By using a human-centred design process, we gained a deep insight into end users’ needs and context, so that we could develop a solution that has value. We started by working with a practising phlebotomist who had expert knowledge – this gave us valuable understanding of both the venepuncture process, as well as contextual insights.

Using the clinical standard for venepuncture, we began storyboarding the high-level narrative for the VR experience. From there, we storyboarded discreet sections (akin to 'acts' and 'scenes') in more detail to support attainment of learning objectives. This enabled us to generate a proof-of-concept app to test feasibility.

Our clinical designer, with nursing and teaching experience, was instrumental in developing the prototype as part of our iterative, evidence-led development process. For educational VR to be effective, both the pedagogy and technology need to be mutually supportive. This necessitated changes in pedagogy to ensure that interactions complimented the multiple narratives in the VR experience. Frequent informal usability (UX) testing at each iteration informed the next stage of development.

VR is unlike technologies that most of us are familiar with. At this stage we conducted larger-scale UX testing to validated the work to date. Having ensured a baseline level of usability, the app is undergoing piloting by progressively larger groups to prioritise product enhancements.