Key Considerations for AR Events Projects
From the moment we set foot into this life, we are prone to explore our surroundings. We are on the hunt for new experiences. Just think about it for a moment, when you put an infant inside the crib it takes less that a minute for them to start trying to get out. That eagerness to expand our realm of experiences stays with us for the rest of our lives.
Augmented Reality (AR) events are a new offering to this drive. A project that aims to deliver a high quality AR product or service to be displayed in an event, needs to spend an acceptable amount of time and resources identifying all the stakeholders. For example, the audience will play a key role, directly or indirectly, when defining the deliverable’s acceptance criteria, and ultimately the success of the project. It is important to differentiate the customer from the end-user. On one hand, the customer is the one providing us with all the requisites the AR deliverable should have and it is paying for the development. But on the other, the end-user is going to be the one experiencing and/or using the AR deliverable. They will, in some cases, pay for that usage. Both inputs should be considered to guarantee the success of the project.
The project deliverables, that materialize their value with the AR experience being performed and accepted, need to be amicably embedded into the environment. Not just an overlay. Dropping a layer of content that is not in tune with the event’s audience will end up being noisy and distracting. This could end up affecting the end user’s perception on the brand, company, event, and even the venue where experience is taking place.
Time estimations are a big risk factor for this type of projects. The AR deliverable will be tied up to the event’s scheduled date. This means design, development, test and deployment should be done with that hard timeline in mind. The project will require continuous feedback and that is achievable through short iterations. In a nutshell, get input sooner rather than later to reduce the risk.
When the project is dealing with a non-negotiable target date, most likely cost and scope need to be adjusted to meet expectations. However, something that can’t be relegated is the implementation of privacy & security controls. For example, AR data needs to be securely stored. Where and how, it is a technical decision. But it has to be made. If an AR attacker has access to the user’s device, data is not encrypted and easily accessible, the privacy loss could have an economic implication that outweighs the cost of properly securing the data in the first place.
Key Takeaways
- Customer ≠ end-user. Acceptance criteria on deliverables should have the input of both.
- The project’s success relies on the quality of the content and its integration with the environment.
- Event date deadlines will need scope and cost adjustment without compromising Privacy and Security.
- Security & Privacy controls implementation ($$) < privacy loss fines. ($$$$)
