Usability of VR-Systems in Cross-Cultural Product Development: A Case Study

Software tools have become essential in contemporary product development. It is now commonplace to use computer-aided design (CAD) for designing and the finite element method (FEM) for confirming structural integrity. Since the year 2016, virtual reality (VR) has gained importance as a novel software tool in development departments, a compound growth of US$3.6B to over US$40B to date. Although VR is already used in design reviews, it is yet to be fully integrated into other areas. However, to increase acceptance, it is particularly important for new, versatile software tools to allow widespread use throughout the entire development process. To broaden the application spectrum of VR, this paper presents a hetero-cultural case study that shows how VR can support distributed development teams in identifying and then verifying ergonomic requirements. The test groups consist of students from Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and Tshwane University of Technology. Once the case study concludes, proposals for forthcoming measures to further develop and utilize VR systems in the area of requirement identification will be created, and cultural discrepancies identified, including harmonies.