When making products and services, companies struggle with complexity, poor customer insight, and team dysfunction. Governments face the same challenges when engaging with their citizens. Serious games provide a way to change the rules or work, producing dramatically different and better results.

1. It’s Time To Change
The Rules Of Work
Tom Grant, Senior Analyst
Forrester Research

2. Software innovation could be
a lot more successful
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5. Dad, why do
people hate your
software?

7. Problem #1: COMPLEXITY

8. Complexity leads to failure
Standish Group • 32% succeeded.
CHAOS • 44% were challenged.
Summary 2009
• 24% failed.
report
• Iterative: 71% succeeded.
Dr. Dobb’s • Agile: 70% succeeded.
Project Success
• Traditional: 66% succeeded.
Survey
• Ad hoc: 62% succeeded.
KPMG Global IT • Nearly one-half of the respondents
experienced a project failure the year
Project before.
Management • 86% reported losses of as much as 25%
Survey 2005 of targeted benefits across the portfolio.

9. Problem #2: POOR CUSTOMER INSIGHT

10. We’re not like our customers

11. Customers don’t tell us everything

12. We don’t see them
in their natural habitat
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13. And we don’t take enough time to learn

14. Problem #3: TEAM DYSFUNCTION

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18. Innovators need serious games
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19. Invention and innovation are not the same
1617 1787
John Woodall
Some time passes… James Lind
Convinces the
Publishes his
Admiralty to
findings about
adopt a simple
the origins of
cure
scurvy
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20. Innovation depends on adoption
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21. Companies take adoption seriously
User experience
Design
Usage analytics
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22. Companies need to be adoption-driven
The old
rules won’t
make this
possible
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23. How do serious games change
the rules of innovation?
Structured
Rules, but often no winners
Purposeful
Definite outcome
Time-bound
By definition, a time-boxed
exercise
Participatory
Success depends on
everyone participating.

24. Reducing complexity

25. Gaining better insights
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26. Challenging team dynamics
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27. Serious games face innovation challenges
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28. At the large and small scale
SMALL LARGE
Using serious Making
games in my serious games
organization generally
successful
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29. AT THE SMALL SCALE…
Speak the words your
audience wants to hear
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30. COMPLEXITY:
How do we arrive at the minimum viable
product?
PRODUCT BOX
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31. CUSTOMER INSIGHT:
How can we change the conversation
with the customer?
FEATURE COST SPENT
Android app for activity management $5,000 -
Custom pipeline stages $2,000 $500
More complex lead-scoring options $3,500 -
More canned reports $1,500 $300
BUY A FEATURE
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32. TEAM DYSFUNCTION:
Do we share the same vision and
priorities?
Quality
Features
Ease of use
Reliability
Customizability
KNOWSY
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33. AT THE LARGE SCALE…
Use the same techniques as
previous innovators
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34. A familiar challenge
Market share
You are here
Innovators Early Early Late Laggards
2.5% adopters majority majority 16%
13.5% 34% 34%

35. We’ve been here before
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36. Agile improves processes
Serious games improve decisions
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37. How do you move to the next stage?
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38. Go forth and tell these stories

39. To help people find the right game
Innovation games Training simulations
Gameification Advergames
Wargames Role-playing
Persuasive games
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40. http://seriousgamesatwork.org
tomgrantgamer@gmail.com
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41. Be an adoption-driven organization
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42. And be like Luke
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43. Thank you
Tom Grant
+1.650.581.3846
tgrant@forrester.com
http://blogs.forrester.com/tom_grant
@TomGrantForr