Agile GamificationBy :

Richa GoelHrushikesh Wakhle

What is gamificationGamification – usage of game design Mechanics and Techniques in non-game context for engaging users.One of the core strategies is to reward players who complete some valuable activities with points and badges. Other approaches also exist, like using some game elements of competition to stimulate employee performance, or making some tasks more engaging like games  (by adding a narrative, for example).

Agile Gamification

Agile gives us many opportunities to improve and challenges to overcome.

If you are an agilist, you may be facing some difficulties, including:1. Teamwork and communication (you want more);2. Meeting attendance (could be better);3. Agile technical practices (Testing, Refactor, Emergent Design, TDD,

BDD, etc);4. Boosting continuous improvement;5. Influencing self-organization.

Agile is about change.

Agile Gamification refers to the use of game mechanics and rewards in an agile software development setting to increase team engagement and drive desired behaviors.

And by using the gamification strategies, we surely can gamify agile software development frameworks and methodologies like Scrum and XP.

Examples of Agile Gamification programs and tools: Agile Leagues: an open-source gamification platform for gamifying agile

teams; Mastering TDD – Test Wizards: a program for boosting test-driven

development (TDD) or other technical practices; Sugar Kit – Training Teams: an approach for training teams in new

technologies; Building continuous improvement – Metrics Ecosystem with LEGO: a game

for creating a culture of continuous improvement.

Agile Gamification

How To Start ?

7 steps to successful Agile Gamification

1. State your business goalsStart by answering stating your business

objectives. Which problems do you want to address? Which practices do you want to boost?

2. Define your target behaviorsThink about what you want your team to do.

What behaviors do you want to stimulate? Which activities are they going to perform?

7 steps to successful Agile Gamification

3. Get approvalWhen starting a gamification program, it is important to get

approval from both your superiors and the players. Remember that you cannot force someone to play. Play is a voluntary activity!

4. Know the playersIf it is your team, you probably already know them very well.

But anyway, you can ask them suggestions and what they are expecting from your gamification program. It is also a good idea to run (ask them) the bartle test of gamer psychology to better determine their characteristics.

7 steps to successful Agile Gamification

5. Build or buy itDecide whether your going to build or buy your gamification program.

If you decide to build it, there are several gamification frameworks out there that can help you focus on your busineses objectives only and forget about specific gamification mechanics (like badges and leaderboards – believe me, they can be hard to implement). You can also try Agile Leagues (please contact me to request access).

6. Run and measureStart running your program and make sure to measure the actions

performed by the players. If it is a software, it will be easier. You can track several attributes and player behaviors. There are also some things that cannot be tracked, and that’s why you should interview your players and ask for their input.

7 steps to successful Agile Gamification

7. Constantly make adjustments Do not forget to inspect, adapt, and

constantly improve the experience. Add new content, fix bugs, increase feedback, change the rules to make it more difficult. Don’t forget to consider the metrics and attributes measured in the previous step.

7 steps to successful Agile Gamification

Define the activities that you want your colleagues or coachees to perform more often, and then group them into domains (areas of improvement). Examples of domains include:

Collaboration Communication Meetings Software engineering Testing

Examples of activities include: Write unit tests Write test before code Read about design patterns Demonstrate a feature in the sprint review meeting Pair program for 1 hour

Define domains and activities

Players are going to report their actions manually by telling the gamification program (probably software) what they are doing. How can we prevent cheating and ensure that all activities are executed as agreed?

Peer activity review is about spreading the responsibility of reviewing the activities throughout the team. Instead of a manager/mentor/leader checking whether the players have actually completed the actions, the team members themselves will be responsible for that. For example:

Say Josh reported a unit test activity and added a description: "I wrote a unit test for component X." Rob, his colleague, knows that he is working on that component, so Rob accepts the activity. Notice that Rob is not going to check whether Josh actually wrote the test, because Rob trusts him.

The peer activity review mechanism has several benefits:◦ It boosts self-organization and trust. Players are not going to feel that they are restricted to the

acceptance of a manager or game administrator.◦ Little time is spent reviewing the activities, because the team members are the ones who know

best what everyone is doing.◦ Self-regulation is boosted because the players themselves will establish their own stringent

standards for accepting or rejecting the activities.◦ They will have fun because you can reward them for reviewing activities.

Peer activity review mechanic

Focus on intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards (money, stocks, prizes, and commissions) work best for simple tasks. Software development is complex and creative work, and people tend to prefer intrinsic rewards over extrinsic ones (intrinsic rewards include recognition, status, altruism, honor, mastery, and purpose).

The classic triad of game elements used in gamification is called PBL (points, badges, and leaderboards). Most gamification programs apply these components because they are highly effective and they will likely help you achieve your business objectives.

Create Rewards

Points: They are used to encourage people to do things in order

to collect them. The assumption is that people will buy more widgets or

work harder in exchange for points. This is a simple approach that occasionally works to

motivate those people who like collecting things or who like competing against each other.

Explicit and frequent feedback is a key element in most good game design, and points provide feedback quickly and easily.

By understanding the nature of points, you can use them in ways that meet the objectives of your gamified system.

Points, Badges, and Leaderboards

Badges: These are a "chunkier" version of points. A badge is a visual

representation of some achievement within the gamified process. ◦ Example: A Unit Tester Badge for writing 1,000 unit tests.

Badges have five motivational characteristics: They give you a goal. They provide guidance as to what is possible within the system. They provide visual markers of what the users are capable of. They are virtual status symbols and affirmations of the personal

journey. They are "tribal markers" in that users with the same badges will

feel connected.

Badges, Points, Rewards only

Gamification is NOT:

Something completely NEW Fits every context

Gamification is

We can expect good results with Agile. Moreover, we will have an even better outcome

with Agile gamification! Both of them stimulate collaboration,

communication, teamwork, creativity, improvement, and self-organization.

Agile gamification, if implemented correctly, will be lever to boost motivation, engagement, and behavioral change.

Conclusion