User-Centered Processes for Studying Human Interaction with Virtual Environments and Human-Human Interaction in Virtual Environments

Author(s)

Theresa O'Connell, Kevin Workman, Wyatt Wong

Abstract

This paper sets out a usability engineering framework of processes that were applied to user-centered studies of digital natives interacting with virtual environments (VE) and with each other while playing cooperative and competitive serious games in VEs. It explains the derivation and application of these processes to three different types of usability studies that incorporated elements from disciplines ranging from classical usability engineering to innovative discourse analysis. It demonstrates the feasibility of maintaining a user-centered focus throughout a study of human interaction with VEs and human-human interactions in VEs. The processes were applied to studying digital natives, people who grew up using technology. They can be extended to studies of other human subjects interacting with VEs.

Citation

Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

collaborative virtual environments, digital natives, discourse analysis, metaverses, serious games, usability engineering, usability metrics, usability principles, virtual environments, virtual worlds, video games

Citation

O'Connell, T. , Workman, K. and Wong, W. (1970), User-Centered Processes for Studying Human Interaction with Virtual Environments and Human-Human Interaction in Virtual Environments, Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (Accessed October 21, 2025)