User Survey: Excite-O-Meter
As part of a team at the Max Planck Institute (MPI), I was responsible for conducting preliminary user research for the development of software that was meant to make it easier to incorporate heart rate (HR) data into virtual reality applications. This was part of the XR4ALL Open Call competition in Europe. The preliminary name for our software was the Excite-O-Meter.
I took a lead role in designing, implementing and analyzing a web survey to better understand our potential users. The survey was an integral aspect of our planned development process: one of our selling points was that we would use survey data to tailor development of our application to our potential users' needs.
Process
I came up with a list of questions that addressed our initial concerns for steering development: e.g., were users most interested in incorporating live HR data into their apps, to make them more reactive to user emotions? Or were they more interested in using this data post-hoc, to determine which aspects of their app was more or less exciting? And how experienced were our potential users? In which industries did they work?
I then vetted the questions with all other stakeholders on the team to make sure all of their interests were addressed, without making the survey too long or cumbersome (as we were not paying participants).
We chose Limesurvey to host our survey because it balanced privacy and security with functionality and customizability (and because the MPI had an enterprise subscription to it).
Project (summary)
A Unity plugin that converts heart rate data into an easily usable, scientifically validated form for developers.
Aim of user survey
Assess interests of potential users to steer development of our software.
My role
Survey design, analysis
Tools
Lime Survey, R
Outcome
We learned that many of our users were likely to be academic researchers with a low level of proficiency in coding ability. Using our software to gauge the reactions of their users in the moment was the most common preference, though many respondents were also interested in making applications that would react to user emotions, or using the HR data post-hoc to determine user reactions to features of their app.
We also gained a sense for how much users would be willing to pay for our software: generally free, or between 31-50 euros for a download.
Our user survey laid the groundwork for the development of our software, the Excite-O-Meter. It was the first of several steps in a larger user-centered design plan.
Check out the GitHub repository or get in touch if you have questions!
