Gamification Analytics: Support for Monitoring and Adapting Gamification Designs

Inspired by the engaging effects in video games, gamification aims at motivating people to show desired behaviors in a variety of contexts. During the last years, gamification influenced the design of many software applications in the consumer as well as enterprise domain. In some cases, even whole businesses, such as Foursquare, owe their success to well-designed gamification mechanisms in their product. Gamification also attracted the interest of academics from fields, such as human-computer interaction, marketing, psychology, and software engineering. Scientific contributions comprise psychological theories and models to better understand the mechanisms behind successful gamification, case studies that measure the psychological and behavioral outcomes of gamification, methodologies for gamification projects, and technical concepts for platforms that support implementing gamification in an efficient manner. Given a new project, gamification experts can leverage the existing body of knowledge to reuse previous, or derive new gamification ideas. However, there is no one size fits all approach for creating engaging gamification designs. Gamification success always depends on a wide variety of factors defined by the characteristics of the audience, the gamified application, and the chosen gamification design. In contrast to researchers, gamification experts in the industry rarely have the necessary skills and resources to assess the success of their gamification design systematically. Therefore, it is essential to provide them with suitable support mechanisms, which help to assess and improve gamification designs continuously. Providing suitable and efficient gamification analytics support is the ultimate goal of this thesis. This work presents a study with gamification experts that identifies relevant requirements in the context of gamification analytics. Given the identified requirements and earlier work in the analytics domain, this thesis then derives a set of gamification analytics-related activities and uses them to extend an existing process model for gamification projects. The resulting model can be used by experts to plan and execute their gamification projects with analytics in mind. Next, this work identifies existing tools and assesses them with regards to their applicability in gamification projects. The results can help experts to make objective technology decisions. However, they also show that most tools have significant gaps towards the identified user requirements. Consequently, a technical concept for a suitable realization of gamification analytics is derived. It describes a loosely coupled analytics service that helps gamification experts to seamlessly collect and analyze gamification-related data while minimizing dependencies to IT experts. The concept is evaluated successfully via the implementation of a prototype and application in two real-world gamification projects. The results show that the presented gamification analytics concept is technically feasible, applicable to actual projects, and also valuable for the systematic monitoring of gamification success

Gamification Risks to Enterprise Teamwork: Taxonomy, Management Strategies and Modalities of Application

Gamification corresponds to the use of game elements to encourage certain attitudes and behaviours in a serious context. When applied to enterprise teamwork, gamification can lead to negative side-effects which compromise its benefits. For example, applying competitive elements such as leaderboard may lead to clustering amongst team members and encourage adverse work ethics such as intimidation and pressure. Despite the recognition of the problem in the literature, the research on concretising such gamification risks is scarce. There is also a lack of methods to identify gamification risks and their management strategies. In this paper, we conduct a multi-stage qualitative research and develop taxonomy of risks, risk factors and risk management strategies. We also identify the modalities of application of these strategies, including who should be involved and how. Finally, we provide a checklist to help the risk identification process as a first step towards a comprehensive method for eliciting and managing gamification risks to teamwork within enterprises

Exploring indicators of engagement: applications for gamification of online training systems

In recent years, gamification is being used in business organization for an increased employee engagement in the work place. However, less has been said about engagement of employees in online training to learn new skills and knowledge that may help or improve status quo in the organization. This paper explores the engagement indicators and game elements that may foster employee engagement in online training. The study employs an iterative step-by-step methodology that is used in information technology for the development of artefacts. As a result, a framework to implement the gamification technique in online training is proposed. The framework consists of a gamification construct that contains a set of commonly used game elements such as points, levels, challenges, rewards, competition, progress bar, leaderboard, badges, and feedback. The framework also contains three engagement dimensions including behavioural, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. To achieve the main objective of the study, an iterative process used by information technology researchers to develop new artefacts and their constructs is employed. As for the formulation of the hypothesis, for the evaluation of gamification’s influence on employee engagement when attending an online training, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is employed

PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY AND GAMIFICATION AT THE WORKPLACE: ENGAGING EMPLOYEES IN EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION OF ANALYSIS AND EVALUATIONS

The availability of rich and high-quality data gives organizations the opportunity to make strategic decisions and a competitive edge over their competitors. However, documentation has been known to be a repetitive and tedious task and employees who perform this task may not be inherently motivated and suffer from fatigue, which reflects poorly on the quantity and quality of documentation. This thesis addresses this problem and proposes to use Persuasive Technology and Gamification to engage employees in documentation. Persuasive technology aims to change behaviours and attitudes through the art of persuasion without the use of coercion. Gamification is a type of Persuasive Technology that leverages the persuasive power of games to cause behaviour change in people. A lot of existing research and practice have focused on using Persuasive Technology and Gamification to achieve workplace engagement, motivation and productivity. However, there is little research on the use of Persuasive Technology and Gamification to engage employees in effective documentation of analysis and evaluations. This research aims to fill this gap and explore the feasibility of leveraging Persuasive Technology to encourage employees in documentation of analysis and evaluations. A Requirement-Focused Design Science Research approach was adopted to define requirements for the implementation of a persuasive gamified system to encourage employees in documentation of analysis and evaluations. Two studies were conducted to investigate employee motivation and the susceptibility of employees to various persuasive strategies. The first study was conducted among 20 Applied Behaviour Analysis front-line staff. ABA is data driven, however, front-line staff do not provide sufficiently rich data which is a critical part of the success of ABA. The second study was carried among 55 Graduate Assistants (markers) from the University of Saskatchewan. Providing feedback on assignments is a quintessential part of the learning cycle of students and the availability of feedback that students can understand and execute is required. However, students find feedbacks provided to them often vague, insufficient, or difficult to comprehend. Especially, in the second study, the results depicted a workforce whose engagement in tasks was not self-determined and a description of a perceived low satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs; Competence, Relatedness and Autonomy. This presents a workforce that will engage in the minimum amount of work required of them without an extra effort in performance. The results of our studies showed that both ABA front-line staff and Graduate Assistants are most susceptible to two persuasive strategies - Commitment and Reciprocity, followed by Authority and least susceptible to Consensus and Scarcity among Cialdini’s persuasive principles. Among the social influence persuasive strategies, employees from both studies were most susceptible to Trustworthiness. Whilst there was no statistically significant difference between the other social influence persuasive strategies (Reward, Competition, Social Comparison, Social Learning) among ABA employees, Graduate Assistants were more susceptible to Reward and Competition and least susceptible to Social Comparison and Social Learning. However, gender and continent of origin influenced the susceptibility of Graduate Assistants to Trustworthiness and Social Learning. North American Males are not influenced by Social Learning in contrast to African Males who influenced by it. Although North American females are least susceptible to Social Learning, they are still influenced by it. These results imply the investment in a persuasive gamified system that will facilitate the satisfaction of the Basic Psychological Needs of employees to increase their intrinsic motivation in effective documentation of analysis and evaluations. Persuasive and game elements that support Rewards, Competition, Trustworthiness, Commitment, Reciprocity and Authority could be used to achieve this. To make these results actionable, requirement guidelines have been recommended for both workplaces based on the insights gathered from the user studies. However, these requirements have not been evaluated. Therefore, future work will involve the design, development and evaluation of a persuasive gamified system based on the requirements specifications. Also, to draw definite conclusions on tailoring persuasive strategies to individuals and groups, future research should consider the impact of other workplace diversity factors that may impact susceptibility to these persuasive strategies

Gamifying a Map-based Feedback Service to Support Youth Participation in City Improvement

In recent years, youth has been recognized as an indispensable stakeholder of city environment. On the one hand, young citizens who have intentions to contribute their community should be given an opportunity to express ideas. On the other hand, it is necessary for city agencies to listen to the needs from young generation to create a more livable and friendly city environment. Since location is considered as an essential attribute of human activities, local knowledge of residents always has a direct relation with spatial data. Thus, utilizing Geography Information System (GIS) has been developed to help public to participant in improving city environment, that is, Public Participation Geography Information System (PPGIS). However, younger people are thought to be less attracted by traditional political engagement, and annoyed with authoritative and tough tone. Thus, gamification as an innovative and increase popular trend has been implemented in a variety of youth-related applications and projects. Gamification is proposed to fulfill the desires of young people in the aspects of achievement, social, and immersion. The effects of gamification individuals with different player types and preferences of games to some degree. The research in thesis is conducted in connection with All-Youth project based in Finland, which is a multidisciplinary research project to enhance the connection with young people and their communities. This thesis focuses on applying gamification into digital public feedback service to motivate and sustain youth participation. Firstly, the discussion of related work includes status of youth participation in city planning, digital map technology used in public participation, and definition, content, and benefits of gamification. Secondly, three map-based tools for different purpose of public participation are studied to evaluate their usability and aesthetic quality. Thirdly, a gamified feedback service is prototyped based on initial user research and analysis. Finally, the effects of the gamified prototype are evaluated in user testing with the comparison to a control prototype without gamification. The results suggest that gamification can have positive effects on attractiveness and hedonic system qualities, while it may also influence on pragmatic quality. Overall, the research of this thesis can be considered as a successful attempt to gamify the public map-based platform which could have influence on youth engagement

A Comparison of Registered Nurses’ Motivation and Knowledge Levels Between Gamified And Traditional Courses

Registered nurses (RNs) working in today’s healthcare environment must consistently learn new knowledge and skills, keep abreast of practice changes, and implement strategies to improve patient outcomes. However, healthcare organizations face significant challenges as they attempt to facilitate efficient training. Nursing professional development practitioners miss opportunities to leverage learner motivation, which drives investment, knowledge retention, and practice application. Gamification, which strategically embeds game elements and mechanics into an educational design to boost motivation, offers a potential solution. It aims to increase learner engagement by presenting learners with challenges, tracking their progress, and offering feedback, ultimately leading to knowledge retention and application. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether gamification leads to increases in motivation to learn and knowledge levels for RNs. Specifically, the study focused on RNs who did not have previous cardiac monitoring experience. The study used flow theory and self-determination theory to optimally incorporate gamification. A quasi-experimental posttest-only design with a comparison group allowed for comparisons among RNs who completed a traditional ECG course with those who completed a gamified ECG course. The comparison group contained 66 eligible participants who completed the survey and the experimental group contained 64 participants. Post-course surveys were electronically distributed to registered nurses who completed either the traditional or the gamified version of the ECG course. Research instruments included a demographic survey, the Flow Perceptions Questionnaire (a self-reporting motivational survey), and an ECG knowledge test. Additionally, RNs who completed the gamified version were administered a short survey measuring the motivational effects of included game elements and mechanics. Two hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to identify differences between the comparison and experimental groups when controlling for age and current patient care environment. The first indicated the addition of the variable class type to the prediction of ECG test scores was statistically significant (ΔR2 = .116, p \u3c.001). Therefore, the experimental group scored statistically significantly higher than the comparison group. The second hierarchical multiple regression suggested the addition of the variable class type to the prediction of Flow Perceptions Questionnaire scores was not statistically significant (ΔR2 = .006, p = .397). Thus, no significant differences were discovered between the two groups specific to learner motivation. In fact, the comparison group reported higher motivation levels than the experimental group. The proposed theoretical framework effectively guided the ECG course’s gamification design; however, since anticipated learner motivation scores were not achieved, minor adjustments might be warranted. Game mechanics and game elements, specifically selected for the gamified ECG course based on learner personas, were mostly rated as promoting higher motivation levels. Future research must be conducted to improve sample diversity, control, and motivation measurement, in addition to exploring qualitative data, longitudinal outcomes, and gamification’s various technological sophistication levels

Turning Users\u27 In-Game Behaviours into Actionable Adaptive Gamification Strategies using the PEAS Framework

Adaptive gamification answers the need to customize engagement strategies because users are motivated by different game elements and mechanics. To better understand these individual preferences, user modelling is vital. However, gameful designers must make many decisions on matching profiling data to actual adaptation strategies, which makes modelling particularly challenging. The lack of a standardized and guided process for adaptive gamification hinders replicability, comparability, and complicates making adaptation dynamic. In this study, we analyzed a persuasive gameful application (Play\&Go) to show how in-game behaviours can be translated into adaptation strategies. We used an existing adaptation framework (PEAS) grounded in the games and gamification literature. Our work demonstrates the suitability of the PEAS model as a shared, standardized method for adaptive gamification and shows how it can guide the process of transforming user behaviours into actionable adaptation strategies