Usability engineering of virtual environments (VEs): identifying multiple criteria that drive effective VE system design

Abstract

Designing usable and effective interactive virtual environment (VE) systems is a new challenge for system developers and human factors specialists. In particular, traditional usability principles do not consider characteristics unique to VE systems, such as the design of wayfinding and navigational techniques, object selection and manipulation, as well as integration of visual, auditory and haptic system outputs. VE designers must enhance presence, immersion, and system comfort, while minimizing sickness and deleterious aftereffects. Through the development of a multi-criteria assessment technique, the current effort categorizes and integrates these VE attributes into a systematic approach to designing and evaluating VE usability. Validation exercises suggest this technique, the Multi-criteria Assessment of Usability for Virtual Environments (MAUVE) system, provides a structured approach for achieving usability in VE system design and evaluation. Applications for this research include military, entertainment, and any other interactive system that seeks to provide an enjoyable and effective user experience.