Lichtenvoort, Dennis: Gamification: Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-
Functional Enterprise Information System - Project Finance and Risk Management,
Hamburg, Diplomica Verlag GmbH 2013
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
Vorwort
Ich möchte mich an dieser Stelle für die Korrektur und Prüfung meiner Arbeit bei
Herrn Prof. Dr. Martin Przewloka und Herrn Prof. Dr. Harald Ritz bedanken. Auch
sei ein herzlicher Dank für die jederzeit hilfreiche und unkomplizierte Betreuung und
das "immer offene Ohr" ausgesprochen.
Für ein gutes fachliches Gespräch danke ich Philipp Herzig.
Ganz herzlich danke ich Susanne Butler und Heather Morris für ihre Unterstützung
in sprachlichen Angelegenheiten.
Für einen regen Austausch zu dem Fortschreiten der Arbeit und für mentale Unter-
stützung danke ich Björn Christian Roth.
Einen ganz besonderen Dank richte ich an Bianca Helling, welche für mich orga-
nisatorisch und mental eine große Unterstützung war.
© Dennis Lichtenvoort
Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
Abstract
Gamification is defined as the "use of game design elements in non-game contexts"
and has found widespread application in a marketing context to make users engage
in activities which ultimately familiarizes them with a certain product or products
of a specific brand. However, companies begin to understand that Gamification can
also be employed in internal business contexts. It is this work's goal to investigate
Gamification's potential as an instrument for intrinsic motivation in cross-functional,
enterprise-wide Information Systems (EIS) of organizations and to explore benefits
as well as its implications for adoption. This work will explain Gamification's mode
of action and demonstrate that User Experience Models such as the Technology Ac-
ceptance Model (TAM) or the DeLone & McLean Model for Information Systems
Success are valid for measuring the effects of a gamified EIS on its users. Results
from this work show that Gamification applied to an EIS will have several positive
consequences, ranging from increased user productivity, faster learning and training
speed to increased technology acceptance and faster adaption to IT-related orga-
nizational changes. Results also show that a comprehensive gamified IS solution is
a long-term and sustainable change to an organization's business strategy and, as
this, needs upper level management decisions and attention regarding its planning,
financing, design, deployment and operation.
© Dennis Lichtenvoort
Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
Contents
Contents
Glossary
IV
List of Figures
V
1. Introduction
1
1.1. Aim of this Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
1.2. Structure and Methods Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
5
2.1. Enterprise Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
2.2. A Critical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
2.3. A Gamified Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
3. Gamification
10
3.1. Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
3.2. Aspects and Topical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
3.3. Video Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
4. Psychological Aspects
17
4.1. Game Design Elements: Video Game Dynamics, Video Game Me-
chanics and Interaction Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
4.1.1. Video Game Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
4.1.2. Video Game Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
4.1.3. Interaction Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
4.2. Playful and Pleasurable Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
4.3. A Perspective on Motivation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
4.4. Basic and Interaction-oriented Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
4.5. Shaping User Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
4.6. Digression One: "Game on, world". A Success Story by Nike . . . . .
29
5. Requirements Assessment and Success Criteria
32
5.1. A Methodical Approach to Requirements Assessment . . . . . . . . .
32
5.2. Project Proposal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
5.2.1. Problem Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
5.2.2. Mission Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
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Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
Contents
5.2.3. Strategic and Economic Project Investigation Approach (SEPIA)
36
5.3. On Information System Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
5.3.1. User Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
5.3.2. Organization Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
5.4. Measuring the Degree of Fulfilment - Information System Success . .
42
5.5. Digression Two: A Playful Approach to Project Management . . . .
46
6. Information Risk Management
48
6.1. Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
6.2. Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
6.2.1. Establishing the context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
6.2.2. Risk Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
6.2.3. Risk Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
6.2.4. Monitoring and Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
6.3. Digression Three: Gamification of Risk Management . . . . . . . . .
57
7. Project Finance
59
7.1. Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
7.1.1. Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
7.1.2. Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
7.1.3. Stakeholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63
7.1.4. Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
7.1.5. Delimitation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
7.2. Risk Management in Project Financing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
8. Conclusion
69
Bibliography
75
Statutory Declaration
83
A. Annex: Exemplary Business Case documents
i
B. Annex: Game Mechanics according to (Gamification.org, 2010)
xiv
C. Annex: Excerpt from (Korhonen, 2009) - PLEX Overview
xviii
D. Annex: Pictures of the Nike FuelBand
xx
E. Annex: An evaluation of qualitative risk assessment methods (Prokein,
2008)
xxii
F. Annex: Variables of MISS' Categories (DeLone, 1992)
xxviii
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Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
Contents
G. Annex: A proposed modification of the risk formula (Kuehle, 2008)
xxxi
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
Glossary
Glossary
BI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Behavioural Intention
CFADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cash Flow Available for Debt Service
CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customer Relationship Management
DSCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Debt Service Cover Ratio
DWH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Data Ware House
e.g. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for example
EIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enterprise Information System
ERP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enterprise Resource Planning
etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . et cetera
GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphical User Interface
IS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Information System
ISO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International Standardization Organization
IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Information Technology
LLRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loan Life Cover Ratio
MISS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Model for Information Systems Success by DeLone and McLean
NPV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Net Present Value
PEoU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Perceived Ease of Use
PF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pleasure Framework
PLCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Project Life Cover Ratio
PLEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playful Experience Framework
PLEX+ . . . . . . . . . . . . PLEX complemented with findings of Malone and Lepper
PPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Project Proposal Plan
PU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Perceived Usefulness
ROI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Return on Investment
SCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Supply Chain Management
SEPIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Strategic and Economic Project Investigation Approach
TAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technology Acceptance Model, by Davis
TAM2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technology Acceptance Model 2, by Davis and Venkatesh
TAM3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technology Acceptance Model 3, by Venkatesh
© Dennis Lichtenvoort
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
List of Figures
List of Figures
1.1. This Work's Logical Structure. Source: Own illustration . . . . . . .
3
2.1. Functions of an Information System. Source: (Laudon, 2009)
. . . .
5
2.2. An Enterprise Information System. Source: Own illustration based on
(Laudon, 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
2.3. Management in a Cross-Functional Organzation. Source: Own illus-
tration based on (Schreyoegg, 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
3.1. The 2012 Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. Source:
Gartner.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
3.2. "The Classification of Games" by Roger Caillois. Source: (Caillois,
1961; in: Salen, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
4.1. Bartles' Four Player Styles. Source: Own illustration . . . . . . . . .
18
4.2. A Game Mechanics - Playful Experiences - Mapping. Source: Own
illustration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
4.3. PLEX+ - Mapping between PLEX and Malone and Lepper's Moti-
vational Factors. Source: Own illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
4.4. Categorization Transfer of Murray's Classification of Needs into Gam-
ing Categories by Bostan. Source: Own illustration . . . . . . . . . .
26
5.1. The Project Proposal Process. Source: Own illustration based on
(Specker, 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
5.2. A "Potential Portfolio" and its Influencing Methods. Source: Own
illustration based on (Specker, 2005, p. 211-116)
. . . . . . . . . . .
37
5.3. The Technology Acceptance Model 3. Source: (Venkatesh, 2008, p. 280)
39
5.4. The Procedural View of MISS. Source: (DeLone, 1992) . . . . . . . .
42
5.5. The Variance Model of MISS. Source: (DeLone, 2003) . . . . . . . .
43
6.1. The Risk Management Process according to ISO 31000. Source: Own
illustration based on (ISO, 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
6.2. Methods for (Information) Risk Identification. Source: Own illustra-
tion based on (Prokein, 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
6.3. A Risk Management Heat Chart. Source: Own illustration . . . . . .
54
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
List of Figures
6.4. A Risk Management Matrix provides Suggestions for Risk Treatment
Strategies. Source: Own illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
6.5. Risk Mitigation through Applying Generic Strategies. Source: Own
illustration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
7.1. A High Level View of Project Finance's Relations between the Project
Company, Investors and Lenders. Source: Own illustration based on
(Yescombe, 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
7.2. Project Finance's Phases. Source: Own illustration based on (Böttcher,
2010; Przybilla, 2008; Weber, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
7.3. Project Finance's Risk Management Process. Source: Own illustration
based on (Böttcher, 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
7.4. DSCR, LLCR, and PLCR. Source: Own illustration
. . . . . . . . .
66
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
1. Introduction
1. Introduction
"Play so that you may be serious." - Anacharsis. Although play is generally regarded
as involving neither utility nor meaning and thus as a free time activity, the above
quote illustrates that man has known since the times of the Scythian philosopher
Anacharsis that we learn from play. Play thus acts as a foundation for our more
serious behaviour. With the advent of Gamification in the year 2008, interest in this
concept has been surged. In general, the term Gamification describes how games (or
certain game elements) can increase customer engagement when used in the context
of marketing. For example, by playing a game, the user or player remains on the
website longer. The integration of a game into an organization's website thus can
increase the players awareness of a product, their familiarity with the product, the
player is more easily convinced of the product's benefits and is more susceptible for
the company's Unique Selling Points.
Several studies hypothesize that Gamification can also be used in a serious or in
an enterprise context (e.g., Flatla, 2011; Singer, 2012). This leads to the question,
to what extent can Gamicfication be employed? This work focusses on the idea of
gamifying an Enterprise Information System (EIS), which by definition spans several
internal business functions. It is hypothesized that Gamification can foster several
aspects concerning the use and utilization of such EIS, ranging from a faster learning
and more efficient working on the employee's side to an impact on profitability
parameters on the organization's side.
1.1. Aim of this Work
The aim of this work is to show that Gamification can be used to empower Enter-
prise Information Systems (EIS) and particularly a company's internal use of those
systems. This will be achieved by showing that by nature employees have the same
psychological needs Gamification addresses to trigger an increased engagement with
the gamified software. It will be assessed which different elements Gamification con-
sists of and what exact fundamental psychological aspects these elements address. It
is hypothesized that this leads to an intrinsic motivation to use the software, caus-
ing the experience of "fun", which consequently leads to an increase in productivity.
Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that motivation and even behaviour of users
© Dennis Lichtenvoort
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
1. Introduction
can be shaped or altered through the use of Gamification. This work aims to provide
measurable indicators for the effects of Gamification on users and organizations as
well as for its impact and success in an economic sense. This will be achieved by
introducing two well-established models: the Technology Acceptance Model and In-
formation Systems Success Model, both of which have variables, parameters and
factors which are verifiably influenced by Gamification.
The second aspect of this work consists of an exemplary Business Case document.
Its purpose it to highlight the first steps of Gamification's transfer to a business
environments through providing methods of project management, addressing the
financial perspective as well as an organizational point of view. An assessment and
evaluation of potential risks as well as methods to avoid or mitigate them are also
provided. The business case's fundamentals will be established over the course of
this work.
1.2. Structure and Methods Employed
This work is divided into two major parts. The first part focuses on depicting the
following four topics in terms of content: Information Systems and their current
issues, the concept of Gamification along with play and games, psychological as-
pects of Gamification's mode of action, and requirements for a gamified Information
System along with its success criteria. The second part focuses on methodical fun-
damentals, which will be taken up by the business case's document: the Project
Proposal Plan as the first step of Project Management, Risk Management and it's
standardization, and a closer look on Project Finance. While chapter two, three
and four provide input for chapter five, the chapters five, six, and seven are neces-
sary for understanding the business case document. It is recommended to read the
chapters in chronological order to gain an understanding of the context and corre-
lations. In chapter two, a general understanding of Enterprise Information Systems
will be established by outlining what is understood by an Information System and
cross-functionality. A featured analysis will reveal some weak points of Information
Systems implementations and it is hypothesized that those issues can be addressed
by gamified solutions.
A wide range of literature is available for the trending topic of Gamification. One
group of the current literature largely deals with Gamification's consequences and
results, although it does not attempt to explain or look at Gamification's mode of
action and its causes. This limited group of the literature will be used in chapter
three, where it is used to promote a general understanding of the topic and explain
some of its context.
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Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
1. Introduction
Figure 1.1.: This Work's Logical Structure. Source: Own illustration
A second group of current literature, mostly consisting of scientific publications and
research, delves into explaining the mode of action and elements of Gamification. In
chapter four, this literature will be used to distil those elements and facets and ap-
ply them to a psychological aspect basis, which consists of two frameworks (PF and
PLEX) and an underlying model (Flow). These are derived from the field of moti-
vational psychology. Other known models and formalized research from behavioural
psychology, important and well-respected research from the field of anthropology
as well as research from game design and interaction design will also influence this
psychological foundation.
Chapter five deals with the business requirements of an information system. Here,
methods are introduced in order to assess such requirements, the project proposal
plan being one of them. A model for measuring the degree of fulfilment (MISS) of
the business requirements as well as a model for measuring User Acceptance (TAM)
is proposed.
In contrast to the aforementioned chapters, chapters five to seven not only feature
sharp basic definitions of their respective topics, but also include methods and guide-
lines for application.
Chapter six addresses the topic of risk management from a theoretical point of view,
© Dennis Lichtenvoort
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
1. Introduction
featuring a standardized approach to risk management from ISO. In chapter seven,
the topic project financing is elucidated. It features basic definitions, characteristics
and variants as well as a comparison of Project Finance's approach toward risk man-
agement, and is set against the approach introduced in chapter six. Consequently,
the described methods are taken up and applied in the business case's proposal plan.
This work is concluded with a summary and discussion of the results from all chap-
ters. Finally, a recommendation is given concerning the viability of introducing Gam-
ification into Enterprise Information Systems.
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
In order to assess the use of Gamification in Information Systems, the term Informa-
tion System has to be explained first. This chapter will describe the basic concept
of Enterprise Information Systems, a description of problems faced by Information
Systems before, during, and especially after implementation, and how Gamification
can actively alleviate and even mitigate some of them.
2.1. Enterprise Information Systems
An Information System (IS) is defined as "a set of interrelated components that
collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision
making and control in an organization" (Laudon, 2009, p. 11). Figure
2.1
depicts
Figure 2.1.: Functions of an Information System. Source: (Laudon, 2009)
this definition graphically. It shows an organization as having only one integrated
IS, which is ideal for modelling but a gross oversimplification of today's business
IS frameworks. Following this definition, an IS can comprise several applications,
for instance a database, a processing program and an application for collecting and
receiving as well as displaying the information. Information Systems can, however,
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
consist of more than only this technological perspective. They can also include the
aspects "Organization" and "People". The company's structure and organization as
well as a part of its culture are projected into the design of the Enterprise Infor-
mation System (EIS), taking form most notably in business processes. An EIS is
used by the employees and managers and therefore is designed according to their
functional and individual needs and requirements regarding usability.
Figure 2.2.: An Enterprise Information System. Source: Own illustration based on
(Laudon, 2009)
The benefit of building an IS enterprise-wide (see figure
2.2
) is gathering and storing
data from key processes in a single data repository. Collaboration is thus enabled
and encouraged because fragmented information from various autonomous systems
is now shared and can flow seamlessly throughout an organization (Laudon, 2009).
Markus and Tenis view Information Systems or Enterprise Systems from a more
software-oriented perspective. They define Enterprise Systems as being "[...] com-
mercial packages; that is, they are purchased or leased from software vendors rather
than being developed in-house [...]" (Markus, 2000, p. 176).
Today, systems which are understood as being EIS are for example Customer Rela-
tionship Management Systems (CRM), Supply Chain Management Systems (SCM)
or Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP).
Cross-functionality
Cross-functionality is best described as multidisciplinary and
inter-functional collaboration in order to improve business performance (Galbraith,
1994). Information is no longer communicated through hierarchical channels only
before it can be accessed - cross-functionality aims at a state of "borderless" infor-
mation, so processes requiring this information can be streamlined and their perfor-
mance improved. Figure
2.3
shows the function "Management" and how its tasks and
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Gamification
Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
Figure 2.3.: Management in a Cross-Functional Organzation. Source: Own illustra-
tion based on (Schreyoegg, 2007)
responsibilities permeate several other departments and their functions. Hence, Man-
agement is cross-functional. In regard to Information Systems this means: when an
Information System is used by employees from different organizational departments
or when it projects processes with information from different departments, it can be
called cross-functional. Today, most IS are cross-functional and called Enterprise In-
formation Systems, Enterprise Systems or Enterprise applications, whereas the term
"Enterprise" hints at them being used by more than one department or location.
Though this does not imply that an EIS has to be used cross-functionally: accord-
ing to Markus and Tenis, an organization could decide on implementing just one
component of an EIS (for instance the Human Resource module)(Markus, 2000).
2.2. A Critical Perspective
Enterprise Information Systems are critical business applications. They permeate an
entire company and integrate data and processes in order to streamline, optimize and
standardize business processes. However, with nearly every software implementation
project, problems can occur. The purpose of this section is to highlight problems
that can be encountered with an implementation of ERP software as an example for
general IS implementation. These problems are grouped into two categories: Before
or during the implementation and after the implementation.
Issues before/during the Implementation
A report issued by Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers contains the results from a questionnaire of 250 medium and large sized
companies (PwC, 2008). They were asked if their investments in ERP software and
processes had paid off. It was found that problems before and during the implemen-
tation phase of the ERP project arose, concerning an inconsistent data structure,
insufficient data management and non-standardized processes. While it is debat-
able whether to align processes before, during, or after an implementation of an
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Video Game Element Incentives in Cross-Functional Enterprise Information Systems
Project Finance and Risk Management
2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
EIS/ERP, inconsistent data structures pose a difficult problem, as they impede pre-
cise data mapping between information from the old system and the system being
implemented. In fact, these data structures are a vital element for connecting and
aligning several autonomous applications via an ERP system.
Issues after the Implementation
Another study reveals problems in regard to the
time after an implementation of ERP software. Yusuf et al. (Yusuf, 2004) conducted
a case study of the implementation of SAP R/3 at Rolls Royce. As one of many
problems encountered, they mention: "Matching the process to the software configu-
ration; Training people to accept change, and getting them to do business in a totally
new way; Teaching employees to use modern IT equipment; Training the behaviour
of SAP users such as MRP Controllers and Capacity Owners." (Yusuf, 2004, p.
256).
While the first of the mentioned issues obviously occured during the implementa-
tion, the training measures as well as attempts to familiarize employees with the
changed processes took place independent of or after the implementation. Never-
theless, these are a critical factors for the new system's and the company's success,
due to the fact that the ERP system has to be used by the employees in order to
handle business processes. The study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers also
lists problems which occured after the ERP implementation efforts of some of the
participating companies.
First, in order to utilize the full benefit of the new ERP system, IT resources have
to be optimally integrated in respect of their organizational structure. IT has to be
perceived as a business-enabler and supporting function which is vital to the com-
pany's success.
Second, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that reporting is still provided manually
(Microsoft Excel and other manual reporting tools) to the management instead of
employing automated functions embedded in the ERP suite or provided by other
applications (like a Data Warehouse (DWH)). This problem is twofold. On the one
hand, it implies that the work is still done manually and thus requires a lot of human
intervention. On the other hand, it reveals that employees in management roles are
not inclined to download the reporting documents themselves - which in turn hints
at a lack of automation in processing these documents or at a lack of motivation to
engage with the reporting system.
Success or Failure
Another controversial subject is when to call an ERP imple-
mentation project a success or a failure. In order to take a structured approach to
this evaluation, Markus and Tenis proposed three criteria: project metrics, for ex-
ample abidance by a planned schedule, staying in budget, or the ERP fulfilling the
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2. Analysis of Enterprise Information Systems
functional scope (these criteria are pre-implementation factors). Other metrics are:
short-term business results ("Examples include labor costs, time required to fill an
order, customer calls unanswered, partial orders filled, orders shipped with errors,
inventory levels, and so on."(Markus, 2000, p. 186)), and long-term business results
("Examples of relevant metrics include return on investment, achievement of quali-
tative goals such as "one face to the customer", better management decision making
attributable to higher quality data, continuous improvement of business metrics after
operations return to normal, [...] ease of upgrading to later versions of the enterprise
system software, and so on."(Markus, 2000, p. 186)).
2.3. A Gamified Approach
Gamification can address many of the post-implementation problems mentioned
above, though unfortunately none of pre-implementation issues. This is due to
the fact that inconsistent data, a lack of quality in data management and non-
standardized processes are flaws concerning the premises for an implementation.
For marketing purposes, Gamification is used to familiarize users with a product.
This familiarization is a learning process. The same concept can be transferred to
other learning processes: Gamification can make users intuitively grasp meanings
and adapt to changes faster, e.g. in processes or Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs),
thus reducing the time it takes them to adapt the new circumstances and allows
them to master new technology with greater speed. Additionally, it can increase
the acceptance of those new systems. It is argued that by doing this, short- and
long-term positive business results can be increased, because they are dependent on
factors such as the system's usefulness, the ease of use and the user's intention to
use the system.
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3. Gamification
3. Gamification
Gamification was first mentioned in online resources in the year 2008 (Paharia, 2008;
Currier, 2008). It is featured in conferences like the Gamification Summit in the US
and Europe and the Enterprise Gamification Summit in the US. Gamification is
also referred to in lectures and workshops for related topics such as the Accessibility
Summit, conferences for User Experience, on Social Media, Marketing and Public
Relations, or on Web 2.0 congresses (Lanryd, 2012). Since 2011, Gamification has
even been featured on the Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies (see figure
3.1
), which forecasts what subjects and topics are or may become very important
to follow, which are trending toward recession, and which have become mature and
ready to implement. This recognition is owed to Gamification's potentially great
impact on the way business is done today and will be done tomorrow.
Figure 3.1.: The 2012 Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. Source:
Gartner.com
Gamification can be used to encourage users to engage with a certain product,
process or task and thus can increase related product sales, familiarity, productiv-
ity and even abidance to compliance regulations. Although several years of research
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3. Gamification
were available to Deloitte, in their Tech Trend Report 2012 they provided the follow-
ing rather incomplete definition: "Gamification is about taking the essence of games
- fun, play and passion - and applying it to real-world, non-game situations. In a
business setting, that means designing solutions using gaming principles in every-
thing from back-office tasks and training to sales management and career counseling.
Game mechanics lie at the heart of gamification. For example, achievement levels,
point-tracking and bonuses are ways for desired activities to be recognized and re-
warded." (Deloitte, 2012, p. 8).
This definition provides some descriptions of the purpose for business applications,
but it does not explain how or why Gamification works. Additionally, it names some
of the most commonly used game mechanics as the "heart" of Gamification, which
is debatable, as this work will show.
3.1. Definition
Even though Gamification is no new concept, efforts to define it have yet to reach a
point of convention. At the moment there are more than five formal definitions which
try to outline the use and purpose of Gamification, but more than forty definitions
which define it only partially by describing application and use cases (Koorevaar,
2012). For this work the definitions proposed by Wu (Wu, 2012) and Deterding
(Deterding, 2011) will be used due to their incorporation of methodological and
scientific elaboration:
1 - Definition according to Wu: "Gamification is [...] the use of game attributes
to drive game-like player behavior in a non-game context." This definition con-
sists of three parts, as Wu writes in his blog. The first is "the use of game
attributes" which consist of game mechanics and dynamics, game design prin-
ciples or elements, gaming psychology, storytelling and other aspects of games.
The second part of his definition is "to drive game-like player behaviour".
This phrase uses behaviour as a term to include engagement, interaction, ad-
diction, competition, collaboration awareness and learning. This definition's
third part is "in a non-game context", which means anything other than
a game itself, e.g. work, education, health, fitness, and other activities (Wu,
2012).
2 - Definition according to Deterding: "Gamification [can be defined] as the
use of game design elements in non-game contexts." Deterding et al. break
this definition down in four items which have to be explained in order to grasp
the meaning. First, "Game": Gamification relates clearly to the concept of
a game, which in turn relates to the concept of play. These relationships are
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3. Gamification
outlined in more detail in chapter
3.2
. Also, these concepts are not only lim-
ited to digital examples and applications of Gamification, as they are of a
transmedial nature. This definition's second item is "Element" or elements.
Game elements are building blocks of which games are made. Each indepen-
dently may not count as a valid component, but in combination they compose
a game. Therefore game elements are building blocks which are characteristic
for games - which "are found in most (but not necessarily all) games, readily
associated with games, and found to play a significant role in gameplay." (De-
terding, 2011). Third, "Design": Game Design Elements (which have to be
differentiated from game elements) exists on various levels, ranging from very
specific to very abstract. This definition separates them into five categories:
Interface design patterns (leaderboards, points, badges), game design patterns
or game mechanics (turns, resources, limited time), design principles or heuris-
tics (clear goals, different play styles), conceptual models of game design units
(challenge, curiosity, fantasy), and game design methods and processes (play
testing, playcentric design, game design). Fourth, this definition features the
item of "non-game contexts". The term Gamification should thus not be
tied to one or a few usage contexts, rather defining it as a general concept
regardless of where it is applied (Deterding, 2011).
3.2. Aspects and Topical Environment
Of the above definitions, none provides an explanation as to what a game ultimately
is and why its principles, rules and characteristics apply to Gamification. Although
expressions such as "game-like", "game elements" and "game design" hint at Gam-
ification being a part of games, they do not provide any evidence. While this work
does not intend to give a full course of history on the topic of Gamification, some of
its major milestones which preceded it are important to understand:
The first and very important research on this topic was done by Roger Caillois in
1959, when he wrote the annex to his work "Man and the Sacred". He wrote this
annex in response to and as a critique of Johan Huizinga's work "Homo Ludens".
Huizinga tried to define play but was criticized for overemphasizing the competitive
aspect of games while not incorporating other critical topics in a scientific manner
or omitting them entirely (Rodriguez.2006). Caillois' annex was the foundation of
his later works, such as his famous "Man, Play and Games", in which he made a
very essential distinction between "paidia", which means free and unstructured play,
and "ludus", which means play characterized by rules and traditions. He describes
"paidia" in the section "The Definition of Play" as "spontaneous manifestations of
the play instinct [...]. It [...] effects an immediate and disordered agitation, an im-
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3. Gamification
pulsive and easy recreation but readily carried to excess [...]." (Caillois, 1961, p. 141;
in: Salen, 2006) which we also call "playfulness". Additionally, he characterizes it
with the attributes "free, separate, uncertain, unproductive, governed by rules, and
make-believe". In the section "The Classification of Games" he classifies some play
into games ("ludus") and different categories (agon - competition, alea - chance,
mimicry - simulation, and ilinx - vertigo) as is shown in figure
3.2
.
Figure 3.2.: "The Classification of Games" by Roger Caillois. Source: (Caillois, 1961;
in: Salen, 2006)
It is important to understand that games are not the opposite of play, but rather
an altered form or a subset of play: "It is complementary to and a refinement of
paidia, which it disciplines and enriches." (Caillois, 1961; in: Salen, 2006).
Games are characterized by conventions, techniques and utensils. "But as soon as
conventions, techniques and utensils emerge, [...] the pleasure experiences in solving
a problem arbitrarily designed for this purpose also intervenes, so that reaching a
solution has no other goal than personal satisfaction for its own sake." (Caillois,
1961, p.162; in: Salen, 2006).
From this statement we can derive that games do have one or more goals and it
is the player's goal to reach or fulfil them. The objective of simple games, which
are directly derived from play, is participation, which results in the players sense
of satisfaction or "joy". The more complex a game grows or when games are played
which are invented by someone else, the motivations for reaching the respective goals
become more complex. Examples of these motivations will be shown in chapter
4
.
In accordance with and support of Caillois' definition, Edward Norbeck writes in his
book "The Anthropological Study of Human Play": "Play is voluntarily, somehow
pleasurable, distinct temporally from other behaviour, and distinct in having make-
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3. Gamification
believe or transcendent quality. [...] So defined, play includes games [...]." (Norbeck,
1974, p. 1).
Although Caillois' distinction between the two forms of play is not above critique, it
provides us, in conjunction with the confirmation from Norbeck's results, with some
basic way of understanding and describing the concepts of play and games:
It can be concluded that games are derived from and are a form of play,
created through the application to and enhancement of certain traits of
play. Thus, it can be deducted that the reasons for men to participate
in games are at least partially related to the reasons to play in the first
place.
As presented in the literature and recent research, goal driven behaviour is the
essence of games and inherent to the creation and understanding of games and their
purposes. This inherent purpose has been employed in several areas for several cen-
turies, especially in the military (Halter, 2006) and for educational objectives. In an
educational context they are called "Serious Games" and first have been re-addressed
by Clark Abt in his homonymic book (Abt, 1987) in the late twentieth century. Par-
allel to this, scholars looked into some of the extensive software programmes and
games that were developed for the personal computer in the 1980s. Some of them
found "Heuristics for designing enjoyable user interfaces" (Malone, 1982), making
it a topic for Human-Computer Interaction research. This led not only to more re-
search on how to motivate people who are working with computers intrinsically, but
also on the topic of playfulness. Playfulness remains a rather undefined term up
until recently: "Despite this considerable body of research, no consensual theory or
terminology of playfulness has emerged so far: Sometimes, it is equated broadly with
any "pleasurable experience" or "fun", or indeed every interaction that goes beyond
utilitarian work and task contexts." (Deterding, 2011, p. 2).
One very systematic approach to define and using this term is made by Korhonen
et al. (Korhonen, 2009), who developed a comprehensive framework on the topic of
"Playful Experience", called "PLEX". They combine the results of thirteen different
authors into a list of 20 playful experiences - among them the models of Costello and
Edmonds (Costello, 2007) on pleasurable experiences, Sweetster and Wyeth (Sweet-
ster, 2005) and Csikszentmihalyi (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991), which will be described
later in this work. This list, created by Korhonen et al., hints at more possibilities
for playful experiences to be added to their list of twenty.
Playful experiences can be lived when performing playful acts or play-
ing games. When they are pleasurable, they translate into the feeling we
commonly term "fun".
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3. Gamification
3.3. Video Games
In the previous sections, definitions for Gamification have been proposed, its most
important points of origin have been described and it has been indicated where
further research and explanation is needed. It has also been briefly touched upon
Gamifications modes and methods of action. What has not yet been addressed is
why Gamification is also an IT topic. The following section will outline the history
of video games and show why computers are well suited for being the platform for
games and therefore Gamification.
In the 1970's there was a more distinct differentiation between computers and video
game consoles. The term "video game" denoted games which were programmed for
video game consoles and machines, while "computer games" were dedicated pieces
of software which could be only run on personal computers. This division remains
today, although consoles grow more and more similar to personal computers in means
of the employed hardware, the programming languages and sometimes even their
operating systems.
This work uses the term "video games" for any type of electronic digital game, as
they all share a similarity in being a game which is played on an electronic device.
Up until the mid of the twentieth century, it was board and freestyle games which
defined game play. With the invention of video game consoles and personal com-
puters, it did not take games long to cross over into the electronic domain. While
the first video games were raw and quite unsophisticated (such as Pong (Shea,
2008) or Space Invaders (King, 2006, p. 1-3)), more elaborate pieces of gaming
software soon followed. Today, video games dominate traditional board games in
terms of being the predominant form of gaming. US sales in the board game market
was estimated at 750 Million USD in 2008 compared to more than 21 Billion USD
spent on electronic games in the same period - that is approximately 2.8 times
more than their board game counterparts (Street, 2009). In the 1982 book "The
Art of Computer Game Design", Chris Crawford assessed why video games may be
called an art and what makes them appealing to their players (Crawford, 1982).
He also describes what characterizes video games and hints at how they can be
designed in order to make the player more engaged. Crawford examines first what
constitutes a game and has some strikingly similar findings to Caillois' results. He
also mentions "board games" (a mix between agon and alea), "card games" (alea),
children's games (unclassified ludus), athletic games (ilinx) which he differentiates
from athletic competitions (agon), and computer games which come in a variety of
classifications.
Second, Crawford states that the following factors qualify computer platforms as
one of the best mediums to convey gaming experiences:
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3. Gamification
Responsiveness
"Responsiveness is vital to the interactiveness that is so important
to any game. [...] The responsiveness arises from the computer's plasticity.
The computer is dynamic, it imposes little constancy on any element of the
game." (Crawford, 1982, p. 36).
Rules Framework
Crawford relates to this as "the computer's ability to Motion as
game referee. [...] This allows one other big advantage: the computer can im-
plement complex arithmetic and logical rules. With other technologies, game
rules must be overly simple [...]." (Crawford, 1982, p. 37).
Real-Time Play
According to Crawford, the computer can handle administrative
matters so that the player is no longer concerned with them and can focus on
playing the game.
Artificial Intelligence
"The fourth strength of computers [...] is their ability to pro-
vide an intelligent opponent." (Crawford, 1982, p. 37).
Limited Information
This aspect is twofold: first, Crawford states information pur-
posefully withheld can be advantageous because a players guesswork is needed
to complete the information in order to reach the game's goal. Second, "The
player must use his imagination to make the unreal situation seem real." (Craw-
ford, 1982, p. 38). This addresses the player's curiosity and sparks engagement.
Multiplayer Capability
"The use of telecommunications for game play [...] allows
us to create games with huge numbers of players." (Crawford, 1982, p. 38).
These findings have been validated and complemented in the book "Game Design"
written by Richard Rouse III. (Rouse, 2005). We can conclude from this that video
games have the capability and flexibility to address players in a way according to
their wishes and requirements for having playful and pleasurable experiences when
playing games.
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4. Psychological Aspects
4. Psychological Aspects
According to Wu's definition (see chapter
3.1
), Gamification, among other factors,
comprises gaming psychology. In the first chapter's section
1.2
of this work it was
hypothesized that psychological theories of motivational and behavioural psychology
respectively are fundamental to Gamification. In its first part, this chapter explains
and highlights several key elements of Gamification. While they are not from the
domain of psychological studies but from Game Design, they are the medium which
triggers a certain behaviour by the player and it is helpful to understand their mode
of interaction.
Following this explanation, these key elements will be connected to the psychological
theories and concepts mentioned before in order to not only prove the hypothesis
of the correlation between the both of them, but also to map them to interaction-
oriented and basic human needs. It will be shown that this mapping can be explained
through concepts of motivational psychology. This chapter concludes with examples
of successful application of gamified solutions which demonstrate, that Gamification
is indeed capable of changing user behaviour.
4.1. Game Design Elements: Video Game Dynamics, Video
Game Mechanics and Interaction Design
In Deterding's definition of Gamification in section
3.1
, the term "design" is ex-
plained in detail, along with its five categories. Three of them are of particular
interest as they focus on the target group - or players - the game is designed for, not
the process of game design. These categories are "interface design patterns" or sim-
ply "interface", "game design patterns or game mechanics" and "conceptual models
of game design units". In addition, the term "game dynamics" will be explained, as
it is vital to the concept of Gamification.
4.1.1. Video Game Dynamics
Although Wu tries to provide a definition for game dynamics, it remains a rather
diffuse term. He defines it as the "temporal evolution and patterns of both the game
and the players that make the game [...] more enjoyable. (Wu, 2011).
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