Workplay: The gamified future of agile development

#agileindia2012 #agileplay

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

WHAT IF WORK WERE MORE LIKE A GAME?

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

What’s next for agile?

2001-2012Continuous integration, delivery, design, feedback

2012+Continuous play

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

So what is gamification?

Gamification is integrating game thinking and design into activities to increase engagement, learning and fun.

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Where did it come from?

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

So what is this talk about (and not about)?

Using games solely for training or planning (a.k.a. serious games)

Marketing and loyalty programs

Experience report

Applying game thinking to daily work

Thinking about how we can gamify agile teams

Discussing how agile teams have a head startA mission of our

own!

Gamified services (e.g., Foursquare)

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Our mission (if you choose to accept it!)

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Our mission today

Make it through without falling asleep (mm, lunch…)Explore the new world of gamificationOvercome some obstacles along the wayConquer this quest with experience and ideas to take on our next quest

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Create a character

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Create a characterPlayer name (you)Character name (made up)Class (Java Warrior, Product Wizard, etc.)Level (agile experience)Guild (organization)Spells and special skills (exploratory-testing magic, analysis spell)

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Why should we gamify work?

Adapt work for incoming, younger workforceIntrinsic rewards are renewable resourceDevelop leadership in teamsMore-satisfying work = better productivityDevelops people by pointing them forward to clear goalsFosters teamwork and accountabilityKey to greater innovation (through imagination)

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Gamification aligns personal and organizational goals

Personal

Organizational

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Defining traits of a game

Goal Rules

Feedback system Vo

luntar

y

partic

ipatio

n

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Reeves and Reed’s 10 ingredients for games1. Self-representation

with avatars2. 3D environments3. Narrative context4. Feedback 5. Reputation, Ranks and

Levels

6. Marketplace and economics

7. Competition under explicit, enforced rules

8. Teams9. Parallel, reconfigurable

communication systems

10.Time pressure

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Is agile the key intersection?

work

play

agile

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Work-play mirror

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Csikszentmihalyi’s “flow channel”

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Csikszentmihalyi’s 9 features of flow

1. Clear goals at every step2. Immediate feedback3. Balance between challenge and skill4. Merger of action and awareness5. Exclusion of distractions6. No worries about failure7. Absence of self-consciousness8. Time becomes distorted9. The experience is an end in itself

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Steps to flow – and how agile can provide them

Set an overall goal (and many realistic subgoals)Find ways of measuring progress of goalsConcentrate on task and keep making finer distinctions in challengesDevelop skills to meet challengeRaise stakes if bored

Business value < Release < Feature < Story < TestsTests, MMFs, cycle time

Refactor mercilessly, incrementally develop, test-drive developmentPair in everything (cross-pair)Kaizen

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Intrinsic rewards

Satisfying workExperience (or at least the hope) of being successfulSocial connectionMeaning

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

“Flow” chart

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

HOW AGILE IS LIKE A GAME

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Voluntary, participatory success

Voluntary disciplineSelf-organizing teamsBuild teams around motivated individuals

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Quest-like work

Stories!NarrativesSpikes

As an agile team memberI want to gamify our workSo that I can feel like I’m not even working!

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Visible progress and rules

TDD (rules)Kanban (visual, limitations, explicit policies)Continuous-integration build monitorsCard wall (visual)

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Feedback

CustomerTeamSystemProcess

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Intensify the feedback

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

High levels of communication

Realtime, face-to-face communicationPairing to solve problems

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Game dimensions

“Get to the other side”: Complete the iteration, feature“Visit all the map”: Unlock “secrets” by technical discovery“time limits”: Velocity metrics, iteration time box

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

CREATING CONTINUOUS PLAY

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Something bigger than ourselves

What is the organization about and where do we fit in?Working with distributed team members

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

What’s your story?

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Project inception

Team members create characters, identify what they’ll needGame designer works with customer to create narrativeCustomer helps map out quests, assigns virtual monetary valueDesigner and customer determine what it means to win, rules, virtual currency and rewards

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Project initiation (iteration 0)

Team members mini-quest for their equipmentGame designer tells the team the narrative Team sets goals for first missionsGuild leadership

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Develop and deliver

Gamify small components to address pain pointsHackathons and secret missions to destroy bug “bosses”Use retrospectives to “mod” the gameMeasure the impactMonitor flow experience

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Visualize progress

Story mapping> quest mapsPairing charts > character profilesBuild in clear rewards

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Leveling up as self-improvement

Flow experience supported by sustainable paceReflect recognition and reputationEncourage team members to view their job as self improvement

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Software craftsmanship

Craftsmanship over crap (Uncle Bob)Craftsmanship manifestoApprentice > Journeyman > MasterKvell and naches

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

ENDGAME

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Dangers

You can’t just spawn a new project after failingCould depersonalize rather than personalizeNo one game can please allGaming and misuse of metrics

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

How do we conquer this new quest?

Take an agile approach (Increment, Iterate, Improve)Focus on the intrinsic first (extrinsic will come)Voluntary participationGive control and teams design their own games (and fail)Lightweight, both in implementation and tone (i.e., fun)

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Final “boss”

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

Before your next quest…

Books:FlowA Theory of FunTotal EngagementReality is BrokenGamestorming

Other:http://www.delicious.com/matthew.philip/gamification

Gamification > How agile is like a game > Creating continuous play > Endgame

gg

mphilip@thoughtworks.com@mattphilip