A talk from the Design Track at AWE EU 2018 - the World's #1 XR Conference & Expo in Munich, Germany 18 -19, October, 2018.
Matthew Connors (Cybercom Group): The Practice of XR Advancing XR Through a Teach-Learn-Do Cycle.
Those of us actively working in the fields of XR are aware of the interface and engineering paradigm shift that accompanies designing and building experiences for Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality. This talk will focus on the organizational and individual steps to take to create both the communication system and the necessary workflows and skillsets for these new paradigms, to invite students and professionals into the ranks of those building XR in tangential but supporting disciplines such as data science, robotics, and graphic design. Based on my work experience in both larger 20,000-plus employee corporations, and smaller firms - first in Mobile AR experience design, and later in Virtual and Mixed Reality applications and event interactives, I will discuss (aided by additional panel members with associated experiences from different perspectives; this talk can be either a stand-alone or panel discussion, but arguably stronger as a panel) methods of engagement for fostering understanding within and without organizations of the present reality of XR and mapping out expectations for the future possibilities of XR experiences.
http://AugmentedWorldExpo.com
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“Learning and innovation go hand in
hand.The arrogance of success is to
think that what you did yesterday
will be sufficient for tomorrow.”
William Pollard
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Experiential Reality’s Missing Model
Teams working in XR are often composed of researchers, designers,
developers, animators, project managers - we tend to be coming from
all types of different disciplines and mindsets.
These different perspectives should not prevent us from missing out
on the building blocks to success, by sharing what we learn as we
build.
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Teach Learn Do Lead Cycle
These steps tend to have natural overlap areas.
LEARN DO
TEACH LEAD
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We all have the impulse to jump right
in, and start solving what we think is
the problem, and designing solutions
right away. It’s natural, especially when
we see the project timeline looming,
but we need to resist that urge.
Listen For The Use
Case
Process gets a bad rap, so make the process as easy and fun as possible.
Some projects will come to you with
the use case already determined, but if
it does not, take the time to ask
questions, and find out more about the
people who will be using your
experience before you start ideating.
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It is never too early in the process to
start prototyping, in whatever form
that takes for your workflow. The
earlier, and the looser the prototype,
the easier it can be to change later in
the process.
Visualize What is
Possible
Get your head around the problem by putting it on paper.
Study what’s needed based on your
users, and record what you see. If
drawing isn’t your strength, then use
quick schematics, or use pictures of
similar use cases to visualize your
ideas.
When in doubt, be visual.
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Few experiences work well when
designed in a vacuum, so remember to
take the time to look around, and do
your research on what experiences
share the perspective, or platform, or
style that your team is looking to
achieve.
Plan the Interactions
Inspect experiences that you or others have built that fit what you aim to build .
As an extension of early prototyping,
test hardware that you deem to be a fit
for your projects, and build simple
interaction prototypes, in advance of
content or with placeholder content.
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Are you great at Maya? Try 3ds Max or
Modo, or a tool that lets you build in
VR for your prototyping stage.
Try New Tools
Even the most efficient workflow can use an innovation.
Experimenting with new tools allows us
to come back to our usual tools with
fresh eyes, and often gives us the
opportunity to simplify our own
processes.
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Encourage your team to spend the
time investigating interactions or use
cases that are interesting to them, to
understand more about how they
work.
‘Out There’ is OK
Research tangential technologies to see where there may be a fit.
No research effort is ever wasted, and
this will increase ownership in other
parts of the process, and add additional
knowledge and tools to future projects.
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When working with a team based in
one place, or shared across locations,
it’s critical to make sure that you know
at the start of the project the tools that
you will be using for the project.
The specific list will be different for
each project:
Plan a Kickoff
Determine the people that you will need on the project and invite them to an open
discussion.
• What programs will you be using?
• What game engine?
• What support software is needed?
• What hardware fits your use cases?
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As the project moves from the kickoff,
try not to get too focused on the
specific details, but keep the designs
loose enough to be flexible later on in
the production stages.
Map Your Interaction Steps
Process gets a bad rap, so make the process as easy and fun as possible.
We learn when we draw, and we
increase the staying power of the
memories when we can visualize our
concepts; the tools – paper,
whiteboard, Wacom tablet – are not as
important as the immediacy.
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Your engine or pipeline should not be a
popularity contest. Rather, develop a
checklist of the features that are most
important for you after the kickoff and
aligned with the scope, and then start
building according to that plan.
Pick Your Pipeline
Early
Determine the tools that will work best and aim to stick with them for your project.
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The value of an idea is hard to test
without feedback, and just writing it
down or saving to a document is only
the first step.
Document Your
Process
Process gets a bad rap, so make the process as easy and fun as possible.
Ideas can be questioned and revised, or
even turned into a task on an online
project management tool like Trello.
Use the tool that fits your process,
whether it’s Slack, Asana, Basecamp or
Jira.
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Even with a specific roadmap and a
talented team, many XR experiences
can get lost along the way by telling
too big of a story. What motivations
drive the person using your
application?
Tell A Story
Your Experiential Scope Needs a Focused Point of View.
Present these chapters in the user
story to those in your team, and others
that can give you an objective
viewpoint to help check your work, and
confirm that your user story works.
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If your experience allows people to
interact in different areas, talk early
and often with your team to make sure
all are clear about what happens
where.
Define the Time and
Space
Your Experiential Scope Needs a Point of View
Present these chapters in the user
story to both those in your team, and
any others that can give you an
objective viewpoint to help check your
work.
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Investigating isn’t enough on its own,
there needs to be a team culture that
says that it’s not only OK to research
new tools, but it’s part of everyone’s
job description.
Share With Your Teams
Build a culture that supports continuous sharing of ideas.
While sharing ideas or techniques that
will help the current project can cause
immediate benefit, learning about
tools that are off of the main road can
create useful insights, and drive whole
new products or experiences.
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When you make the time to step
outside of your own team, you have
the opportunity to see and hear
different perspectives to increase your
own knowledge.
Step Outside
Investigate other cultures to engage in a larger discussion.
Listening is important, but participation
is the engagement you will remember,
and build the confidence to be a future
leader.
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It’s not easy being a leader, and it
definitely does not always mean being
right. Leaders test assumptions, make
mistakes, and are always willing to
engage in the conversation.
The Manager Myth
Be a leader every day, whether or not it’s in your job description.
Listening is important, but participation
is the engagement creates memories
and builds the confidence to be a
future leader. Keep your teams as flat
as possible to keep communication
lines open.
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Great ideas need a bias for action, and
the individuals and teams with the
passion and knowledge to build, along
with the courage to learn from the
mistakes that will happen along the
way.
Test Your Innovation
Be a Maker, every day.
Creating a Maker culture is the natural
end result when teams are learning,
doing teaching and leading every day.
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Improving a process is hard enough
inside and organizations, so why not
open the door to other minds?
Open the Box
Build a culture that supports continuous sharing of ideas.
An open sandbox approach may not be
the approach to client challenges in
every scenario, but stay ´vigilant for the
opportunities
