Wevr VR Product Manager on Virtual Reality (Part 3)
As product managers, I think it’s important that we keep some universal best practices in mind. Being a VR Product Manager definitely requires some specialization. However, great products must always solve an actual need or problem. You need to find a base of people who love your product and continue to provide value that expands into new markets.
The biggest question you have to ask when starting in VR is where your product fits in. In addition, you have to land on a target ecosystem. Simply saying that you want to get into VR is like saying “I’m going into digital.” You need to decide if your focus is software, development tools or another product.
When you enter a VR environment, you are in a very defined experience because you’re basically playing a console video game. There’s no way to “hyperlink” your VR headset to jump from one experience to another. So it is important to develop an experience for your users that is unique and can relate to a broad audience.
The equipment that is required to enjoy your experience is critical in delivering value for your customers. For example, you need to make sure that they are using the right headset with the correct input controls. Also, different equipment can provide greater range of motion or allow multiple users into the same experience.
VR product managers need to remember that the experience begins offline before you even get into the app environment. This is where carefully defining every step of the user experience is so important to creating great product. With VR, you must build a unique environment to pick the best equipment for your customers.