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Following increasing interest in the applciation of gamification strategies, Craig Weightman (CW), Senior Lecturer in Games Programming at the University of Staffordshire, gave us an interview to discuss his insights.
KB: What’s the key business challenge that organisations need to address, that your research tackles?
CW: Human beings are a company’s greatest resource. Therefore, it is a high priority for any successful company to get the most out of their people. The question is: how can this be achieved? These are human beings we are talking about, and not mere machines. We also have to ensure that we provide the best environments for flourishing wellbeing.
By using the psychologically-based design strategies found in game development, and applying them to non-gaming contexts such as the workplace, it is possible to achieve greater engagement and productivity, with greater levels of the feel-good factor.
In order to help organisations do this, I have developed the Apogee framework.
KB: How does your latest research approach this? What do the results indicate?
CW: The main finding in my research was that roleplay is a major factor in unlocking the wider potential of players. With the variety of games that are on the market, players can move from one set of rules and challenges to another very quickly. They can also be extremely successful in all roles that they fulfil. However, these people are not specialist pilots, crack SAS commandos, or expert theme park managers – to infer a few possible in game contexts – these are ordinary people.
The way games achieve this successful adaptation is to have clear guidelines and rules that instruct how different roles can be fulfilled and excelled in. The difference is a matter of information. It is also how fluid and available this information is. Gone are the lengthy user manuals. Instructions are now embedded in the play environment, and they are concise and comprehensive.
What the apogee framework embodies is how we can identify ideal roles for different problem domains and support them to be thoroughly effective. It builds into the workplace the design philosophies that get players up and running quickly, and then go on to excel.
KB: What advice would you give to executives, based on your findings?
CW: It is important to get really clear on what roles are expected within the various business contexts of an organisation. This is not just a job description; this is also a clarification of how an individual’s personality fits into all of this.
Next, once all roles are clarified, an analysis of information availability needs to be undertaken. Considerations of information flow also comes into play here. Each role needs to have access to all the information they might need, even at the operational level, and that information needs to be delivered quickly. The objective is to shorten the length of time, between learning something and applying it, to zero.
KB: Any final thoughts?
CW: I believe that there is definitely an appetite for innovative ways to get the best out of people. There is also a strong interest in the philosophy of gamification. This is encouraging to know, as it shows that organisations are open to new ways of thinking to create a better working future.