Innovative mixed reality training to educate field technicians for efficient onboarding

T- MOBILE X UW

Capstone Project

Task given

Develop an advanced professional training application that harnesses the potential of immersive technologies and 5G to deliver a more cost effective, engaging, and richer learning experience in scenarios where access to the real physical environment or scenarios are difficult, expensive or dangerous.

AR/VR/XR

Professional Training

My Team

Lauren Liao (Full Stack Developer)

Yilia Liu (Videographer)

Zhengyang Yang (UX Designer & XR Developer)

My Role

UX Researcher

UIUX Designer

Product Manager

Timeline

2023.9-2024.3

Outcome

Immersive Baseline Training Modules

Immersive MR training modules that replicate real-world scenarios, providing junior technicians with hands-on experience without the need for physical equipment.

Interactive Learning Components

Interactive MR learning components with which new hires can actively engage in practical tasks and simulations.

Virtual Mentorship in Mixed Reality

Componenets with WiKi guide allowing junior technicians to gain necessary knowledge

Point -Based Reward System

Motivating users to engage in learning, progress tracking and allowing technicians to earn points upon completing a learning module and redeem for T-Mobile souvenirs.

Impact

What is the problem

We are responsible for break-fix, installation, mainly maintenance work, inspection and repairment for nokia airscale everyday

Telecommunication Field Technicians

We train junior field technicians for them to work independtly, however current training is extremely time consuming and expensive... How can we improve it with XR technology?

Managers/ Trainers

Nokia AirScale for
network tower

Process

In the 6-month product development cycle, I led the team in research, ideation, verification, and development. Over the course of the 6 months dedicated to chasing the project goal, we iterated between stages based on feedback and new insights to ensure an effective and visually appealing solution

Define Goal & Problem

Business Goal

Secondary Research

Primary Research

HMW
Question

Competitive Analysis

Scope Stakeholder Need

Experts Interview

User Interview

Persona

Affinity Map

Design Solution

Design Solutions, Testings and Iterations

Design System

Usability Testing

Prototype

Design Handoff

Iterations

Stakeholder Analysis

Product value proposition

The product can be used by T Mobile Verizon, AT & T, XFinity, Nokia and other telecommunication companies customizable to their training needs.

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Secondary Research

After we conducted secondary research from design, technology, and business perspectives to inform our approach, here are some takeaways:

Decrease in senior technicians in field service industry

Employees have limitations learning by tutorial video

Employers spend 413billion yearly on informal on- the- job training

How can we leverage mixed reality to transform the expertise of field technicians, their domain knowledge and workflows into a high-fidelity, scalable training platform?

Primary Research & Findings

We conducted a total of 4 user interviews (Operations Manager X1 + Senior Field Technician X1 + Senior RF Engineers X3) to understand current training process and discuss its strength and weaknesses to identify any pain points. 2 expert interviews (XR Designer X1 + AR/VR Technical Artist X1) and cell site tour for technical possibilities and considerations.