One journey. Three devices.
Onboarding friction accumulated across web, desktop and Quest 3.
← All workCommissioned by Fracture Reality · Case study / 04
JoinXR
Redesigning the first ten minutes of an XR collaboration platform.
Research through prototype
An independent audit and redesign with the CEO and Product Manager.
7 users · 5 prototype testers
17 findings; approximately 60% of recommendations later adopted.
01 / The engagement
Redesigning the journey
before the experience.
Fracture Reality commissioned me to audit and redesign JoinXR’s first-time experience across Meta Quest 3, web and desktop. I owned the research, synthesis, journey mapping, interaction design, prototype and validation—working directly with the CEO and Product Manager.
Implementation figure supplied by the product team. It reflects recommendations adopted after the engagement—not a measured usability uplift.
02 / Research design
Seven people.
One complete first-use journey.
Moderated think-aloud + task-based testing
Seven in-person sessions, approximately one hour each, moderated by me. Findings were observational and qualitative.
Launch
Start on Quest 3
Account
Create and verify
Profile
Set up avatar
Pair
Connect the headset
Explore
Reach the main page
Evidence was synthesised across three phases to show how friction accumulated before users reached product value.
03 / Synthesis
Seventeen findings.
Five connected themes.
The largest problems were not isolated interface defects. They accumulated across the journey and prevented first-time users from building a stable mental model of JoinXR.
Cross-device continuity
Account creation, pairing, mobile capture and desktop download behaviour broke the journey across devices.
Instructional load
Dense first-launch copy, competing setup actions and unclear system activity increased cognitive load.
Avatar clarity
State-inaccurate labels and unexplained choices made avatar creation harder to predict.
Product mental model
Organisation, Meeting, Drop-In, Solo and trial states appeared before their relationships were clear.
First-use guidance
The product lacked a meaningful welcome and Edit Mode controls were difficult to discover.
Read all 17 documented findings +
- Onboarding fragmented across devices
- First-launch instructions created high cognitive load
- Pairing lacked clear wayfinding
- Account creation added avoidable friction
- Avatar terminology did not match user state
- Avatar choices lacked explanation
- Recommended phone workflow behaved inconsistently
- Setup presented competing actions
- Organisation setup appeared too early
- Core product concepts lacked a clear mental model
- Trial status and functionality appeared contradictory
- No meaningful first-time welcome
- Decisions arrived before product understanding
- Tutorial competed with system activity
- System status lacked useful detail
- Desktop link unexpectedly initiated a download
- Edit Mode controls were difficult to discover
Inspect the original usability issuesSix screens from the audit+
04 / Prioritisation
What we acted on first—
and why.
I prioritised the recommendations with the CEO and Product Manager. We compared expected user impact with the effort and dependencies involved, then organised the work into a clear sequence.
How to read this
Higher-impact onboarding problems were addressed first. Larger structural changes were retained as strategic recommendations, while smaller copy and navigation fixes were folded into prototype iterations.
Priority 01Design first
High user impactLow–medium effort
Remove barriers to completing onboarding
- Pairing wayfinding
- Avatar terminology and choices
- First-time welcome flow
- System-status feedback
These issues directly affected whether a new user could understand and complete the journey.
Priority 02Iterate alongside
Meaningful impactLow effort
Clarify what users see and where they find it
- Copy refinements
- Menu-item placement
These improvements could be tested and refined quickly within the interactive prototype.
Priority 03Plan strategically
High potential impactHigher effort
Resolve broader cross-platform dependencies
- Website information architecture
- Expanded authentication options
These required wider product and technical decisions, so they remained recommendations rather than immediate implementation work.
Later horizonRevisit next
Post-onboardingAdditional effort
Improve advanced product discoverability
- Edit Mode guidance
- Deeper usability after onboarding
The engagement prioritised first-use success; these improvements were documented for a later product phase.
05 / Design response
From observed friction
to testable direction.
Keep momentum across devices
Make the web hand-off and return path explicit; surface pairing where users expect it.
Reveal setup progressively
Separate the immediate onboarding task from organisation and trial decisions.
Use state-aware language
Replace “Change Avatar” with creation language until an avatar exists.
Explain before asking
Clarify avatar types and product concepts before users must choose.
Teach in context
Add a first-use welcome, clearer progress states and contextual guidance.
Design the whole service
Resolve Quest 3, web and desktop as one prototype rather than isolated screens.
01Sketches→02Wireframes→03Interactive prototype→04Validation
01 / Sketching
Explore the flow before committing to screens.
I used quick sketches to compare the avatar-selection routes, content hierarchy and action placement. This made the competing ideas tangible enough to discuss before investing in detailed interface work.
02 / Wireframes
Turn the selected direction into a complete screen structure.
The low-fidelity wireframe translated the chosen sketch into content hierarchy, avatar choices, guidance, primary actions and supporting information—without allowing visual polish to hide structural problems.
03 / High-fidelity prototype
One sequence across web, Quest 3 and desktop.
The interactive prototype made each step explicit, introduced skip paths where appropriate and kept users oriented as they moved from account access to avatar, pairing and team-space setup.
EntryAccount access
Step 1 of 4Create your avatar
Step 2 of 4Generate an avatar
Step 3 of 4Pair your device
Step 4 of 4Set up your team space
04 / Website direction
Explain the product before asking people to enter it.
The website concept introduced JoinXR through its core value, real applications and trusted organisations, while separating “Try”, “Download” and “Request demo” into understandable routes.
- Value proposition before product complexity
- Real application examples
- Distinct actions for different intents
- Credibility through customers and certifications
These are the complete portfolio-safe design artefacts provided for this case study. Images are shown uncropped; select any screen to inspect it at full size.
06 / Prototype validation
A second loop
closed the obvious gaps.
Two stakeholders and three returning participants from the original research group.
Quest 3, website and desktop—covering onboarding and main-page features.
The interactive prototype was tested as one cross-device experience.
Observed outcome
The redesigned flow felt easier and more intuitive.
This is a qualitative finding from the prototype sessions, not a quantified usability score.
Iteration after testing
Refined copy and menu placement.
Participant comments led to clearer language and better positioning of navigation items before handover.
07 / Handover & impact
Clear about what shipped.
Honest about what was not measured.
The team implemented around sixty percent of the recommendations, concentrated mainly on onboarding. Customers subsequently gave positive feedback about that experience.
Website and later-use changes
Recommended website changes were not a product priority, and usability improvements after onboarding were only partially implemented.
No formal follow-up test
The live product was not retested after implementation, so the case study does not claim a measured conversion or task-success uplift.
Handover
- UX audit report
- Journey map and research observations
- Sketches, wireframes and high-fidelity UI
- Prototype-test observations and rationale
- Cross-device interactive prototype