Two minute video summary:
Gamification. What is it? Can we use it in our KCS implementations? A group of Consortium members gathered at Dell in Austin TX to discuss the topic of applying game design to KCS.
Dr. Michael Wu, Chief Scientist at Lithium, started off the discussion with a workshop defining gamification and its components. Simply put, to “gamify” something is to use game attributes to drive game-like behavior in a non-game context.
Dr. Wu encouraged the group to think about how game design can be used. He offered game design as a tool to help deepen engagement, sustain loyalty, onboard new users, and help drive the formation of new habits or behaviors.
After immersion into the theory of game design, the group took a look at some places where it has been put into practice.
Special thanks to Ben Reich at Microsoft, Jennifer Cashman at Cisco, and Boyd Beasley and Jo Burka at Zenimax Online Studios for sharing their experiences with applying game design in their environments. They shared details of game elements as well as the key business challenges addressed and the implementation journey. In all cases, they are utilizing gamification to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing in their specific environments.
The group made a first attempt at a list of guiding principles, or tenets, to apply when considering implementing gamification.
These include recognizing that gamification is about psychology more than technology, ensuring gamification is being implemented to solve a specific problem, and using gamification to drive behaviors that align with the values of the community or organization.
Gamification can be a powerful tool in the right scenarios. In the world of KCS, it could help roll out new processes, onboard new users, sustain participation and more. We look forward to further exploration and application.
Members can find more information in the wiki (email Kelly Murray for access).