Valve Index

Product Research Report

A UX Research Design Perspective

The project's goal is to identify a user experience problem or opportunity associated with a Pacific Northwest company whose offerings span both digital and physical products, services, or messages.

Projects Intended Deliverables

-Identify User Needs and the human behaviors, habits, and expectations surrounding said needs

-Develop a specification of requirements for a successful solution.

-Create Solution-set requirements that are specific, goal-based, and need-driven.

Our goal is to find research insights from both qualitative and quantitative data and generate specific goal-based solution that is need driven.

Super Cool Mind Map

We started with a mind map researching companies and products that interested us. I mentioned to the group that I have a VR headset and they were ecstatic about the idea. We started researching the project before creating interviews

Teams Assumptions

Motion sickness is a big issue

1000 Dollars might be too much for people

Poor UI due to it being only for gamer needs

Scope

Our objective was to test the users experience and take detailed observation notes while the tester was playing VR.

Secondary Research

Valve Corporation, founded in 1996 stands as a pioneering force in gaming. Renowned for iconic franchises like Half-Life and Dota 2, the company's impact extends to the digital realm with the revolutionary Steam platform, transforming PC gaming and reshaping industry dynamics

Steam VR Compatibility

Seamlessly integrated Offering users access to a virtual workspace

Wide Field of View

providing users with a more engaging and lifelike VR environment.

Advanced Features

Precise finger tracking controllers Dual-element lens system

Ergonomic Design

that prioritizes user comfort

Valve Index

This cutting-edge VR headset by Valve Corporation stands out for its advanced features and immersive capabilities. The precision of finger tracking controllers is a noteworthy aspect, offering users a more intuitive and interactive experience with a lifelike VR environment.

Motion sickness issues

Many users on Reddit have noticed the motion sickness issues and heavy documentation and have provided excellent user data to observe. This has been known to be a persistent issue even with long-time users. Some notable and odd solutions such as chewing gum, adjusting device fps, intreacting with real world objects and building tolerance

“Building a tolerance for nausea is like learning how to solve a new math concept in a way. The lag time still creates a mismatch between what the person's eyes tell them and what their body tissue sensors are experiencing.” - Cool Reddit User

Meta Headsets Dominating Market Share

Meta Quest was the leading extended reality (XR) headset vendor in terms of shipments in early 2023, occupying 49 percent of the market in the first quarter of the year.

The research indicates that consumers are losing interest in the XR market. There are several reasons for this with the affordability of headsets being the main one. These headsets are pricey (sic) and unaffordable for many.Meta headset was also the best-selling global XR headset brand with the lower price point reflecting the buying power and percived value of consumers Low market share indicates a stakeholder need to sell more units as well the competitions ability to address user needs in a more substantial way

Research Insights

After Reviewing what we had learned so far we had grouped our findings into 3 categories that reflected the intended project outcomes

Market Gaps and Growth Opportunities

Quality and Offer

Target Audience

Brand Recognition

Price and Postition

Market Share

Market Positioning Branding

User Pain Points

Motion Sickness

Product Solutions

Accessibility Concerns

Dizziness

Customer Support

Weight of headset

Setup Complexity

Features and Specifications

Unique Offering

Features and Specifications

Unique Value Propositions

Software support and intergrations

Refresh Rate

Resolution

Then we weighed which ones would be best for a competitive audit. We decided to look at the grouped factors as well as the Motion Sickness issue by itself due to its prominence

Problem Statement

How might we help users address motion sickness and other pain points while using the Valve Index?

Survey Methodology and Format

We wanted to include a heuristic audit so we revisited jacob neilson and created questions that revolve around proper user heuristics with all of us trying to create sample questions. We tried to include 3 for both the survey and the interview

Summarized Heuristic Evaluations

Used a system usability scale to find quantitative data to generate insights.

-Visibility of System Status Users

Questions Generated

If you have tried a VR headset Before How would you rate your experience 1-10

What is your age, gender, occupation?

Interview Methodology and Format

We made an outline for what we would need to create the interview questions. We all gave our own responses to list of questions on our time and met up to discuss our findings to share insights and get on the same page

Example Question: What are your research objectives?

Our Responses:

Ali: To find out peoples thoughts on motion sickness we can look at what kind of affect is has on them, what their throughts on are it, If it will deter them from buying. We can also investigate peoples baseline thoughts and ideas on the

product and slowly introduce them to motion realted tasks.

Scott: In the questioning we can even ask how (if they overcame it) went about doing it and what tools helped them.

Orli: Our focus on the VR headset is about preventing and stopping motion sickness and nausea from becoming so common for anyone starting to play VR

Collaborative Document

Summarized Heuristic Evaluations

-Match between the system and the real world

-Visibility of System Status Users

-Flexibility and efficiency of use

Interview Questions Generated

-Did the headset feel comfortable?

-Did you notice any difference when changing the depth slider?

-Was the Headset Comfortable, in comparison to other headsets?

Interview Introduction

Introduction (5-10 minutes)

The software SteamVR was up and running prior to beginning the session and multiple test runs were preformed on each day of testing. Audio Recording forms were signed at the start. Users were greeted and encouraged to jump into it if they didn't have any questions about the headset or the survey

Headset and Controllers were placed by moderators and users were told to navigate towards the first game using the controllers.

BeatSaber and SuperHot Playthrough

Games were picked to not instill excessive motion sickness (smaller scope). We wanted to test one with limited motion and then some motion. Used Popular games to demonstrate real-world use cases

VR Introduction (5-10 minutes)

Superhot Playthrou

BeatSaber Playthrough

Steam VR UI Menu

Steam VR 1-5 Minutes

BeatSaber 5-10 Minutes

Superhot 5 -20 Minutes

Particpant Playing BeatSaber

Users were introduced to the steamVR home and then told to navigate to the first game beatsaber. This gave us a chance to evaluate the default software in terms of clarity and screen quality as well address an important part of the user being able to complete the task of launching/playing with games. Users were questioned about clarity and other factors in both screens.

Users were told to select a song and encouraged to navigate the UI by themself. If they wanted too they could play another or move on to the next game.

This allowed us to test real-world timing and visual clarity with loy poly objects.

In game questions were asked after the first song but users were left alone unless they failed the song

Users were then told to switch over to superhot by themselves and encouraged to do what felt intuitive on the controller. If they were unable then it would be launched separately on the controller

Uses the index's unique feature of being able to squeeze the handle and throw objects.

Interview Persona

Kimothy Julian

Kendra Kopochico

Sara Depressé

Observations

Depth slider was a bit blurry. Steam menu is complicated for someone who doesn't play video games. Dial to adjust settings instead of a slider. The headset was comfortable.

Depth slider was a blurry. A little Vertigo when playing SuperHot because of the bright white in the game itself. Headset was comfortable.

Enjoyed the experience. Stated she would like a more comfortable band since it can get hot after using it for a while.

Quotes and Questions

Q: Do you see yourself using the headset regularly?

“Probably use it regularly depending on what games you have”

Q: How was your experience playing with the Beat Saber and SuperHot? A:“So much fun!”

“I really wished it weighed less and was less heavy”

Q: Would you buy a VR headset? Do you feel comfortable setting it up by yourself? A: I think I would, I would just need to buy masks
“I have never experienced motion sickness”

Analysis

We started by trying to collect everything we had gathered so far and through into an online collaborative document

Although our sticky-notes weren't the color multicolored and aesthetic pleasing we began to to list out all of our research insights and categorize them to find trends in the data

Data Insights

Visuals were blurry for everyone. The depth slider didn't make much of a difference in making it crystal clear but it did appear to help some people.
Most users found the headset comfortable, but too heavy. Comfort is King.
Most people gravitate toward a 500 dollar headset
People felt comfortable operating a VR headset by themselves.

5 out of 6 interview users we tested wouldn't pay more than $500 for a VR Headset.

8 out of 8 users found the headset to be blurry

5 out of 6 users found the headset heavy

5 out of 6 users found the headset to be comfortable all while survey participants said comfortability was the most important thing

Conclusions

Solution Set Requirements

Unmet User Needs

Research Insight

Possible Solutions

Motion Sickness Issues

The majority of interviewers complained about the headset's weight.

5 out of 6 found the headset to be heavy

There is a strong link between weight and motion sickness[3]

5 out 6 users found the headset comfortable; all survey participants ranked comfortability as the most important feature in a Vr headset

Most people could not identify a difference when using the depth slider.

Redesigned Lightweight headset

Find Ways to Reduce weight while keeping it more comfortable

Look into partnership with BigScreen VR as they are leading the industry with a lightweight headset

Add an explanation and a corresponding system visibility scale

Headset Comfortability isn't communicated

5 out 6 users found the headset comfortable; all survey participants ranked comfortability as the most important feature in a Vr headset

Promote the headsets comfortable featureres

The Price of the headset is too high

People would be worried about paying for games after purchase

Meta headsets have the largest market share and people are interested in an entry-level product and price

As most gamers are interested, bundle with games as promotions

Introduce an entry-level product, reconsider the base stations but keep the controllers.

Next Steps

Another game with higher motion such as Skyrim or any blade and sorrercy may increase the amount of motion sickness and gives a chance to observe it in action.

Consider partnering and studying big screen VR they current have the lightest headset by creating a custom 3d printed mold for your face.

Letting users use the MetaQuest 3 and cheaper alternatives, do more research on the index's strength and see if its providing enough value to justify 1000

Key Takeaways

Perhaps our sample sized is too biased but it seems to be a huge push in desire for users to use VR headsets for gaming rather than anything else. However, with consumers' purchasing power in our demographic, we can see an opportunity for valve to help more gamers.

Motion sickness is and will continue to be an issue but establishing scope and understanding for what can cause motion sickness to the user may be important. THere seems to be a big disconnect in the types of games that can cause sickness and the ability for it occur.