Gamification

The theory of Gamification stems from empathy

Duolingo is a free language learning website. It gamifies online learning by giving points, timed tests and level-ups to performers. With its gamified approach to language-learning, it’s proven to be one of the most popular education apps on the market.

So, what’s this new buzzword – Gamification?

Simply put, Gamification is the use of game-thinking and game mechanics in a non-game context.

For instance, a non e-commerce websites like Linked In has introduced the concept for profile completion. Nike has introduced Nike Fuel for miles run, distance covered and records broken. It’s a brilliant example for intersecting personal and community spaces through gamification.

Current trends have seen a great acquaintance to “Gamification”. In fact, a global research company Markets and Markets predicts the Gamification segment to be worth $5.5 billion by 2018, from the $421 million market it is today (Report). Gartner predicted that by 2014, 70% of the Global 2000 would have at least one ‘gamified’ application. Doing the math, that means 1400 large organizations over the next 36 months.

So let’s talk about a few paradigms that can make Gamification work. I would enlist these as Immersive experience, Micro & Macro focus, Instilling a sense of achievement, Registering progress in the user’s mind and clear Rewards and Recognitions.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my experience, a few techniques, that have been applied on Gamification projects with tangible results, include :

• Achievements / badges
• Levels
• Leaderboards
• Progress bars
• Activity feeds
• Avatars
• Real-time feedback
• Virtual currency
• Gifting
• Challenges and quests
• Trophy case
• Embedding small mini games within other activities

While gamification can have very legitimate business application, I feel good design and user experience will be key to making it work. ‘Gamification as a panacea’ is a must-avoid trap. Consumers also can see through any forced-on game mechanics.

 

Which way to go - Adaptive/Responsive?

In the 'post-PC world', where 30%-50% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, how must organizations deal with this change in user behavior? eBusiness teams are planning big time investments in this space, as the below chart from Forrester confirms :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Responsive Design / Adaptive Design are two buzzwords making the rounds in the digital space / user experience space while defining omni-channel experiences. To the layman, they probably sound like two interchangeable labels for the same technology. They optimize web content to fit a variety of devices. But the differences between the two often set the stage for the responsive vs adaptive dilemma faced by enterprises who offer their services on the web.

Though there is no grounded methodology or a successful formula, here are a few thoughts on the process behind these:

 

 

Responsive Design is client-side; Adaptive design is server-side. The difference between the 2 adaptation for development with pros & cons are as below:

As for all technology decisions faced by enterprises, the solution to the responsive vs adaptive dilemma depends on their mobile web strategy and the outcomes they expect. If a business is looking to upgrade their existing web services to a mobile-friendly customer base, responsive design might serve the purpose. But if a business is focused on a mobile-first user experience, the key to the future lies in adaptive design.

Content is still a challenge and important to be focused on:

While companies make decisions on either methods of implementation, the end customer’s expectation is still not easy to comprehend. The user expects content to be maintained across devices with no expectation on his memory load To give an e.g. – a typical, young user trying to register on a portal has very little patience with filling up lengthy forms for personal details. As per his expectation, he can only fill in his leisure time and with available devices around him; the onus of getting this information from him is on the organization.

This is possible only with a seamless content state across devices;
this is being predominantly adopted off late as per the below
Forrester report.

Experience Mapping - A way forward

In a business world keenly focused on ease-of-experience for the end customer, no other industry is a greater hotbed for experience mapping than retail. A large global retailer introduced mobile apps to scan products in store and enable payment and exit without store intervention. This has set new standards for the kind of independence and personalization that today’s users are getting comfortable with, thus raising the bar for cross-industry retail segment (banking, healthcare, automotive etc.). They must now ensure a deeper diagnosis of the user journey.

An experience map is the key to unraveling this journey; it demonstrates the interconnectedness of a cross channel experience between customers and businesses.

It will allow you to identify opportunities and areas of improvement that will, in turn, propel strategic design direction keeping abreast of state-of-art, cross-channel customer acquisition, retention & conversion trends.

An experience map will enable a 360 degree view of the end customer’s patterns of activity that are associated with your service / product. Building a satisfied pattern will ensure customer’s emotional stickiness extending your reach to his social and personal world.