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Microsoft Dynamics 365: Layout for HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality

2016 to 2018 - Plan your space, collaborate with others, and preview your work in a real-world context so you can commit with confidence.

 
Bring physical designs from concept to completion with confidence. Import 3D models to experience room layouts as holograms in the physical world or in virtual reality. Share your vision with stakeholders and easily edit layouts in real-world scale, so you can make better decisions before you build.
Spatially aware devices are enabling applications to freely mix real and virtual worlds, untethered, at the scale of event spaces, factories and warehouses, not just room-scale. In our talk, we will discuss the lessons we have learned while developing applications for the HoloLens.

Senior Interaction Designer

Hololens and Windows Mixed Reality

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Layout is a space planning and visualization application developed for HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality Headsets.

I joined the Layout team at the beginning of our prototype phase in August 2016 and worked with the team through our public launch in May 2018. My work included customer research, product envisioning, feature design, UI design, digital and paper prototyping, and production software engineering. Layout presented several interesting design challenges, driven by Layout being one of Microsoft’s first mixed reality business applications to be launched at scale. This meant creating a HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality experience that integrates into complex, mature, professional workflows—a proper tool, not a tech demo or a toy.

A key requirement for Layout is that it work well in spaces far larger than traditional “room scale” MR experiences. This presents several technical and design hurdles. At GDC 2018 and BUILD 2018, software engineer and close collaborator Blake Gross and I discussion some of the interesting things we learned designing features for Layout that adapted to these large spaces.

Work Products

My work products included feature prototypes, production code in Unity3D, written creative briefs and specifications, visual and motion concepts, user flows, and production plans and schedules. 

Testing Layout prototypes with the team

Testing Layout prototypes with the team

I contributed to design across the entire application with key contributions to multiple core application features including:

  • Room scanning and visualization

  • UI placement and behavior in the mixed world

  • UI tooling to empower designers

  • Object placement and duplication tools

  • Object manipulation tools for drag and rotation

  • Collision and snapping behavior

  • First time user experience

  • Login and Authentication

  • Object Import