The Importance of Offboarding

Offboarding 2 e1639665586873 The Importance of Offboarding

A million years ago (well 2013) I did a talk at my first big conference – Gamification World Congress ’13. I chose to talk about a potential framework for a gamified career path, using a game board, constant feedback loops etc.

Career 2.0 Gamification of a Career – GWC Talk

It was a decent talk and the concept was, if I do say so myself, a bit ahead of its time. That said, I do see elements of it in the real world now, which is awesome!

I spent time then and have done a lot since, talking about the importance of onboarding new members of staff. However, I know now, that I missed a very important part of the employee journey – Offboarding Read More ...

New Solution & Gamification Design Lenses Card Deck

20210826 162544 e1639666992327 New Solution 038 Gamification Design Lenses Card Deck

For the first time in a while, I have a sort of new product for you! The Solution & Gamification Design Lenses Card Deck!

Basically it is a series of cards that contain questions related to various frameworks I use in my life as a solution designer. They cover ground from the User Type HEXAD, to the COM-B behaviour change model and lots in between – including the “What’s the worst that could happen” card!

Available through DriveThruCards, they come as a deck of 44 cards – which is actually 2 decks of the 22 cards, just to try and make them better value for you. I am also providing a downloadable deck for you if you want that instead. Read More ...

But What If They Get Addicted To Your Gamified System?

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation But What If They Get Addicted To Your Gamified System

Amazingly the question “But what if people get addicted to the solution and stop working” has come up in more than one conversation with clients over the years.

It’s an interesting question, that is worth thinking about. At first, it is easy to dismiss this as silly. When you think about it, thousands of games are released each year – about 9000 just on Steam in 2019 – the majority of them are totally unknown or fail. So how on earth is your gamified system going to become more important to people than the games they want to play or their work? Read More ...

Learning from Games: Escapism

Escapism 1559724120 Learning from Games Escapism

As gamification practitioners, we are looking to utilise things that games do really well in areas that could desperately do with being more engaging in some way.

I read somewhere recently that “in games, we are trying to become our best selves” or something similar. I have to say, I only partially agree with that. In some games that is true, but most of the time I am trying to forget who I am and be someone totally different, be they better or worse than the real me. In reality, many games bring out the worst in people as a sort of catharsis! For me, I want to escape from reality, and that is the point. Games provide a way to escape the reality of life. That is why the concept of Uncanny Valley exists, where something that isn’t alive looks uncomfortably close to real. It makes us uneasy. Read More ...

Take A Step Back Before Going Off the Rails…

Train 1557504047 Take A Step Back Before Going Off the Rails 8230

Just a short thought for your today. When building or designing anything, it is very easy to get caught up in your own thoughts and ideas. Introspection is fine, but from time to time you need to step back and just ask yourself a few simple questions;

  • Am I still solving the client’s problem?
  • Am I still staying true to the original vision for the solution
    • If not, why not?
    Is the solution still viable? Is the solution still going to prove valuable to the users as well as the client? Has anyone released a better solution whilst I have been building this one?

    If you are not happy with your answers to any of these questions, then you need to take a moment to consider how you are going to fix that before moving on.

    Blundering on blindly, even though you know there are things you are not happy with, will not lead you to a solution you are proud of or that your client will truly find valuable. Read More ...