Computerworld -
Gaming for the enterprise (or gamification ) has lately been making the rounds in CXO circles. For those not already familiar with the concept, "gamification" means incorporating games and game mechanics into non-game activities; in other words, making something that is not inherently a game -- such as a marketing campaign or employee training -- feel like a game.
Effective gamifying is far more nuanced and complex than just adding features to an existing non-game, but it includes making the non-game feel like a game by incorporating challenges to be overcome, giving points or other virtual goods to users as a means of promoting desired user behavior, providing awards and levels reached based upon a user's success and showing rankings or leaderboards that allow users to compare their performance to that of others.
Game mechanics are effective behavioral change agents because they satisfy basic human desires for reward, status, achievement, self-expression and competition. (For an excellent source on this, read Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read.)
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Computerworld - Gaming for the enterprise (or gamification ) has lately been making the rounds in CXO circles. For those not already familiar with the concept, "gamification" means incorporating games and game mechanics into non-game activities; in other words, making something that is not inherently a game -- such as a marketing campaign or employee training -- feel like a game.
Effective gamifying is far more nuanced and complex than just adding features to an existing non-game, but it includes making the non-game feel like a game by incorporating challenges to be overcome, giving points or other virtual goods to users as a means of promoting desired user behavior, providing awards and levels reached based upon a user's success and showing rankings or leaderboards that allow users to compare their performance to that of others.
Game mechanics are effective behavioral change agents because they satisfy basic human desires for reward, status, achievement, self-expression and competition. (For an excellent source on this, read Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read.)
In short, games are for real.
Some executives are perplexed by the gamification hype; they would rather see customers and employees spend the time they waste playing games buying and working (respectively). While not surprising, such responses ignore the reasons for the move towards gamification, and its potential value to enterprises.
Why does gamification matter to the enterprise?
There are a number of drivers for gamification, among them the by-now-familiar refrain that enterprise technology tends to follow consumer trends (whether executives like it or not), and the opportunity games provide enterprises to more effectively accomplish key goals.
Enterprise technology follows consumer technology
Once a consumer technology reaches critical mass, users expect access to the same technology at work, and the associated buzz eventually gets the attention of executives and IT professionals. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 72% of American households play computer or video games and in 2010 over $25 billion was spent by consumers on such games. Furthermore, the ESA says, some 29% of game players in 2011 are over the age of 50 -- meaning that games are not just for children.
That is a lot of momentum and is difficult -- make that foolhardy -- to ignore. The more people play games in their spare time, the more that playing games becomes second nature, and the more that game mechanics tend to become a desired and even expected feature of user-facing technology.
Gamification as a tool to accomplish enterprise goals
Whether an enterprise wants to train employees, develop new ideas or sell to its customers, the key is engagement: getting attention, keeping attention, communicating a message and making the message stick. Gamification can be an enabler of all of these. Games (and therefore game mechanics when used effectively) clearly have the ability to engage. They can be so engaging that players "lose themselves" in the game.
Consider gamification in the context of employee training or enterprise marketing campaigns. For an enterprise, gamification can allow employees to be trained through a process they truly enjoy and even desire (rather than an exercise in drudgery to be endured, as is the case with a lot of employee training). Through the integration of game mechanics, what was a dull learning process can be transformed into a game.
At the extreme, employees would not be required to attend training at all. To the contrary, it would become a perk -- time away from their usual duties to do something they enjoy. The enterprise would end up with happier, better-trained employees, eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to further develop their skills.
In the marketing context, gamification engages customers in a deeper, richer experience than non-interactive advertising. Rather than simply feel like they are being sold to, customers participate in an experience that creates a positive association with an enterprise or its brand, educates them about offerings and provides a reason for them to share personal information/preferences the enterprise may not otherwise have access to. It even encourages customers to help market by recommending a game to friends (the Holy Grail of viral marketing), particularly if the game includes a shared/social component ("Please join my Tidy-Bowl team!").
The risks associated with gamification
While gamification is enticing, it is not risk free. Here are some of the principal risks associated with enterprise gamification.
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