Deciding Testing Roles
If you are testing on your own or with a colleague, it is crucial to stick to your role. If you are testing on your own, it might be necessary that you switch between modes - but you need to do it strategically and following a pre-defined script as much as possible.
When testing with infants or children (i.e., participants who do not necessarily follow your instructions), we may identify two main roles:
Tester 1, the technical lead
Tester 1 is going to do the capping, the gelling, and operating the computer, the recording software and scripts.
Tester 1 should always keep a bit on the background, keeping one step behind Tester 2 when greeting, doing things like going through the consent form and talking with the parent, so that the child does not focus too much on them and get to know and trust Tester 2.
Tester 2, the child support
Tester 2 is going to play, sit next to the child and interact with them for most of the time.
When the family arrives, Tester 2 is going to greet the child first, and engage with them directly. When entering the testing room, Tester 2 starts playing with the child, and will keep soothing and distracting for the whole sessions (including capping and recording). Unless there is urgent necessity, Tester 2 should never leave the child’s side to sort things out with the equipment and/or computer.
Testing alone
When testing on your own, you should adopts each role in different stages of the testing session: Tester 2 when the family arrives and during acclimatisation, Tester 1 during capping and recording. When the program/scripts are running and/or are automated, it is possible to:
(a) to return to the child’s side as Tester 2, but limiting the level of engagement
(b) pause the program/script to momentarily engage with the child during a break; during a break, you can give the child a reward, e.g., a sticker
(c) provide brief bouts of vocal encouragement but not coming into the child’s view, for example, from behind a screen or a curtain
Testing in a couple
If two people are testing, you should decide in advance who is going to play tester 1/2.
In my experience, when testing in couple, it works best to alternate, because both roles have their own challenges, and variety helps to release anxiety. Furthermore, when you play the part of Tester 1/2, you get the chance of observing your colleague at work and learn from them, or provide them feedback based on your direct experience of the same task. However, it is also possible to alway stick to one role, for example if a tester has issues with mobility or vision that do not allow specific activities, such as sitting on the ground or attending a laptop screen. However, deciding the roles should never be based on confidence, anxiety or personal inclination (except for the first few sessions maybe): successfully delivering both the participant and technical side are essential skills for research, that every trainee should fully understand and apply.
Testing in more than 2 people might be disruptive for a child, but a third person could be present as sole observer in the background.