Launch & account
Set up and start the app on Quest 3
This is breaking the immersion.
Why can’t I do this on VR?Disconnected VR-to-web flow
← All work
Case study / 01
JoinXR
Redesigning the first ten minutes of an XR collaboration platform—across every screen it touches.
RoleUX Design Consultant
ClientFracture Reality
TimelineJan—Jun 2025
The problem
New users had to cross a headset, a browser, their inbox and a laptop before their first meeting—and lost the thread at every switch.
What I did
Seven moderated think-aloud sessions, a redesign of the whole first-use service, and a second test round with five people.
Outcome
The product team reported that about 60% of my recommendations were implemented.
One numbered path, from login to the first shared space.
I rebuilt onboarding as four numbered steps on the desktop, with a single confirmed hand-off to the headset. Every screen says where you are, what comes next and how to skip what isn’t essential.
The onboarding problem was bigger than the headset.
The brief looked like a Quest 3 onboarding fix. Mapping the real journey showed a service problem: people bounced between four surfaces before they could do anything useful.
Before
Six device switches, none of them explained.
After
One numbered sequence, one confirmed hand-off to the headset.
Simplified from the research journey map. Dashed lines mark a device switch.
Avatar & pairing
Create an avatar and link the headset
I hope I can do this on VR.
I hope I remember that long URL correctly.Misleading titles, confusing UI
First session
Understand the platform and start a meeting
How do I navigate in this space?
Okay, now I have to go check my email to finish.No guided welcome
Follow the user, not the device.
- 7moderated think-aloud sessions across the full journey
- 17qualitative findings
- 5themes, prioritised with the CEO and PM
- 5people tested the redesigned prototype
- ≈60%of recommendations shipped
Where the 17 findings landed
Affinity synthesis grouped every observation by the part of the journey it broke.
“This is breaking the immersion.”
Four decisions that shaped the redesign.
Design the service, not one interface
I treated web, email, desktop and Quest 3 as one product, so every surface could confirm what just happened and what comes next.
Value before personalisation
Avatar creation became optional and explained, so people reach a shared space sooner and personalise later.
Teach at the moment of use
Contextual prompts and safe, reversible practice replaced instructions people had to remember from a video.
Make recovery part of the happy path
Pairing, trial and account states got clear exits, so a failed hand-off never became a dead end.
Most of the redesign shipped.
≈60%
The product team reported that about 60% of the recommendations were implemented after the engagement.
7research participants
17findings
5prototype testers
3surfaces tested
What the second round of testing changed
Five people completed the new journey in person across web, desktop and Quest 3.
People needed the next device and the next action to stay obvious.
→One numbered sequence, with status on both sides of every hand-off.
Avatar terms and choices still needed clearer framing.
→Explain the value, simplify the choices, keep a visible skip.
Menu placement slowed down finding the next task.
→Relabel and move actions to where the journey creates the need.
First-session guidance worked best when tied to a real action.
→Teach controls in context, with safe practice and easy undo.
Where it stands
The shipped changes haven’t yet been measured with a post-launch usability test. That would be the next step: run the same tasks on the live product and compare.