Gamification in Education and Business

Meaningful gamification is the use of gameful and playful layers to help a user find personal connections that motivate engagement with a specific context for long-term change. While reward-based gamification can be useful for short-term goals and situations where the participants have no personal connections or intrinsic motivation to engage in a context, rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation and the long-term desire to engage with the real world context. If the goal is long-term change, then rewards should be avoided and other game-based elements used to create a system based on concepts of meaningful gamification. This article introduces six concepts—Reflection, Exposition, Choice, Information, Play, and Engagement—to guide designers of gamification systems that rely on non-reward-based game elements to help people find personal connections and meaning in a real world context.

Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts to encourage a desired type of behavior. In recent years gamification systems have been applied in marketing as well as non-business contexts such as politics, health, or interactive systems and education.

Although gamification is a new concept, it is gaining momentum; technology industry research firm Gartner estimates that by 2015, some 50 % of large companies will use the techniques for at least one business process, and M2 Research estimates revenue from gamification software, consulting and marketing will reach $938 million by 2014, up from less than $100 million in 2011.

The objective in this chapter is to form theoretical principles for gamification in practice. Based on the role of rewards and incentives on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, we offer a framework for building feedback mechanisms. The chapter is built upon three components: a model of motivation in games; an overview of incentives and rewards used in games and their role in creating motivation, while tying these rewards into the motivation model; classifying game achievements according to their characteristics (tangibility, exchangeability etc.). Finally some future research directions are presented.

This chapter seeks to approach gamification from a novel perspective commencing firstly with an examination of such traditional measurement metrics for learning and development assessment as KirkPatrick’s Four Level of Evaluation Theory, Kolbs Experiential Learning Theory and Sweller’s Theory on Cognitive Load as the premise for the foundation of an appropriate measurement system for development of appropriate gamification metrics. Given that these theorists represent the best of breed as it relates to learning and cognition the author feels an understanding of their theories are relevant to anyone with an interest in this emerging field. Secondly, the chapter will leverage the combined theoretical underpinnings of these theorists to design a framework more appropriate for measurement of gamification within the business and education sectors. The framework proposes to utilize the following approach for construction of an appropriate measurement model using the following:

1.

Play assessment diagnostic

2.

A gamification scorecard (Scoring Rubic). i.e. GPAI (Game Performance Assessment Instrument)

3.

Pre/Post Knowledge Assessment &

4.

Gamification Performance Assessment Review (GPAR)

These four approaches will form the basis for the development of a comprehensive model integrating the key variables for a measurement methodology to assess the benefits of gamification both empirically and as a value-added component across any learning environment.

Gamification is about identifying structures and behavioral procedures in “games” (video-games, board-games, party-games… or even sports!) and replicate them in educational or working, to manage audience behavior.

Modern game companies, such as Zynga, have expanded the boundaries of traditional game design. They have attempted to leverage the existing knowledge of behavioral economics and psychology to essentially gamify games. New feature-sets have been developed and traditional ones optimized. These activities are useful to both the academic and business worlds because these companies are implementing features that are unique, both in their visibility to the public and in the accountability available via directly measurable success factors. This chapter examines a number of concepts from behavioral economics theory that seems to have ties to common mechanics found within modern games. Once these game mechanics are identified, adaptations to help these mechanics fit within non-game environments are examined. In addition, common errors in the design and implementation of these gamification methods are discussed.

People do not always think and behave rationally. Behavioral economics has produced theories to explain when and why people make such allegedly irrational decisions, for example if it comes to spending money. However, humans tend to use reference points to judge and decide. Nowadays, mobile devices can work as flexible tools to create reference points thus supporting decisions without being explicit about it. We discuss if and how mobile apps can influence decision making. As a consequence, apps can be built to better fit into the decision making progress. We argue that applying concepts from behavioral economics can increase user experience in a subtle manner.

This chapter uses the evolving language of game design to demonstrate how psychological science provides a foundation for game-based learning. Section 1. Provides a brief review of the history of games in the psychological literature. Section 2. Describes how the scientific principles of behaviorism connect to the language of games and Section 3. Performs the same task with regard to cognitive psychology. Section 4. Warns the game community about psychological hazards that can create trouble for individuals and organizations trying to realize the promise of gamification. Section 5. Summarizes a research agenda for psychology.

This chapter outlines the principles of context and culture in the discipline of human computer interaction (HCI) for the purpose of good design in gamification. The important HCI theory of affordance is used to illustrate context and culture, and their importance in the design of artefacts, in this case games for education and business. We then consider how these concepts are incorporated into the game design through appropriate requirements engineering, utilising familiarity and enculturement. Familiarity—tied to learning within the ecological perspective of context—and enculturement—tied to the socialisation within the perspective of culture. It is argued that requirements engineering and analysis needs to take into account the dualistic nature of system interaction related to these HCI concepts, of being of both culture and context, rather than the common, somewhat muddled, perspective of a context mediated by a cultural perspective, or vice versa, or a conglomeration of the two.

Research on the gamification of learning currently lacks a sturdy theoretical foundation on which to build new knowledge. In this chapter, we identify and explore several theories from the domain of psychology to provide this foundation. This includes the theory of gamified instructional design, classic conditioning theories of learning, expectancy-based theories, goal-setting theory, and self-determination theory. For each theory (or family of theories), we describe the theory itself, relate it to gamification research, and identify the most promising future research directions given that basis. In exploring these theories, we conclude that gamification is not a “new” instructional technique per se but is instead a new combination and presentation of classic motivational techniques. This combination may provide unique value over other approaches, but this is an unresolved empirical question. We conclude by making specific recommendations for both gamification researchers and practitioners to best advance the study of gamification given this sturdy theoretical basis.

Digital badges are online visual representations, accomplishments, skills, or awards that present the characteristics of physical merit badges or awards but go farther in providing validation to viewers in that they are linked to metadata or artifacts. Frameworks, models, and systems of digital badging implementation are just beginning to emerge in the educational and computer science research literature as the digital badging movement began in earnest only a few years ago. Some of the earliest implementations of digital badges included automated awards that still play a role in gamified learning designs. In both formal and informal education key purposes for digital badges include providing motivation, representing accomplishments, and communicating or sharing successes. A historical evolution of digital badges as well as examples of digital badge frameworks, models, and uses in and for education are presented with the intention of providing a basis for initial exploration.

This chapter uses game-based assessment (GBA) to crack one of the hardest nuts in higher education: assessment. Section 1 clarifies why higher education needs assessment Section 2 reviews the failings of current approaches to assessment. Section 3 uses those failures to articulate game-based solutions. Section 4 explains why students love to be assessed. Section 5 points out that higher education is already a game and that game-based assessment is likely to yield better data because it is a kinder, more effective way to respond to failure.

Computational thinking resembles a new philosophy in order to approach not only scientific problems but also challenges of everyday life. In recent years, computational thinking reveals more and more as a fundamental skill for everyone. Observing that, the educational community has been interested in the designing of appropriate teaching and pedagogical strategies by incorporating procedures for the cultivation and development of computational thinking during the learning process. In this context, the utilization of gamification aims at activating the participation of students. In particular, a common application of gamification is the empowerment of extrinsic motivation through the integration of grading characteristics comparable with those of video games, such as points, levels, and achievements. However, the activation of external motives, while disregarding the internal ones, may lead to the declination of interest in learning. This work defines a student-centered framework for strengthening the active participation of students using intrinsic motivation for learning and develops a framework for designing educational activities. As a guide to framework application, three prototype scenarios and the corresponding correlations to the computational thinking, gamification and constructivist learning theory goals throughout the learning activities are presented.

Modern STEM education is mainly grounded in constructivism. It requires instructors to not only recite learning content, but also to teach the concepts and ideas behind abstract formulas. Interactive simulations are one of the most powerful tools for increasing the students’ problem-solving abilities, and enhancing their understanding of conceptual models and formulas, which are hard to visualize without technology-enhanced tools. Creating simulation tools of interest to students has the potential to enhance their understanding of the phenomena and increase their interest in science. However, many simulations are not engaging and students will lose interest in interacting with them after a short time. Hence, it is important to advance in particular the motivational design aspects of such educational tools. One idea for motivating students is the use of computer games. Different studies show the positive impacts of a game-based or gamified approach in the field of STEM education and training. Several theories and frameworks were researched and developed to support the game design and gamification process of various scenarios. However, only a few cover specific design issues and implications of educational and instructional simulations. In this chapter we introduce a gamification model, which is adapted accordingly to the characteristics of constructivist STEM education approaches with focus on the usage of science simulations. Therefore we will introduce a model for the adaption of gamification techniques to design, develop, and adapt educational simulations. Based on a background and literature study, a framework for implementing a gamification approach for different kinds of simulations is introduced and applied to an application scenario of our own research. As a result, both the lessons learned and further recommendations are outlined.

During CHI 2011, a number of researchers attempted to define gamification (Deterding, Khaled, Nacke, & Dixon, 2011; Jacobs, 2013; Lee & Hammer, 2011). While most of these definitions have focused on the use such game elements as game mechanics, attributes, game-thinking, and many others, in non-game environments, Jacobs (2013) and Bunchball (2010) point to an additional key aspect of elements that should be prioritized: to influence player behaviors, which has been widely adopted in the business community to build customer community and loyalty, improve customer engagement, reinforce brand identity, and many others at various levels (Bunchball, 2010). Gartner pointed out that more than 50 % of businesses will use gamification as the driving mechanism to transform business operations by 2015 (Burke, 2011).

The focus of studies in Game-based-Learning and Serious Games is often set to exploring the relationship between experience and the ability to learn in digital game environments which are transferred to real world contexts. As Fritz (Handbuch Medien: Computerspiele (p. 229–246). Bonn, Germany: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 1997) states, those transfers are not of monodirectional character. In our own study about a complex motor-driven action in a sports’ context we tried to explore the antipodal perspective and searched for references in real word sports skills when applied to digital gameplay.

When motor-driven sport skills become evident, it is strongly influenced by several components of the action itself, by anthropometric characteristics e.g. endurance and coordination skills of the player and by the exterior and situational conditions under with an activity is performed (comp e.g. Ehlenz et al., Krafttraining. Grundlagen, Methoden, Übungen, Trainingsprogramme. München, Germany: BLV, 1987, p. 11; Weineck,

Optimales Training

(14. Auflage). Nürnberg, Germany: Spitta, 2004, p. 21). The execution and control of motor-driven sport activities in kinesiology is explained via schematics based on abstract movement-experiences (Schmid, Psychological Rev 82:225–260, 1975; Schmid, Eine Schematheorie über das Lernen diskreter motorischer Fertigkeiten. Kassel, Germany: Kassel University Press, 1994; Schmid & Lee, Motor control and learning: A behavioral emphasis. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2005; Olivier & Rockmann, Grundlagen der Bewegungswissenschaft. Schorndorf, Germany: Hofmann, 2003).

By the example of basketball we’ve looked for considerations regarding to an “intermondial transfer” (Fritz, Wie Computerspieler ins Spiel kommen. Theorien und Modell zur Nutzung und Wirkung virtueller Spielwelten. Berlin, Germany: Vistas, 2011, S. 93) from real-world movement schematics to action in a digital (game) adoption: We observed the performance of players passing through real-world tasks (penalty shots) in comparison to the their action in an adapted augmented reality environment.

Education and assessment activities within the university environment are still frequently bounded by classroom walls and lack of authenticity; i.e., when we examine the skills required by graduates. We explain how the project nDiVE addresses these issues by immersing the learners in a virtual environment and getting them included in a storyline. Gamification elements are used to increase the engagement with the environment and focus attention on the tasks at hand, involving learners’ curiosity and sense of adventure to increase self-directed learning. Authentic assessment tasks can be designed to provide formative feedback and aid the learners as they progress their understanding of the discipline. As the nDiVE project is ongoing, we highlight some additional areas where further investigation is still in progress, emphasising the need to understand how particular gamification mechanisms relate to intrinsic motivation, and present first experimental findings using a self-exploratory scenario.

A critical incident of avatar harassment which occurred in our early gamified virtual learning environment is re-examined in this chapter. Lessons learned subsequently lead us explore understanding and shaping people’s behaviours in gamified virtual environments (VEs). In this study, we develop a theoretical model for elaborating people’s behaviours within VEs through the notions of ‘space’ and ‘place’, then proceed to build a coherent set of policies to govern the VEs and produce a framework for incorporating gamified designs into VEs, based on the model.

Educational games and simulations are increasingly becoming a feature of business and management training. These are often team-based, conducted in a seminar room and simulate a business project or operation. However a number of questions need to be answered. Are these games effective in achieving the goals for which they are intended, that is to enhance participants’ knowledge and soft skills? Can games of this genre be developed in a cost-effective way? Are they being designed in accordance with research-driven recommendations and best educational practices to achieve maximum effect? The particular genre of game examined in this study is referred to as Team Based Mixed Reality (TBMR) games, as these games involve a blend of live interactions and social discussion but are also computer-assisted, i.e. with digital game elements. Mixed reality blends physical and digital interactions. Team Based refers to the focus upon social interactions in the game play activities. This chapter describes the process of designing and constructing a game of that genre and measuring its effectiveness through a series of game trials using a sample (

n

 = 101) of participants. Initial investigations are conducted into similar games currently used in Higher Education (HE) and a review of recent literature on game design and assessment leads to the hypothesis that there are ways of constructing a more effective business game, drawing on learning theory and good practice in game design, which leading to improved knowledge and decision-taking skills. The concepts and design features incorporated in the new game are then described, along with the procedures used in its development and the subsequent pre-and post testing for measured improvement in knowledge and soft skills. A number of factors are considered which can determine success in game design, notably alignment to the learning objectives, motivation, challenge, goal-setting, collaboration, competition and feedback. With due attention to these elements a game was developed to simulate a complete business operation, during which competing teams make a series of strategic and tactical decisions. The strategic issues are product pricing, expansion and funding of new facilities, whilst tactical opportunities relate to the hiring of key staff, product promotion, choice of suppliers, quality and outsourcing of parts and labour. Following a pilot with postgraduate students in an HE institution, a series of trials were conducted in the same institution with undergraduate classes taking a second year business-related module. Six classes, two of which comprised Chinese students, were asked to participate in game sessions while five classes were used as a control group. Identical pre- and post-tests were given in both cases. Scores from test questions, after adjusting for control scores, relating to factual knowledge indicated no significant improvement in real knowledge (

n

 = 101, mean improvement 4.04 %

p

 = 0.13). Corresponding results, however, from test questions relating to decisions-taking (what would you do if …?) showed a significant improvement in mean scores (

n

 = 101, mean improvement 11.73 %,

p

 = 0.005). Additionally, in a five-question survey, participants themselves rated the game experience highly against these two criteria and also for motivation, entertainment and in comparison to a conventional lesson. However both test and perception ratings for the two classes of Chinese students were significantly lower than those for Non-Chinese classes, which may be explained by language or cultural background.

Gamification provides new opportunities to engage and motivate the learner. Leveraging the learning potential of games has proved difficult. For insightful learning to occur it is necessary to integrate the processes of action and reflection. Incorporating learning concepts and theories in the design of the gaming experience is required if this is to occur. To date, gamification appears to be preoccupied with badging rather than seeking to overlay the learning processes of reflection, analysis and insight over the gaming experience. The business simulation, PierSim, has successfully achieved this. A sample of 250 students who used PierSim was surveyed in regard to their learning experience. The learnings derived from the gaming experience were insightful and meaningful to the student. The students valued the integration of concepts, the learning and the level of engagement above the ‘fun’ experience. Contrary to the commonly held perception that gaming is a male-orientated domain, female students derived a higher level of engagement, learning and satisfaction than their male peers. Rather than the traditional focus on the gamification of learning, this research suggests that the future rests with the learnification of games.

In an interactive digital game or gamified e-learning experience, mapping a learner’s progress, problem-solving attempts, self-expressions and social communications can entail highly detailed and time-sensitive computer-based traces that capture the context, actions, processes and products. New educational measurement and analysis considerations are needed to address the challenges of finding patterns and making inferences concerning what someone knows and can do. Methods based in data-mining, machine learning, model-building and complexity theory are discussed as theoretical foundations for dealing with time sensitivity, spatial relationships, multiple layers of aggregations at different scales, and the dynamics of complex performance spaces. Examples of these considerations in game-based learning analytics are presented and discussed in the hope of making a contribution to the development and refinement of theoretical approaches to measurement.

Overall, this chapter offers a critical perspective on gamification in education and defines gamification as purposeful experiences that utilize game design and game elements. First it focuses on the basics of learning. Second it explores the advantages and disadvantages of technology in relation to teaching and learning, as many technologies share similar traits. Third it examines how technology has influenced education (i.e., reform) in the past, and offers insight on the impact games may have on education. Fourth it reviews gaming research and what it means to student learning with respect to both current and past research trends. Last, it contends that using a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) framework can help create a more evidence based approach to the use of gamification in education.

To a large extent, gamification is a psychological- and design-oriented discipline, i.e., a lot of effort has to be spent already in the design phase of a gamification project. Once the design is finalized, the implementation phase takes place in information systems (IS) such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, portals, or enterprise resource planning which act as mediator to transport a gameful design to its users. However, in general the efforts for the subsequent development and integration process are often underestimated. In fact, most conceptual gamification designs are never implemented due to the high development costs. In this paper, we describe gamification as a software development process and present requirements for a successful introduction of gamification. Moreover, existing gamification solutions are analyzed with regards to these requirements.

The objective of gamification is to engage and motivate people in non-gaming contexts, for example, at the workplace. However, practitioners often understand gamification as the introduction of extrinsic rewards (e.g., points, badges) as kind of non-monetary valuta and, thus, inexpensive way of rewarding people. Although these approaches work to some extent, successful and sustainable applications of game design elements foster the intrinsic motivation of people. The investigation of intrinsic motivation, human satisfaction, and well-being has been a long-term research field in work and organizational psychology. In this chapter, we describe key theories from the domain of positive and workplace psychology. Key resources and factors of these theories are then linked to gamification and game design elements. This analysis results in a general framework for quantitative gamification research which has been partially evaluated with one of our ERP gamification applications.

Gamification is the use of game and behavioral analytics, game mechanics, interactive media, and social networking to improve work performance and transform a business by engaging and training users to solve problems. Gaming techniques and strategies have been used in areas such as employee training programs, financial services websites, customer relationship management, project management, business intelligence, market research, online shopping, and education. The level of sophistication involved in the technology applied to these needs varies greatly. This chapter will focus on the more technologically sophisticated methods applied to implementing gaming solutions in work situations. The use of gamification technologies that extends the video gamer lifestyle and skill set to engage and build loyalty with customers and employees will be discussed. Cases of practices in applying gamification to provide solutions for businesses will be examined. This chapter will conclude with imitations, implications, managerial caveats, and assessment of gamification.

As Gamification extends its successful application in the consumer markets, enterprises have been experimenting with it to engage its employees, customers and partners. But applying the design principles suited for consumer markets for gamification in the enterprise could lead to failures as analyzed by research firm Gartner. The gamification in the enterprise is different from consumer markets on multiple aspects including purpose, impact of failures, user personalities, reasons for engagement etc. Each of these differences has various implications on the design of the gamification initiatives. In this chapter the authors present a tested framework of understanding the differences and their implications together with a step-by-step by to manage them.

Teamwork and team performance are increasingly important in business organizations. New types of teams are invented to increase effectiveness at work. Ideally a team works towards the optimal outcome, which is achieved when the individual goal of each team member effectively contributes to the collective team goal. However, in practice, individual concerns may lead to sub-optimal teamwork outcomes due to conflicts and group dynamics (e.g., because of hidden agendas). These individual concerns and the resulting behavior tend to be implicit, resulting in a chaotic process and sub-optimal outcomes. In order to deliver optimal outcomes the collaboration between team members needs to be improved. Structuring the process and aligning individual goals with collective goals through gamification may achieve this. In this chapter a framework for gamification of teamwork is introduced and illustrated by real-life cases from industry.

Games require rules, without rules there would not be any Gameplay (Kapp 2012: 29). Games are defined by the Game Design, which lays out the path: players may be able to choose a path on their own, or they may be bound to a certain route. Whether these rules (Salen & Zimmermann. Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 2003: 259) describe how a game is played (“Operational Rules”), are underlying formal structures which dictate game functionality (“Constitutional Rules”) or govern the social interaction between players (“Implicit Rules”), they are mandatory to keep the game system alive. In a game, a Game Master has to ensure these rules are followed (and everyone who has ever played Scrabble knows how hard this is), while in real life this responsibility is carried out by law enforcement authorities, courts and lawyers. This chapter will describe the legal implications involved, so stakeholders can avoid common risks and are also able to communicate to legal counsels efficiently.

The problems that may arise from gamification have been largely ignored by researchers and practitioners alike. At the same time, use of gamification in recruitment, onboarding, training, and performance management are on the rise in organizations as businesses turn toward technology to meet their objectives. This chapter investigates drawbacks of using elements of games in each of these applications through a series of scenarios describing different gamified interventions. For each scenario, a discussion follows regarding potential problems with the intervention, how psychological science may explain this, how these errors can be avoided, as well as future directions for gamification research. Employee motivation is noted as a critical concern in gamification, and classic theories of motivation are utilized to help explain why some interventions may fail to motivate desired behavior. For training design, a popular area for gamification, practitioners are urged to consider the intended training outcomes before designing a training program with gaming elements.

One of the most important tools utilized by the marketing research industry is the consumer survey. This self-reported data is the foundation of many currently applied methodologies for measuring the success of marketing campaigns and strategies. As such, suppliers in the marketing research industry rely on the engagement and attentiveness of the individuals who participate in their research and respond to their surveys. Keeping these respondents engaged is important for reducing the drop-off rate (the rate at which respondents quit before completing a survey), increasing time spent on surveys (which is linked to the quality and quantity of responses), and improving respondents’ subjective enjoyment (since a happy respondent is more likely to complete future surveys). There is evidence to suggest that engagement has an influence on data quality as well, since bored or inattentive respondents produce lower quality data (Cape, 2009). Keeping respondents engaged and willing to participate in research is critical both to industry providers and to clients who use the results of the research for their decision making.

Project knowledge management underlies many issues: lacking time and high effort for documenting project insights, less motivation of project team members to share their knowledge, or the “not-invented-here-syndrome” when employees should reuse project-related knowledge. In consequence, mistakes will be repeated or already known solutions will be reinvented. Since many years, researchers focus their studies in knowledge management in order to solve such issues. Some researchers try to understand reasons for insufficient knowledge management or determine factors influencing knowledge creation, documentation, transfer and reuse. Others design information systems aiming to support individuals, teams or organizations to manage what they know. However, as far as we know, no researcher considers gamification as possible mechanism to engage and motivate project teams to manage their project-related insights. Although our research originally did not consider gamification we intuitively implemented some typical gamification elements in order to engage individuals to participate in project knowledge management.

In this chapter, we will show how a gamification framework can be applied to create an engaging and enjoyable ride sharing experience, with the purpose of promoting behavioral change towards sustainability. As sustainability has become a major issue for large companies, we wanted to address this business objective within a topic that has gained a lot of propagation and market penetration in recent years: Ride sharing. For this reason we have developed a gamified ride sharing system that follows the six-step gamification framework provided by Werbach and Hunter (2012). Starting with defining business objectives, we then outlined the target behaviors of our players along with metrics to evaluate if the target behaviors have been reached. Afterwards, we identified different player types in the form of player personas to be able to address the needs of these player types. Followed by devising activity cycles, such as engagement loops, progression stairs, and a short comment on not forgetting the fun when constructing such a system, we implemented some central dynamics in the final gamification concept to foster target behaviors. We therefore deployed a strong narrative in combination with team challenges and individual quests, but also aimed at making the ride selection process enjoyable in itself.

When driving an unknown car, the interaction with its user interfaces and the operation of (comfort) vehicle functions can be very challenging and thus cause safety concerns. However, this problem can be overcome already with a short learning and practicing phase. For this reason, we analyze the potential of gamification for exploring and practicing the use of automotive user interfaces and vehicle functions. Based on the analysis of available examples, we have created a gamified automotive exploration and practicing framework. The framework allows exploring vehicle functions and user interfaces in real vehicles as well as in applications for mobile devices. By reflecting on the results of a first user study with the framework, we deliver a set of guidelines for designing and evaluating gamified applications for the automotive domain, which can serve as a support for future developments.

Being an e-learning professional for a major part of my career, I have always been fascinated by the way we human beings learn. The learning theories, which basically put a framework around how we human beings grasp, process, and retain data form the main foundations of the e-learning industry. A lot of research has gone behind firming up these theories and even today scientists and academicians continue to explore how the human brain retains and recalls information.

Measurement of benefits, through analytics, is an important practice as gamification endeavors to become pervasive throughout both educational and business-focused applications. Establishing methods to determine efficacy and discover points for program optimization leads to better understanding and increases the credibility of gamification as a vital tool. The practice also leads to better results as program managers and educators are able to fine-tune programs and drive on-going participation.