
The age bands and their limits, and the lenses we check every decision against before it reaches the child.
Open the pageBefore a first conversation
Questions often asked about this service
Who chooses the children who take part in the session?
We agree with you on the age band and the small number needed, and the guardian's consent and the child's own willingness stay two conditions that never fall away, whatever the source of the invitation.
Where does the test session take place?
We choose a setting familiar to the child that reduces tension, with as few adults present as possible, rather than a formal space that makes them feel they face a panel.
How does a child's observation become an actual design change?
Every observation is tied to the design file right after the session, not to a report filed away and never reopened; if it changes nothing, it is a wasted observation however carefully it was written down.
Start here
Have a prototype that needs a real child's opinion?
Describe your situation plainly, and we will get back to you within a few working days.
Your path: brand or company
Your idea arrived.
A real person from the Dawani team will read it and reply within a few working days. Thank you for thinking about kids.
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