Gamifying Digital Solutions
Mujunen, Jutta (2023)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023061423835
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023061423835
Tiivistelmä
Games have a tendency of engaging players for a long time and motivating them to return to the same game later. Other fields have noticed these successes and started to utilize similar strategies into their work as well. Using game elements to improve engagement and motivation in non-game game contexts is called gamification and during recent years, it has become a popular phenomenon on every area of life. Gamified solutions can be in multiple occasions, such as in education, in healthcare, in marketing, and in software development.
Utilizing the practices of research-based development work, it was investigated what kind of process is required when gamifying digital solutions. According to the wishes of the commissioner company, the process was divided into instructive steps and possible implementation options. The aim was to create guidelines that would enhance understanding gamification in general and provide example gamification methods. These instructions were presented as a manual.
This goal was achieved by getting acquainted with previous research literature and interviewing the employees of the commissioner company. The theoretical background for the development was self-determination theory which states that motivation and engagement can be enhanced by satisfying the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The Octalysis was used as a secondary source to assist creating the design of the manual. To ensure the manual would be suitable for the commissioner company, six employees of the company were interviewed between December 2022 and February 2023. They were asked for example about the practicalities related to the digital solutions that they are providing and how the inner needs mentioned in self-determination theory were considered in these solutions.
All the gathered information was combined to create the manual with the gamification guidelines. The manual attempted to cover various digital solution types. Choosing appropriate gamification methods requires studying the use case and target audience of the solution in question, thus offering general guidelines was difficult. Therefore, the instructions were presented only in a general level which allows different interpretations in each individual context.
Utilizing the practices of research-based development work, it was investigated what kind of process is required when gamifying digital solutions. According to the wishes of the commissioner company, the process was divided into instructive steps and possible implementation options. The aim was to create guidelines that would enhance understanding gamification in general and provide example gamification methods. These instructions were presented as a manual.
This goal was achieved by getting acquainted with previous research literature and interviewing the employees of the commissioner company. The theoretical background for the development was self-determination theory which states that motivation and engagement can be enhanced by satisfying the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The Octalysis was used as a secondary source to assist creating the design of the manual. To ensure the manual would be suitable for the commissioner company, six employees of the company were interviewed between December 2022 and February 2023. They were asked for example about the practicalities related to the digital solutions that they are providing and how the inner needs mentioned in self-determination theory were considered in these solutions.
All the gathered information was combined to create the manual with the gamification guidelines. The manual attempted to cover various digital solution types. Choosing appropriate gamification methods requires studying the use case and target audience of the solution in question, thus offering general guidelines was difficult. Therefore, the instructions were presented only in a general level which allows different interpretations in each individual context.