Designing a Gamification Strategy

Welcome to Chapter 6, where will we start to put everything together. We covered the history of gamification, principles of product development, gamification frameworks, understanding the importance of designing for your end user, and game mechanics and elements. Now, we will use the two examples we’ve been using throughout this book, Hi-Z Fitness and Product Management Media, and design the gamification features step by step and explain the process along the way using examples from the previous chapters. There won’t be additional theory – we’ll just be putting the previously discussed ideas into action so that you can build products and features that appeal to your users. By doing so, you will see increased engagement and retention.

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

• Setting goals and objectives
• Defining success metrics
• Choosing the right game mechanics
• Creating a game loop
• Building...

Setting goals and objectives

Whether you are a product manager, consultant, or entrepreneur, you report to someone. A boss, client, or investor may want an explanation of what you are developing and why. So, remember to always start with the goal in mind. Setting clear goals and objectives for your product is essential for its success. Goals provide a sense of direction and purpose, guiding your team’s efforts and ensuring alignment toward a shared vision. On the other hand, objectives break down those goals into actionable and measurable targets, allowing you to track progress and evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies.

Defining OKRs

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) offer a robust framework that aligns teams, fosters accountability, and drives results.

Objectives are aspirational and begin to capture the overarching vision and direction of the product. These objectives must be ambitious, inspiring, and aligned with the organization’s strategic priorities...

Defining success metrics

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and OKRs are strategic measurement tools that help organizations track progress and achieve their goals. KPIs serve as the compass guiding organizations, teams, and individuals toward their goals. Derived from strategic objectives, KPIs are quantifiable metrics to measure progress, evaluate performance, and steer businesses in the right direction.

KPIs provide a robust framework for assessing performance and propelling businesses toward success. These metrics go beyond surface-level measurements, cutting through vanity metrics to reveal meaningful insights. By aligning KPIs with specific business objectives, you can gain invaluable data to drive action, make data-driven decisions, and uncover areas for improvement.

Creating an effective KPI framework for a product-driven organization requires careful planning and consideration. Here are the key steps to follow:

1. Align to your OKRs: Start by clearly articulating...

Selecting your personas and JTBD to design around

In the previous chapter, we emphasized the significance of understanding user motivations and behaviors through market research. Now, we will move forward and identify our champion users, the individuals who have a strong need for our product or feature. These users are so passionate about solving the problems that they overlook initial design flaws and technical difficulties upon launch. They become the advocates who utilize our product and spread the word about its value.

To effectively engage and retain these champion users, treating them well and establishing ongoing communication is crucial. Regularly engage with them to gather feedback, address their concerns, and showcase that you are actively working on improving the product. You build trust and loyalty among these valuable users by demonstrating your commitment to continuous enhancement.

Creating a persona for your users further enhances your understanding of their needs...

Choosing the right game mechanics

In the world of gamification, a fascinating concept exists known as the game within the game. It revolves around strategically selecting and testing game mechanics, creating captivating prototypes, and the art of weaving compelling narratives that captivate and influence your audience. To truly understand the power of this approach, let’s take a closer look at some of the greatest games of the last decade: God of War, Spider-Man, Call of Duty, and Fortnite.

God of War and Spider-Man stand out not only for their stunning graphics and immersive gameplay but also for the incredible stories embedded within them. These games masterfully combine engaging narratives with stellar game design, creating an experience that keeps players engrossed and motivated to progress through missions and uncover more captivating storylines.

On the other hand, Call of Duty and Fortnite take advantage of the social mechanics of gaming. They leverage features such...

Creating a game loop

In gamified products, your success and longevity heavily depend on users’ engagement and satisfaction. To achieve these goals, it is essential to incorporate critical elements that foster a sense of progression, encourage social interaction, and offer diverse challenges. This section will explore the significance of creating progression systems, encouraging social interaction, and including challenges and variety in our gamified products, Hi-Z Fitness and PMM. These elements are integral to captivating users, promoting retention, and driving meaningful interactions within the gamified experience.

Create progression systems

A well-designed progression system forms the backbone of a compelling gamified product. It offers users a sense of growth, accomplishment, and exploration as they advance through the experience. By developing a progression system for our products, Hi-Z Fitness and PMM, we can provide users with opportunities to unlock new content...

Incorporating gamification into the user experience

Welcome to the stage where you connect the pieces of the puzzle you’ve been putting together. There are many tools, processes, and methodologies for user experience strategy. We already covered user research, personas, and JTBD. We will cover usability testing and accessibility in a future chapter. There are many other beautiful books on interaction design, visual design, and content strategy. To create and design the first draft of your gamified product or features, we will cover creating a user journey map and, from there, a wireframe that incorporates the journey and game mechanics.

Creating a user journey map

User journey mapping visually depicts the end-to-end experience of a user with your product. It helps identify their pain points, opportunities to delight them, and monuments of critical interactions, with the focus here being gamified interactions. It involves mapping out the user’s steps, actions, emotions...

Summary

This chapter explored the critical aspects of designing gamified experiences for products and applications. We began by emphasizing the importance of setting clear goals and objectives that align with the overall business strategy. By defining these goals, you can focus on driving specific outcomes and rallying your team and stakeholders around a shared vision.

Next, we delved into the significance of defining success metrics. We discussed the role of KPIs and OKRs in assessing performance and progress. By selecting meaningful metrics that align with the goals, product managers gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their gamification strategies.

Choosing the proper game mechanics was another critical aspect we explored. We discussed various game mechanics, such as progression systems, social interaction, challenges, and variety. Each game mechanic aims to engage users and motivate them to take desired actions. By understanding the target audience and their...