Implementation Model for the Gamification of Business Processes: A Study from the Field of Material Handling

Abstract

Gamification, as opposed to serious gaming, focuses on the integration of certain elements and mechanics from the field of gaming and game design into an existing (non-gaming) environment. Typical game design models do not meet the requirements of implementing a gamification application in total because they focus on the development of a holistic game. An implementation model for the gamification of business processes should focus on the integration of game elements and mechanics into an existing work context instead. An implementation model was designed to fulfill these demands and will be presented in this paper. The so called GameLog Model can be divided into three major phases: The Analysis and Exploration phase, the Design and Realization phase and the Evaluation and Reflection phase. Within the Analysis and Exploration phase, the context that should be gamified is described on a granular level to find integration points for the game elements that do not change the process. In the Design and Realization phase, the gamification application is developed and implemented in the nongaming context. During the Evaluation and Reflection phase, the success of the application, as well as the acceptance of the employees, is measured. Results lead to a possible re-design. The model was evaluated by designing and testing a gamification application for the field of material handling. The gamification prototype was created for the process of manual order picking. Significant results could be achieved in fostering motivation and improving performance among workers in this process. Hence, the introduced model does work to successfully implement a gamification application into a business process. Gamification can also be seen as a useful approach to foster motivation and increase the performance of employees.

How to Gamify? A Method For Designing Gamification

“…Several approaches to evaluate a gamification design can be found in the literature. These range from quantitative to qualitative approaches [10,11,16,24,36] [7,10]. Several experts have highlighted that observing user behavior is more effective than interviewing, as users often have problems to describe experiences verbally [I7, I11, I18, I21].…”

“…We identified that due to the complexity, the selection of game-design elements and game mechanics is often more creative and brainstorming based in practice, than it is described in current literature [7] (e.g. [11,16,24,27,28,39]). Previously published methods often lack a detailed description of the creative ideation and design phase [5,11,24,27].…”

“…[10,24,39]). Nearly all interviewees confirmed this procedure in practice and emphasized that "many companies have a rough idea what they want to do, but it has to be clearly defined what the objectives are and how they can be measured" [I17].…”

“…Only few studies provide details on the analysis of the application area (e.g. [5,7,24]). To collect and analyze information about the potential users of the gamified system, several methods were suggested.…”

“…Most of the identified literature on the design of gamification specifically promote the creation of engaging challenges by the use of patterns known form games (e.g. [11,16,22,24,27,28,33,39]). More particular, they argue for the use of gamedesign patterns and mechanics, such as rewards, points, badges, leaderboards or storytelling, as building blocks [27], and assume that the combinations of these elements can invoke engaging challenges and motivate goal-directed behavior (e.g.…”