XR-First Design for Productivity: A Conceptual Framework for Enabling Efficient Task Switching in XR

Abstract: A core component of completing tasks efficiently in computer-supported knowledge work is the ability for users to rapidly switch their focus (and interaction) across different applications using various shortcuts and gestures. This feature set has been explored in research, and several modern consumer extended reality (XR) headsets now support loading multiple applications windows at once. However, many XR applications that are useful for knowledge work involve rich spatial information, which window-based metaphors do not sufficiently represent nor afford appropriate interaction. In modern XR headsets, such immersive applications run as siloed experiences, requiring the user to fully exit one before starting another. We present a vision for achieving an XR-first, user-centric paradigm for efficient context switching in XR to encourage and guide future research and development of XR context- and task-switching interfaces.