Meet me on Mars

How immersive technologies and the enterprise metaverse could positively transform the way we think about agile project execution.   

If you find yourself in the metaverse with PwC, you might be having a meeting on Mars. Imagine: You're at home, having just had breakfast. You grab your VR headset and in an instant, you're no longer in your kitchen, but in a virtual meeting space set against the backdrop of the Red Planet's awe-inspiring landscape. As you join your colleagues, the familiar faces of your team appear not as pixelated video streams but as life-sized avatars — their movements and expressions mirroring those of their real-life counterparts.

Virtual reality (VR) meetings have evolved from mere replicas of real-world meeting spaces to tailored environments that foster specific types of work and projects. The enterprise metaverse is no longer confined to imitating our physical workplaces; instead, it is reimagining the very idea of what the working environment can be. 

Better outcomes come from better practices

One area where the enterprise metaverse is expected to have a profound impact is agile project management. Immersive and interactive virtual environments offer several advantages that could enhance agile project management practices to a point where teams can achieve better business outcomes compared to traditional real-world meetings.

"A traditional conference room normally has a big table with seats around it and a screen with a camera. Everything in there is built to have an optimal meeting given the physical constraints we have. In the enterprise metaverse, we don't have these constraints," said Philipp Sostmann, senior manager and head of Immersive Technologies, PwC Switzerland. "Immersive technologies enable us to completely rethink the way we conduct our meetings."

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Lower Saxony, Germany trialed a pilot in which they conducted their regular workshops using VR headsets. PwC designed and constructed the virtual environment where the pilot was carried out and the University of Münster produced the results. Comparing meetings held in the enterprise metaverse with those held via videoconferencing, the study found that participants perceived the metaverse process as significantly more agile and efficient.

"This goes way beyond just having meetings in virtual reality," said Roberto Hernandez, chief innovation officer, PwC US, Customer Transformation Practice and PwC's global metaverse leader. "It is all about learning new ways to collaborate, leveraging immersive environments in ways that produce productivity increases and enhanced employee satisfaction."

The most significant finding was a 58% boost in participants feeling a sense of closeness to their colleagues when using VR. It's that elusive sense of "presence" — the feeling of actually being there with someone — that video conferencing struggles to capture, but that VR can seamlessly provide. "Time and again, people who are new to VR will leave an onboarding session with me and they'll say, 'Wow, I really did feel like I was with you in the office'," said Scott Patterson, eXtended Reality Labs, PwC US.

The immersive experience is greatly enhanced by the use of audio-spatial technology. When someone speaks from your right side, their voice is perceived primarily by your right ear. Similarly, as they move away, the sound of their voice fades, mimicking the effects of distance in the real world. "We're looking to design the environment outside of just the workflows," Patterson said. "That might include low-level music or a natural scene that has sunlight coming in, to ultimately create a psychological place for the most effective way to communicate."

Embracing the limitless possibilities of agile rooms

One of the core principles of agile project management is effective communication. "In agile ways of working, it's all about communication, visualization, and trust," Sostmann said, "It's a lot of interaction."

The enterprise metaverse can provide a powerful platform for teams to connect and collaborate: Virtual meeting spaces can be tailored to specific project needs, and teams can use avatars to represent themselves and engage in real-time interactions. Interactive whiteboards, private chat areas, and app integrations help teams collaborate more efficiently. "Immersive technologies are bringing teams together in an almost real-life setting," Sostmann added.

VR can also facilitate more inclusive collaboration. While some individuals are naturally outspoken and comfortable expressing their thoughts, others may possess valuable insights yet remain hesitant to voice them, particularly in remote settings where cameras are often disabled. "In VR, where everyone's avatars are visible, it's easier to identify and engage quieter participants," Sostmann said. "A simple question like, 'Hey, what's your opinion on this?' can draw them into the conversation."

The enterprise metaverse offers different ways to use agile practices, depending on the size and structure of an organization. Large organizations with multiple teams and departments can run cross-functional and cross-company events in open virtual spaces. These events help align teams and departments on common goals and priorities. "We have a space for one of our agile rooms where you walk across a glass floor into a big auditorium where we can have 15 teams doing their daily stand-ups together," Patterson said. "It's a massive space that you would never be able to find anywhere else" 

And the metaverse can also facilitate virtual training and onboarding for new team members, "ensuring they quickly understand agile methodologies and project requirements," Hernandez said. "This accelerates the integration of new team members and reduces the learning curve."

Creating working environments that don't — or can't — exist in the physical world is where the enterprise metaverse excels. Teams can use virtual spaces to test different scenarios and gather feedback from stakeholders, allowing them to rapidly respond to unforeseen challenges. For example, a company that manages shipping logistics can have its control room in the enterprise metaverse. This would enable a setup of multiple monitors, accessible by people in different locations in the physical world, allowing for real-time metaverse collaboration. "You have that room with you wherever you plug your headset into and have an internet connection," Patterson said.

Just because the technology exists, however, doesn't mean it's always the right option. When you need to give a simple presentation or have a one-on-one conversation, video conferencing is, for now, still the best choice. That future is changing, however. Sostmann said: "In three years, it will be standard that if we have a workshop or any kind of agile meeting, it will be accepted that instead of opening my laptop, I just put on my headset."

The metaverse holds the potential to revolutionize collaboration and enhance communication, going beyond the conference and making it the preferred destination for the meetings of the future.

To learn more about how PwC is creating value for enterprise and society in the metaverse and beyond, click here.

This post was created by Insider Studios with PwC.

This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.

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