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How would you design a Password Management tool for children?

Difficultyproduct designAsked at Google Cloud (GCP)

Question Explain

This question asks the interviewee to demonstrate their skill and understanding in designing a tool, with both the functionality of password management and the usability appropriate to children as audience. The interviewer wants to see how you merge user-centric design principles with the technical requirements of such a tool. They are also looking to assess your understanding of children's abilities at different ages, how you would tailor the design to suit them, and how you balance between creating an attractive, kid-friendly design and a secure one.

In answering this question, consider the following points:

  1. Understand the user: Children may not have the same understanding of security as adults, might forget passwords easily or share them with friends. Considering these factors into the design is key.
  2. Simplifying the Design: The interface should be simple and fun, making use of colors, characters or stories children can relate to.
  3. Guided Assistance: A child may need help generating a secure password. The tool might offer suggestions or a password strength meter to guide this process.
  4. Accessibility and Comprehension: Make everything easy to find, understand and use bearing in mind that children's reading skills may vary.
  5. Safety Standards: Ensure that any user data, especially children’s personal information, is stored and managed securely to maintain their privacy and safety.

Answer Example 1

To design a password management tool for children, my primary focus would be on creating a user-friendly design that's secure yet comprehendible for a young mind. I would incorporate bright, engaging graphics, possibly with a friendly mascot to make it more relatable. I'd implement interactive tutorials explaining why secure passwords are important, using simple and kid-friendly language.

Passwords could be created interactively, perhaps by dragging and dropping images to create a sequence - making the process fun and visual, but also unique and hard to guess. I would also include a password strength indicator that integrates interactive feedback to teach the child about creating safer, stronger passwords.

From a safety standpoint, I'd ensure the highest levels of encryption are used to store passwords. Also, I would include parental guidance in the system. Parents could monitor activity, and they would need to give consent for actions such as new account additions.

Answer Example 2

In designing a password manager for children, I'd want to utilize a combination of color coding, pictorial representation, and simple animations to make the application bright, cheerful, easy to understand and use. For generating passwords, I'd provide suggestions with combinations of alphanumeric characters and symbols in a way that's easy for a child to comprehend — like associating characters with objects or animals.

Moreover, children might love stories, thus passwords could be associated with simple, fun stories or even songs to aid their memory. To ensure safe usage, I would allow controlled access, requiring a parent's approval initially to add, change or retrieve a password.

As far as security is concerned, all information should be encrypted and the tool should be devoid of any social component to prevent reveal of secured information. Furthermore, registration procession should be built with attention to the child’s digital privacy and conform to children’s online privacy protection laws.

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