Shaping Competitive Strategies: A Longitudinal Study on AR/VR
Early Adopter Behavior
Project Type: Foundational, mixed-methods, product strategy
My Role: Lead UX Researcher
Methods: In-depth, remote user interviews and diary study
Duration: 14 weeks, 2024
Please note, this project is under NDA and highlights process and reasoning over specific details and insights.
TL;DR | Mixed-method longitudinal study to understand early adopter experiences with a competitor’s flagship device.
Overview
As the lead researcher, I conducted a 90-day longitudinal study with early adopters who owned the client’s VR headset and had also purchased a newly launched competitor device. The primary objective of the study was to build a foundational understanding of the competitor’s product by capturing rich insights from users during the critical honeymoon phase.
The goal was to generate actionable insights that could inform the client’s product strategy, create a guiding insights document to support future research efforts, and provide valuable findings for marketing teams to better position the product.
Impact
The study delivered clear insights and actionable recommendation that directly informed the client’s product roadmap and marketing strategy. Insights from the head-to-head comparison revealed key opportunities to differentiate the client’s device, close feature gaps, and refine messaging to resonate with target users.
The findings were significant enough to be requested by the CEO of a Fortune 50 company, presented to the C-suite, and incorporated into the company’s strategic planning, shaping both near-term product updates and long-term competitive positioning.
My Contributions
Established scope: Collaborated with the client and cross-functional teams (research, marketing, development) to establish project scope and goals
Developed study materials: Created all surveys, research guides, and participant recruitment criteria
Supported participant recruitment: Supported recruitment by providing specific details and guidance to the recruitment team
Executed research : Conducted all in-depth, remote interviews with participants
Analyzed raw data: Analyzed survey responses and interview data to extract key insights
Crafted insights report: Developed a comprehensive insights report with detailed recommendations
Presented insights: Presented findings and recommendations to the client audience and C-suite stakeholders
Project Genesis
The project was initiated in 2024 when our long-term client, a leading competitor in the AR/VR market, approached my consultancy with a directive from their CEO to gain a deeper understanding of early adopters’ experiences with a competitors newly launched AR/VR device. The client wanted actionable insights to shape their product roadmap, refine their marketing strategy, and identify competitive differentiators.
Research Process & Decision Making
Phase 1 — Align (Week 1, 7 Days Post Competitor Product Launch)
Goal: Ensure all stakeholders had shared expectations, priorities, and a realistic understanding of scope.
1
KICK OFF WORKSHOP
I facilitated a kickoff workshop to surface all research hopes and constraints early.
This included stakeholders from cross-functional teams, including research, marketing, development.
Discussed budget constraints and worst-case scenarios so scope could be protected even if timelines or resources shifted.
2
STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS
I conducted five, individual stakeholder interviews across research, development, and marketing…
To uncover where priorities aligned vs. diverged.
Prevent later conflicts by making tensions visible early.
*Used Mural affinity mapping to visualize stakeholder inputs.
3
ALIGNMENT MEETING
With insight from each stakeholder segment, I facilitated a final alignment meeting to…
Present my synthesis of objectives back to the original, large group of stakeholders to confirm accuracy and establish consensus.
Prioritize objectives to focus on what could be achieved within scope & time constraints.
Phase 2 — Define (Week 2,14 Days Post Competitor Product Launch)
Goal: Turn broad business objectives and stakeholder goals into precise, answerable research questions and measurable outcomes.
RESEARCHER WORKSHOP
Working with the clients research team, I facilitated small researcher workshop where I…
Held a voting session to prioritize granular research questions:
This created immediate clarity on what we would be researching and created a transparent decision-making trail. Helped to prevent future scope creep by documenting which questions were already deemed out of scope.
Discussed overarching study design ideas
Selected metrics already used internally which ensured continuity with past/future studies for trend analysis.
Built in flexibility into study design:
Knew early adopter research often surfaces unanticipated behaviors.
Structured interviews and diaries to leave room for exploring new themes without losing consistency.
Phase 3 — Design & Recruit (Week 3-4, 21-28 Days Post Competitor Product Launch)
Goal: Create a study design that could capture qualitative and quantitative data to track both evolving sentiment and granular day-to-day experience
MIXED-METHODS APPROACH
I designed a mixed-method longitudinal approach which included in-depth interviews and a diary study with quantitative elements.
2-hour in-depth interviews at 30, 60, 90 days post purchase:
30 days → Early impressions after initial setup and novelty period.
60 days → More realistic, habitual usage patterns.
90 days → Durability of value, frustration points, and retention likelihood.
Weekly diary assignments between interviews via UserInterviews:
Captured in-the-moment experiences.
Reduced reliance on retrospective recall.
Allowed for real-time detection of issues or shifts in sentiment.
PARTICIPANT SELECTION
18-24 participants, from across the USA, who identified as early tech adopters and who owned the clients and competitors AR/VR devices.
Why early adopters?
More willing to share detailed feedback.
Often influential in shaping product perception.
Likely to uncover performance or fit gaps before the general population.
Why participants with both competitor &client devices?
Enabled direct experience comparisons without speculative bias.
Why 18-24 participants?
Attrition Planning: We knew this study was going to be long and anticipated at least 10% attrition. We recruited to ensure we had a sufficient number of participants for the duration of the study.
Data Saturation Without Overload: his allows me to dig deeply into individual trajectories while still seeing cross-participant patterns.
Phase 4 — Execute & Analyze (Weeks 5–13, 35-91Days Post Product Launch)
Goal: Collect data over 90 days and present insights every 30 days.
EXECUTION
ON-GOING ANALYSIS
Started with 18 participants during the T-30 interviews and ended the study with 12 (attrition expected for long studies).
Personally conducted all 46 2-hour remote interviews via Zoom to maintain consistency in data quality and probing style.
Reviewed and analyzed weekly diary entries (144 total survey responses) and survey metrics. used thematic coding to track recurring behaviors, needs, and frustrations. Cross-referenced qualitative diary notes with quantitative survey scores. Identified correlations (e.g., drop in comfort scores coinciding with diary entries about prolonged wear discomfort).
Maintained a living insight log:
Updated weekly to track new and evolving themes.
Used to adjust interview guides between rounds while keeping core questions stable.
After each 30/60/-day round:
Delivered topline insights report 2 days after the final interview
Shared emerging trends and immediate recommendations in a full report 7 days after the final interview
Confirmed with stakeholders whether new questions needed exploration in next round.
Phase 5 — Synthesize & Present (Week 14)
Goal: Synthesize insights from across 90 days to generate tactical and strategic findings and recommendations to stakeholders.
Final Delivery
Consolidated 90 days of findings into:
C-suite-ready executive summary — strategic implications, headline insights.
AND
Detailed findings for product/dev teams — including direct user quotes, quantified trends, and behavior patterns.
Tactical and strategic recommendations for future research initiatives, marketing guidance and positioning
to address competitor value propositions, and feature suggestions for development teams to consider in order
to remain competitive.Created briefing materials so the client’s project director could confidently present to c-suite leadership.
Outcomes and Learnings
Key Outcomes
Findings shaped targeted marketing messaging and campaigns, using user testimonials to build credibility.
Insights guided strategic positioning, helping leadership refine AR/VR direction and address user engagement challenges.
The study fostered cross-team alignment, enabling faster, user-centered product development and marketing collaboration.
Learnings
Participant Attrition: Longitudinal studies are prone to participant dropout over time, so planning for attrition and maintaining engagement is critical to preserve data quality and sample size.
Stakeholder Alignment: Regular and early alignment with key stakeholders ensures the research remains focused, relevant, and maximally beneficial throughout the project lifecycle.
Visual Aids in Interviews: Incorporating visual aids during lengthy interviews helps reduce cognitive burden on participants, supporting clearer communication and richer, more accurate responses.