UX Researcher, Institutional Review Board (IRB) Coordinator
Stage 0–1 Research
4 sprints completed
Lead, System Architect, Systems Engineer, Software Engineers
Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Teams
Developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Athletics Association (GTAA), this AR solution was designed to integrate real-time data visualization into athletic training, transforming performance analysis and reducing injury risk.
As the UX Researcher and IRB Lead, I was responsible for determining whether AR was viable, what problems it should actually solve, and what infrastructure needed to exist before AR could succeed.
Compared Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest 3 for comfort, usability, and alignment with known user needs using a Kano Analysis framework.
Advocated for AR over VR based on stakeholder feedback, user needs, and real-world environmental constraints specific to athletic training environments.
Identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to hardware selection, data integration, and stakeholder alignment.
Led efforts to ensure full ethical compliance for human-centered research, a requirement before any interviews could be conducted with GTAA staff.
Through a consistent focus on end-user needs — from recommending AR over VR to completing SWOT and Kano analyses and securing a pathway for IRB approval — GTAA leadership granted access to begin ethnographic interviews with football coaches and support staff.
Strengths
Enabled faster stakeholder buy-in
Weaknesses
Created adoption risk
Opportunities
Enabled scalable expansion
Threats
Required proactive mitigation
This single quote captured the core finding: the team didn't need AR first. They needed a unified, intuitive Athletic Management System (AMS) that could bridge departments, centralize data, and lay the groundwork for any future AR integration.
AR would amplify existing data fragmentation unless a centralized Athletic Management System (AMS) existed first.
Recommendation: Pause AR delivery. Prioritize AMS development to unify workflows, data, and communication across the athletics department.
This pivot was informed entirely by user research, not technical preference.
Stage 0–1 research uncovered critical pain points that directly informed the design of the AMS prototype.
Research findings shifted the roadmap from AR-first to AMS-first, validating the strategic value of early UX research in emerging tech development.
Secured $250K+ in incremental funding across four sprints and positioned the platform for multi-sport expansion.
Stakeholders responded enthusiastically to both the preliminary research findings and the interview process.
Translating early-stage research into strategic product decisions
Ability to work in regulated environments requiring IRB compliance
Comfort with technical and operational constraints in complex systems
Cross-functional collaboration across engineering, athletics, and compliance teams
Preventing costly misdirection before development begins
Asking the right questions early is more valuable than building the right features late. This project reinforced that UX research isn't just about improving a product, it's about making sure you're building the right one in the first place.
Whether it’s UX, wearables, or AR dreams, I’m all ears (and antennas).