stage-0-1-ux-ar-sports

Stage 0-1 UX Research for AR in Collegiate Sports

This project addressed a major business risk: avoiding building the wrong XR solution at launch and discovering hidden bottlenecks. The athletics program was ready to invest in AR hardware, but research showed the real problem was fragmented data infrastructure spread across six disconnected systems. Coaches did not need AR. They needed integrated, accessible information. The findings shifted the strategy, secured $250K in new funding, and prevented a costly misdirection before development began.

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Overview

Developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Athletics Association (GTAA), this AR solution integrates real-time data visualization into athletic training, transforming performance analysis and injury prevention.

Goals

As the UX Researcher and IRB Lead, I aimed to:

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Identify user needs and pain points in current training workflows
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Evaluate AR/VR technologies for comfort, usability, and feasibility
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Develop a user-centered vision for an integrated AR training system
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Ensure ethical compliance through IRB coordination

Research Approach

Stage 0-1 UX Research Activities

Technology Evaluation: Compared Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest 3 for comfort, usability, and known users' needs. (Kano Analysis)
Strategic Recommendation: Advocated for AR over VR based on stakeholders' feedback, users' needs, and environmental constraints.
SWOT Analysis: Identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to hardware, data integration, and stakeholder alignment.
Industry Partners: Researched out to leading AR industry partners to find the up-incoming technology to use during development.
IRB Coordination: Led efforts to ensure ethical compliance for human-centered research.
Ethnographic Interviews: Conducted deep user interviews with Georgia Tech football staff to understand behind-the-scenes workflows, pain points, and opportunities for AR integration.

Interview Guides

Sample questions used during ethnographic interviews with GTAA staff. I designed overlapping questions to explore daily, weekly, and seasonal routines before diving into each participant’s area of expertise.
To ease tension, I introduced AR topics at the end of each interview. This helped participants who were apprehensive about speaking with me or uninterested in technology feel more comfortable sharing.
Each session ended with a referral: I asked who I should speak to next, and followed their recommendation to build trust and relevance in recruitment.

Preview Interview Guides

Key Insights

From the interviews and field observations, I uncovered critical pain points:

VR Limitations: Devices like Meta Quest 3 were bulky, uncomfortable for some users, is known to cause motion sickness in pilots, and is incompatible with athletic gear.
Tool Fragmentation: Staff used multiple disconnected systems, leading to inefficiencies and duplicated effort
Data Silos: Coaches lacked real-time access to biometric and performance data
Manual Workarounds: Time-consuming data entry and analysis consumed staff bandwidth
Hardware Limitations: Existing wearables were sometimes too fragile for student athletes
Communication Gaps: Researchers and athletics staff lacked a shared language and platform

4

sprints

6

stakeholder interviews

$250k+

incremental project funding

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Diverse team experience and skillset

Direct access and full support of GTAA

Easier implementation and lower budget than VR

Cross-domain athletic platform development

Weaknesess

Missing tangible assets such as athletic sensors, devices/platforms/data

Weaknesses in cybersecurity, data storage, and communication between researchers and the athletics department

Needed upgrades in AR/VR hardware

Opportunities

Expansion into other sports

Ability to deliver what stakeholders specifically requested

Incorporating human factors and AI elements

Threats

Scheduling impacts related to IRB

Dependency on a single manufacturer for AR glasses

Design Direction

Based on research findings, the team pivoted towards:

AR-based HUDs integrated into helmet visors and smart glasses
A centralized Athletic Management System (AMS) with:

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Color-coded performance and injury metrics
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Real-time feedback and video playback
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Integration with existing tools (Perch, Whoop, Catapult, etc.)
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Mobile and desktop compatibility
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Customizable dashboards for coaches and staff

The prototype was developed by the software team using my research recommendations and presented in the stakeholder slide deck.

Impact

Actionable Insight

Stage 0-1 research uncovered critical pain points that directly informed the AMS prototype design.

Stakeholder Connectivity

Stakeholders responded enthusiastically to the demo

Business Goal

Resulted in $250K+ in incremental funding across four sprints

Strategic Direction

Validated the strategic value of UX research in early-stage innovation

Scalability

Our team is now positioned for future expansion into other sports and domains

Outcomes

Defined user requirements for coaching and other support staff

Informed hardware selection and system architecture

Established a foundation for iterative prototyping and usability testing

Created alignment across engineering, athletics, and compliance teams