Charanjit Sidhu

With high performance computer processing capabilities and appropriate communication bandwidths, virtual reality (VR) and enhanced reality systems are no longer restricted to sophisticated flight simulators. Now there is the opportunity for users to immerse themselves in new worlds and to learn, work and play in different ways. This paper presents some of the key research issues that need to be addressed in order to develop virtual environments (VEs) which will ‘succeed’ across a range of VR application areas, including: What are the key components that constitute compelling, stimulating and easy-to-use VEs? What constitutes a usable VE? Do we understand the human element of VR? Techniques and approaches that will increase our understanding of VR from the user perspective are presented, together with ‘The Mirror’ case study which demonstrates the assessment methodology used to address performance and usability issues relating to a collaborative environment delivered over the Internet.

This paper describes our experiences in BT working with Marketing on a number of recently released and forthcoming telecommunications products. We believe that usability professionals will find it increasingly important to work with marketing ‘professionals, and we provide practical advice for those who do so.