COLINN: Gamified Collaborative Innovation Network, research and concept

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to improve the user experience when working collaboratively by understanding the best approaches in three main areas: Innovation Through Collaborative Work (ITCW), User Experience Design (UXD) and Gamification Elements (GE). The study was developed based on academic research, a questionnaire, and market analysis. The main hypothesis was that a gamified perspective would enhance the users’ engagement with their projects and with the platform itself. The research considered gamification as a possible additional element as long as preserved an effective approach to the user experience design and to innovation methodologies. Literature has pointed out how collaboration is highly efficient to optimize the efforts and the resources in order to achieve innovative results. Efficient User Experience Design applied in online platforms allows people to work together and more effectively from anywhere in the world. Additionally, the authors validated that applying Gamification Elements presents good results when engaging users and teams. A questionnaire was sent to users that represented a specific target audience. Answers were collected from 68 people from 12 countries. Among the results, users pointed problems commonly found when using collaborative platforms, such as fragmented tools spread through different websites, difficulties when finding relevant coworkers and lack of engagement. In the market analysis, 50 collaborative platforms were evaluated. There were considered and graded elements from each main area, ITCW, UXD and GE. The results show an unbalanced relation of the three areas and a very weak gamified approach in most part of the platforms, which can be considered as an opportunity to be explored in the market. As a conclusion, the concept of a gamified Collaborative Innovation Network named COLINN was developed considering all highlights and analyses. This design aims to offer a diverse environment to users to collaborate and thrive at the same it has a visually appealing interface that both engage and entertain users. The next step would be the construction.