10.10.1 Purpose
Collaborative games encourage participants in an elicitation activity to collaborate in building a joint understanding of a problem or a solution.
10.10.2 Description
Collaborative games refer to several structured techniques inspired by game play and are designed to facilitate collaboration. Each game includes rules to keep participants focused on a specific objective. The games are used to help the participants share their knowledge and experience on a given topic, identify hidden assumptions, and explore that knowledge in ways that may not occur during the course of normal interactions. The shared experience of the collaborative game encourages people with different perspectives on a topic to work together in order to better understand an issue and develop a shared model of the problem or of potential solutions. Many collaborative games can be used to understand the perspectives of various stakeholder groups.
Collaborative games often benefit from the involvement of a neutral facilitator who helps the participants understand the rules of the game and enforces those rules. The facilitator’s job is to keep the game moving forward and to help ensure that all participants play a role. Collaborative games usually involve a strong visual or tactile element. Activities such as moving sticky notes, scribbling on whiteboards, or drawing pictures help people to overcome inhibitions, foster creative thinking, and think laterally.
10.10.3 Elements
.1 Game Purpose
Each different collaborative game has a defined purpose – usually to develop a better understanding of a problem or to stimulate creative solutions – that is specific to that type of game. The facilitator helps the participants in the game understand the purpose and work toward the successful realization of that purpose.
.2 Process
Each type of collaborative game has a process or set of rules that, when followed, keeps the game moving toward its goal. Each step in the game is often limited by time.
Games typically have at least three steps:
Step 1. an opening step, in which the participants get involved, learn the rules of the game, and start generating ideas,
Step 2. the exploration step, in which participants engage with one another and look for connections between their ideas, test those ideas, and experiment with new ideas, and
Step 3. a closing step, in which the ideas are assessed and participants work out which ideas are likely to be the most useful and productive.
.3 Outcome
At the end of a collaborative game, the facilitator and participants work through the results and determine any decisions or actions that need to be taken as a result of what the participants have learned.
.4 Examples of Collaborative Games
There are many types of collaborative games available, including (but not limited to) the following:
| Game | Description | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Product Box | Participants construct a box for the product as if it was being sold in a retail store. | Used to help identify features of a product that help drive interest in the marketplace. |
| Affinity Map | Participants write down features on sticky notes, put them on a wall, and then move them closer to other features that appear similar in some way | Used to help identify related or similar features or themes. |
| Fishbowl | Participants are divided into two groups. One group of participants speaks about a topic, while the other group listens intently and documents their observations. | Used to identify hidden assumptions or perspectives. |
Table 10.10.1: Examples of Collaborative Games
10.10.4 Usage Considerations
.1 Strengths
- May reveal hidden assumptions or differences of opinion.
- Encourages creative thinking by stimulating alternative mental processes.
- Challenges participants who are normally quiet or reserved to take a more active role in team activities.
- Some collaborative games can be useful in exposing business needs that aren’t being met.
.2 Limitations
- The playful nature of the games may be perceived as silly and make participants with reserved personalities or cultural norms uncomfortable.
- Games can be time-consuming and may be perceived as unproductive, especially if the objectives or outcomes are unclear.
- Group participation can lead to a false sense of confidence in the conclusions reached.
