Using virtual reality to assess user experience.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Applications
• User Experience Research

Background:

• Traditional user experience (UX) evaluation often occurs in controlled laboratory settings, which may lack ecological validity.
• User experience is a complex outcome of user-product-context interactions, necessitating more realistic assessment environments.
• Virtual reality (VR) enables the creation of immersive, realistic virtual environments while maintaining experimental control.

Discussion:

• This article explores the limitations of current UX evaluation methods and how VR technology can address them.
• The potential of VR equipment in enhancing UX studies, including its applications and drawbacks, is examined.
• A VR-based framework for UX evaluation is proposed, highlighting its relevance for future research.

Key Insights:

• Virtual reality significantly improves the ecological validity of UX evaluations by simulating real-world interaction contexts.
• VR allows for controlled yet realistic testing environments, overcoming limitations of traditional lab-based UX assessments.
• A novel VR-based framework is presented for more comprehensive UX evaluation.

Outlook:

• VR-based UX evaluation can provide deeper insights into user expectations and lifestyle influences on product interaction.
• The technology facilitates the assessment of user emotions from initial product contact through ongoing interaction.
• This approach offers valuable knowledge for researchers and professionals in technological interface design.