The cat was indeed, I was told, helpful and had good ideas. Allison Druin is a professor and researches how to design computer programs for children. Instead, she lets children be involved from the start. If they find something boring, they drop it and start on something else. It is not just the adults observing the children.
Children observe the adults and describe what they see.
Children are also an interesting user group. Just like adults they are novices at the computer. But while adult beginners often are careful and afraid of making mistakes, children attack the computers wholeheartedly. They are natural beta testers. And they won't buy the myth that it has to be boring to learn something new.