fun at work through innovation games
TRANSCRIPT
Fun at work through
Innovation Games
Srinath Ramakrishnan
Agile Coach@rsrinath
Agenda
Why do people play games
What is Innovation games
Types of Innovation Games
Games for Retrospectives
Application of Innovation Games
Why do people play games
Games provide inexpensive, real time feedback
Have participants deeply engage with ideas
Allow different scenarios to be tested
Help in better collaboration
https://hbr.org/2015/09/games-can-make-you-a-better-strategist
Business Process vs. Creative Process
Business Process
Same result every time
Framework for Predictability
Game
Different result every time
Framework for Possibility and Creativity
www.plays-in-business.com
Target
Traditional
Market
Research
Games
www.innovationgames.com
Four Defining Traits of a Game
Game
Goal
“Sense of
Purpose”
Rules
“Unleash creativity
and foster
strategic thinking”
Feedback
“provides
motivation to
keep playing”
Voluntary
Participation“establishes
common ground”
Reality is Broken : Why Games Make us better and how they can change the world” – Jane McGonigal
Ideas into Action™
Set the stage
Build the themes
Build new ideas
Examine
Explore
Experiment
Conclusion
Decision
Action
Divergent Emergent Convergent Goals
www.innovationgames.com
Innovation Games ‒ The Seriously Fun Way to Do Work!
Innovation Games:
A set of originally market research oriented, facilitated and
directed games, developed by Luke Hohmann.
13 core in-person games at the beginning; now more than 20
games.
www.innovationgames.com
The Innovation Games Process
1. What are your questions?
What will you do with the answers?
2a. What data is needed to
answer the questions?
2b. Select and prepare for
the appropriate game
3a. Acquire the data 3b. Plan for and play the game
4. Process and analyze the data
5. Take action
What are Innovation Games used for?
www.innovationgames.com
What Makes Innovation Games Unique
Game playing provides a relaxed less rigid environment for participants.
Each game leverages research from cognitive psychology and organizational behavior in unique ways.
They utilize verbal, written, visual and non-verbal forms of communication thereby providing greater volumes of information.
Some games provide wonderful player generated artwork which can be retained and shared with others.
Two Game types
Idea Engine (Visual
collaboration games)
leverage powerful visual
metaphors and well-known
strategy and decision-
making models as the
foundation of collaborative
problem solving.
Idea Engine Decision Engine
Decision Engine (Virtual
market games) use
virtual currency to
identify shared priorities
among the players.
13 Innovation Games
Product Box: customers work individually or in small teams to create and sell their ideal product. Leverage customers experiences by asking them to design a box for your product.
Me and My Shadow: discover hidden needs by carefully observing what customers actually do with your products.
Buy a Feature: customers work together to purchase their most desired features.
Give Them a Hot Tub: customers provide
feedback on outrageous features to establish
what is truly essential.
Remember the Future: understand your
customers’ definition of success by seeing how
they shape their future. ”What will the system
have done?” instead of ”what will the system
do”
Spider Web: participants work individually or in small teams to create vivid pictures of how your
products and services fit into their world. Helps
you understand the relationships between your
products and services and other products and
services
13 Innovation Games
Start Your Day: participants collaboratively describe
when, how, and where they use your product(s).
Participants describe their daily, weekly, monthly, and
yearly events related to their use of a product.
Show and Tell: customers describe the most important
artifacts produced by your system to you and other
customers.
The Apprentice: an engineer or product developer
uses the product as an end-user – to create an
empathetic understanding of challenges faced by
the customer in using your product
13 Innovation Games
20/20 Vision: customers negotiate the relative
importance of such things as product features,
market requirements, and product benefits.
Prune the Product Tree: customers work in small
teams to shape the evolution of your products and
services. The process is not about “cutting” – it is
about “shaping”
Speed Boat: customers identify their biggest pain
points with your products and services.
13 Innovation Games
My Worst Nightmare: Discover hidden and/or
unconsidered worst-case scenarios to develop
better understanding and planning.
Participants imagine and draw a caricature of
their “worst nightmare” related to the product
or service that you’re researching.
13 Innovation Games
Selecting Games that best meet your goal
What do you want to understand Consider these games
Unmet and/or idealized market needs Product Box
Me and My Shadow
Buy a Feature
Give them a Hot Tub
Remember the Future
Product and service usage and
relationships
Spider Web
Start your Day
Me and My Shadow
Show and Tell
The Apprentice
Product and Service Functionality Product Box
20/20 Vision
Me and My Shadow
Speed Boat
Start your Day
How to shape your product for the
future
Remember the future
Prune the Product Tree
20/20 vision
Buy a feature
Games for Retrospectives – Star Fish
https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/3/005/08e/051/243077f.jpg
DAKI – Drop, Add, Keep, Improve
http://www.funretrospectives.com/daki-drop-add-keep-improve/
Start Doing, Stop Doing, Continue Doing
http://intland.com/blog/project-management-en/tips-and-tricks-to-make-the-most-of-your-retrospectives/
http://www.mattagile.com/2014/01/transparent-retrospective.html
4Ls – Liked, Lacked, Learned, Longed For
http://www.ebgconsulting.com/blog/the-4l%E2%80%99s-a-retrospective-technique/
http://www.ebgconsulting.com/blog/the-4l%E2%80%99s-a-retrospective-technique/
We liked it when a good thing took on
a life of its own.
We learned that it really resonated
with many folks.
We lacked sharing the full
understanding of the technique.
We longed for more sharing.
- Mary Gorman and
Ellen Gottesdeimer
Speedboat
http://teamup.support/tus/assessments/teammember/tips-5-dysfunctions-team/
Wheel of Change
http://www.agileforall.com/category/retrospectives/
Mad Sad Glad
http://www.zazzle.com/mad_sad_glad_scare_postcard-239023522438191265
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/customerdelight-upload-110818083241-phpapp02/95/customer-delight-upload-9-728.jpg?cb=1313656966
Who is using it?
Organization Games
IDirect Buy a Feature
Headwaters Corporation Prune the Product Tree
Rally Buy a Feature, 20/20 Vision, Prune the
Product Tree
Qualcomm Product Box
Ticketmaster Buy a Feature
SAP Spiderweb, Prune the Product Tree, Buy a
Feature
Verisign Buy a Feature
NetApp - SAP Spider Web, Speedboat, 20/20 Vision
Google Buy a Feature, 20/20 Vision
http://www.innovationgames.com/about/success-stories
Performance Reviews using Innovation Games
Renatus Consultants
http://www.innovationgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/spider-web.jpg
http://play.innovationgames.com/image_logic/2WDVZJIDBUWXTNVA45GIIA0CNE050AKY
http://www.innovationgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/oracletree-300x289.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jQcz-JrW7BI/maxresdefault.jpg
http://play.innovationgames.com/image_logic/SUBP33F2OG0DV5XLPE25BNCXTRYV5EHG
http://insights.dice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/thumbnail25.jpg
Identify
reviewers
Self Assessment
Establish Goals Build
Advocacy
HR Outbrief
Budget Games – San Jose
http://conteneo.co/conteneo-city-of-san-jose-produce-fourth-annual-budget-games/
• Specialized feature of “Buy a Feature” game
• Goal - obtain insights from citizens on city’s budget –
provide inputs to the Mayor and City Council
• Participatory Budgeting and Citywide Budgetary Engagement
• used to engage neighbourhood leaders regarding
priorities for spending, tradeoffs, and budget cuts for the
City’s annual $2.9 billion budget
References
Books
Luke Hohmann: Innovation Games. Creating Breakthrough Products Through Collaborative Play. Addison-Wesley, 2006
Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo: Gamestorming. O'Reilly, 2010.
Web Links
www.innovationgames.com
http://www.gogamestorm.com/
www.tastycupcakes.org
https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital?language=en#
https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world?language=en
https://www.ted.com/talks/gabe_zichermann_how_games_make_kids_smarter