Gamification

Balancing rewards against effort in Gamification

by
Perceived value vs effort Balancing rewards against effort in Gamification

I have said it before, if you are going to use rewards, you have to get it right. Whilst there are arguments about the value and / or damage of rewards in gamified systems, they are still being used and I feel they are of value.

One of the keys to getting the use of rewards right, is understanding their value to the user relative to the actions or activities you want them to undertake. You have to consider the effort it will take. Effort here is: skill, time, physical effort, mental effort etc.

For example, if you offer a user an iPad for posting a single two line comment on your blog, you are setting the reward far too high for the relative effort expected of the user. If you offered an iPad to the person who finds the most bugs in your system, knowing that they will have to spend hours of their own time doing it, that is a better match of reward against relative effort. Read More ...

Mary Poppins was full of crap

by
MP151 Mary Poppins was full of crap

Ok, this has been bugging me for years. In Gamification, there are many things you hear again and again. It’s not about games, points are bad, intrinsic motivation is king. There are more, but the one I have an issue is a quote from that most famous of nannies (and most irresponsible in my mind) , Mary Poppins:

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and ‘snap’, the job’s a game.

This is where I cry “Bullshit!”

At the point she is singing this, she is trying to convince the miserable children she is looking after to do some tidying. Rather than creating a game of the chore, she uses magic to make stuff fly around and put themselves away. Read More ...

Bribes, Incentives, Bonuses, Awards and Rewards in Gamification

by
Incentive and rewards 2 Bribes Incentives Bonuses Awards and Rewards in Gamification

Recently there has been some conversation in the Gamification Hub and other areas about the difference between things like bribes, incentives and so on.

It is actually an interesting and very relevant question in gamification circles as they all get mentioned from time to time, so I thought I would tackle it a little here.

First, let’s look at the standard definitions (from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

  • Bribe:
    • Dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one’s favour by a gift of money or other inducement.
    Incentive:
    • A thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something
    • A payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment.
    Bonus:
    •  A sum of money added to a person’s wages as a reward for good performance.  
    Award:
    • Give or order the giving of (something) as an official payment, compensation, or prize to (someone).
    Reward:
    • A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement

    The first thing that strikes me is how similar bribe and incentive are in meaning. The only real difference is the intent of the person who is offering up the “something” to persuade the receiver to do an activity. Read More ...

Accenture makes a move I was talking about in 2013

by
Employer promise Accenture makes a move I was talking about in 2013

So a big bit of news in the consulting world is that Accenture has got rid of its annual performance reviews and rankings. This has had some level of fanfare as innovative and exciting. They of course are not alone. Deloitte is looking at doing the same thing and as the article says about 6% of the Fortune 500 have already done it.

Have a read for yourself. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/07/21/in-big-move-accenture-will-get-rid-of-annual-performance-reviews-and-rankings/ Read More ...

A week of memes

by
IMG 3749 A week of memes

For some strange reason I have become obsessed with making memes recently! It may just be I have a  couple of apps on the phone that make it easy now. Whatever the reasons, I thought I would share my last week or so of memes here with you guys. Also, I have not had a chance to write a real blog. Oh, before we go there though – the book has a title (I think)

Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play

Gamification, Game Thinking and Motivational Design

Now on to the memes!