What have you been experimenting with and learning from it, Business Designer Minna Kärhä, Solita?
My experiment involved gamifying a Kanban board for a team responsible for data capabilities development. At the time, I was leading a team of data solution developers that consisted of in-house professionals as well as consultants, a total of around 20 people. The overall team was new and in the norming phase. To secure enough focus for each individual, the team was divided into four sub-teams, each with their own tasks and dependencies. Inspired by an inside joke involving “Data, Dungeons and Dragons”, I designed a physical board with lanes for each sub-team to track their work progress over a six-week cycle.
The board included areas for new ideas, prioritized tasks, active ongoing work, and completed tasks. Items that didn’t progress were moved to a “Dungeon” and obstacles were labelled as “Dragons” that needed to be removed. Items from the “Dungeon” could be brought back to the ongoing work area only when the blocker has been removed. This experiment aimed to help the team better plan their work cycles, recognize dependencies, and communicate progress.
From this experiment, I learned that the gamified approach initially confused some team members, even though it was similar to what they were used to. It took several cycles for the team to grasp the concept fully. Additionally, I also noticed flaws in the design of the game, such as when to consider an item “not moving forward,” as some items were delayed only toward the end of the cycle.
When the teams got the hang of it, the game actually helped with planning and communicating progress. Labelling the blockers as Dragons helped to identify repeating, bigger blockers such as dependency on some external resources etc. So despite the challenges, the experiment ultimately helped the team improve their planning and communication. Overall, I found the experience both educational and fun. I would definitely consider using this approach again in a similar situation.
Thank you, Minna for sharing this fun approach!
Photo by Minna Pinola
Minna Kärhä is a Business designer who helps organizations and individuals get sustainable value from data and AI
Small experiments and inspiration 