Abstract
It is more important than ever that organizations make the most of their resources, reduce costs, optimize processes, and engage in continuous improvement. A lean philosophy presents itself as a management model that guides companies in this direction, but for the successful implementation of lean methodologies, human resources at all levels need to learn what it is and be engaged with it. Thus, there is a need to develop tools that would transmit the lean theoretical concepts in a practical and involved way. This chapter proposes the development of a tool that is the result of merging gamification and lean philosophy, developing a game for people without knowledge in this area, serving as an introduction to it, and demonstrating some applications of this philosophy. The practical result of the synergy created between strategies of gamification and training in lean methodologies is described.
TopIntroduction
In an increasingly competitive, dynamic, and demanding labor market, training must be a strategy for professional and personal growth. Professional training allows the increase and/or adjustment of workers’ knowledge and skills throughout life. Constant training depends very much on the commitment of the recipient, but also on how the information is exposed or communicated by the trainer (Allen & Poteet, 1999; Alsawaier, 2018; ILLERIS, 2003; Majuri et al., 2018; Mestrado & Vers, 2018; Pereira et al., 2018).
Gamification is the application of game design techniques and mechanics (Hunicke et al., 2004), to non-game problems, such as engineering, business, or social impact challenges (Markopoulos et al., 2015; Patrício et al., 2020). It is a method that can be used to achieve training goals using playable elements to arouse interest, increase participation, develop creativity and autonomy, promote dialogue, and engage learners to solve problematic situations. Ozelkan & Galambosi (Ozelkan & Galambosi, 2009) emphasize that there are different ways to teach production principles and strategies like ‘lean’, for instance, using some of the traditional approaches such as industry projects, case studies, computer simulations, class projects, or company visits. On the other hand, it is possible to make the learning process even more effective by using classroom games (or simulation exercises), since they provide a mechanism for active discovery learning (Blicblau et al., 2016).
Thus, this chapter intends to contribute with knowledge about how to apply the concept of gamification to business training in lean methodologies, giving a practical example. The result was the creation and development of a game, from theoretical aspects that were chained until arriving at a final physical form, a board game in which the main object is a moliceiro (a typical boat from the city of Aveiro, Portugal) that can be manipulated and played in lean vocational training actions. The chapter briefly introduces lean and gamification, where a canvas framework that guides the game design is presented, following the proposal by Jansons, Mediawake (Latvia) (Jansons, 2016). The material board game and playing rounds are then idealizes and prototyped. Preliminary testing to the prototyped game was made, which validate the overall proposal.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Lean Methodologies: Holistic organization practices, based on the Toyota Production System principles and methods, that aims to provide a new way to think about how to organize human activities to deliver more benefits to society and value to individuals while eliminating waste.
Game Design: The development of the concept of the game system in a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, with close similarity to conventional product development.
Gamification: Application of game design techniques and mechanics to non-game problems, such as engineering, business, or social impact challenges, for educational proposes.