A competitive analysis was done on 3 different companies: Google Arts & Culture, Timelooper, and zSpace. I discovered the following key learnings:

1. All offer accessibility features.

2. All utilize different software and tech equipment to create an immersive experience.

3. While all companies focus on education, they have different target audiences.

4. All provide immersive experiences and interactive elements.

Competitive Analysis

Opportunities Identified

1. Multi-sensory experiences: Multi-sensory components can greatly increase user immersion and engagement in AR experiences. Users can have a richer, more memorable experience that transcends visual and auditory stimuli by appealing to multiple senses.

2. Multi-person experiences: Creating a feature that allows users to interact and explore historical sites together in real-time offers significant potential to enhance user engagement and create a sense of community. This feature could transform a solitary experience into a shared adventure, promoting collaboration and social interaction.

Through my competitive analysis of Google Arts and Culture, Timelooper, and zSpace, I identified several opportunities for enhancing user experience. Making multi-person experiences possible via Immerseum—enabling users to meet and explore historical sites in real-time—was one important opportunity. After much consideration and conversations with my mentor, I decided against this feature in the current iteration of Immerseum. The main factors that led to this decision were technical complexity and project focus. For starters, producing a seamless multi-person experience requires significant technical resources and skill, which not only takes a lot of time but may also take away from the focus on creating a high-quality, single-user experience. And since the initial goal of this project is to create an immersive and educational experience for users, concentrating on this objective can provide a solid foundation before expanding into multi-person experiences. However, the idea of multi-person experiences remains a future possibility as Immerseum evolves.

Affinity Mapping

Key Insights:

1. How users like to learn (interactive learning methods): All users preferred learning through more interactive methods such as videos, podcasts, and even storytelling. 

1. Positive learning experiences with professors: Four out of five users stated engaging professors influenced their learning experience positively.

2. Learning using traditional methods proved to be challenging: Four out of five users expressed how difficult reading through dense history books was, finding them boring, tedious, and difficult to engage with. 

3. Realism in AR: Four out of five users expressed the importance of a realistic AR experience. Some examples users gave were time-period-appropriate music, realistic fauna and weather, and immersive activities that allowed users to participate in time-period-specific events. 

4. Accessibility needs: Three out of five users stated they needed closed captions and three out of five stated they experienced language barriers at historical sites. So offering text or video in other languages is important.

5. Varied use of the app: User responses were not consistent on how often they would use this app. Ranging from not often to two times a month. 

6. Sites: Users were not consistent with what sites they would like to see, but the two that came up were Ancient Egypt and the Colosseum.

I interviewed 5 participants to gain insight into how they prefer to learn, their experience with traditional learning methods, the different learning tools they’ve used, and any potential accessibility needs. All 5 users stated they preferred more interactive learning methods such as storytelling, videos, and podcasts, but preferred engaging storytelling the most.

User Needs

1. Participants described traditional learning methods as "dry," "boring," and “not engaging enough.”

2. Participants expressed having difficulty visualizing historical sites through text and static images when using traditional learning methods.

3. Participants also expressed having difficulty focusing and maintaining interest, as well as challenges with retaining information.

4. 2 out of the 5 participants had difficulty visiting historical sites in person in other countries due to language barriers.

User Pain Points

1. Enhance user engagement with history.

2. Provide immersive experiences.

3. Improve accessibility.

4. Promote continued learning and interest.

Project Goals

Based on the participant responses from the interviews, I came up with two personas: 1. The History Enthusiast and the 2. Interactive Traveling Learner.

Personas

1.

Immerseum aims to provide an immersive, educational, and interactive experience that allows users to virtually explore historical sites. By utilizing storytelling, 3D reconstructions, and other interactive elements, the app enhances users' comprehension and enjoyment of these sites. It addresses accessibility issues and the limitations of traditional learning methods, making historical education more engaging and comprehensive for students, educators, and history enthusiasts. The application will feature an intuitive and engaging user interface, ensuring accessibility and usability for a broad audience.

Product Concept

1. Immersive environments

2. Educational content 

3. Accessibility features

4. Account creation

5. Save functions

6. User tracking

7. World History search engine

8. Storyteller feature

9. Spatial and augmented audio

Feature List