It doesn’t matter if you’re using the games to help you manage your sales pipeline or your project portfolio: the essential Innovation Games® process always follows these key activities.
- Planning The first step is planning your use of the games. You’ll determine what your goals are, and the right tools/techniques to achieve them. Different games will require various levels of planning, materials, recruitment and analysis. Planning will also include all of the necessary logistics for managing your event.
- Playing Arguably the most enjoyable part of the process, playing the game means more than just creating a fun experience. It means making sure that the serious aspects of game come through in a way that enables you to get the insights you need to solve the problems and achieve the goals you outlined during planning.
- Post-Processing Once you’ve completed your games you’ll need to post-process the results. For in-person games, this means taking photos of user-generated artwork, transcribing observer notes, and developing a report that captures your insights. For online games, you’ll need to review the user-generated game content, chat logs, and your own experiences across the several games you’ll be playing to develop your report.
- Taking Action Making decisions and taking action are the most important results of Innovation Games®. If you’ve read this far, return the planning step: the games work best when you’ve prepared your team to take action once the results of the games are known.
