The Three P s of Sim Development ROI: Prototype, Prototype, and

507
The Three P s of Sim
Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype,
and Prototype
Nathan Kracklauer
Director of Content Development, Enspire Learning
Shon Bayer
Managing Partner, Enspire Learning
WWW.eLearningGuild.com
WWW.eLearningGuild.com
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
The Three P's of Simulation
Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype
Shon Bayer
Vice President –
Products
Nathan Kracklauer
Director of
Product Development
Session Agenda
Today we’ll talk about:
• Horror stories from the trenches
• How to develop a prototyping strategy
• Who to get involved in prototyping
• Hands‐On examples of prototypes
We won’t talk about:
• Prototyping software simulations
• ROI Analysis
Who are You?
• How many of you prefer the term game to
simulation?
• How many of you are simulation developers?
• How many of you are simulation consumers?
• How many of you are new to simulations?
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
Simulation Types and Development
Costs
Simulation Type
Average Price
2D Game (10‐15 min)
1. $75K‐$125K
Team‐Based Business
Simulation (1 day)
2. $50K‐$100K+
Customized Board Game
(4‐8 hours)
3. $250K‐$500K+
Branching Simulation (30
min ‐ 1 hour)
4. $100K‐$250K
Spreadsheet Simulation (1‐
2 hours)
5. $20K‐$40K
Executive Challenge: Case Example
• Executive Challenge™ ‐
Leadership Development
Simulation
• Team‐based, multiplayer
simulation
• Used by organization
such as Bank of America,
Alltel, Pitney Bowes, and
MIT – Sloan
A Cautionary Tale
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
Lessons Learned
• Think about the “experience” early
– Team size 22?
• Be prepared for emergent features
– Ethics Æ Leadership
• Don’t develop in the echo chamber
– Put the sim in front of “real” users soon and often
• Don’t lose focus on low‐priority features
• Throw out the design document
A Different Way to Develop Simulations
What Does Failure Look Like?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Interface and mechanism confusion
Difficult to learn, long ramp‐up time
Boring, non‐engaging experience
Doesn’t align with learning objectives
Doesn’t mesh into overarching program
Significant additional development effort to
“fix” sim
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
Tools to Prototype With
• Choose an approach that aligns with the
goals of the simulation, development team
skill sets, and resource needs
• There is no “right” approach:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Thought Experiments
Paper Based Prototypes
Excel Based
Iterative Computer Based
Hybrid Approach
Rapid Development Tool
Hands on Prototyping Examples
Paper + Excel Prototypes
Paper + Excel + Web Prototype
Executive Challenge
Finance Leader Simulation
Best Practices for Prototyping
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
The Two Key Ingredients
• The right prototype
• The right audience
What to Test and When
Prototype Stage
•Fundamental Game Design (Single player vs. multiplayer,
paper vs. computer based)
•User interface
Single player versus multiplayer
•Motivational strategies
Motivational strategies
•Game mechanics
Balancing
•How to learn the simulation
Data entry
How to Learn the Simulation
•Alignment with learning objectives
Middle
Fun
•Pacing and rhythm
Difficulty
•Facilitation
Alignment
with
learning
objectives
Pacing, Rhythm •Fun
•Realism
Paper versus computer-based
•Balancing
Late
Realism
•Difficulty
Facilitation
Early User Interface
Game mechanics
•Program
Integration
The Right Prototype (cont)
• Don’t be afraid to test a single game
mechanic or learning objective in a playtest
• Build in complexity over time (but don’t be
afraid to keep it out altogether)
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
What a Playtest Might Look Like
Early Prototypes
Later Prototypes
15 minutes Context and Vision
Setting
15 minutes
Articulate Learning
Objectives
30 minutes Communicating Rules
15 minutes
Communicating Rules
2 hours
Play
1 hour
Play
30 min
Debrief Experience
30 minutes
“Real” Debrief
1 hour
Brainstorm New Ideas
+ Consensus on next
steps
1 hour
Play
1 hour
Debrief Experience
The Right Audience
Prototype Stage
Audience Profile
Early (Concept)
•Designers (Visual and Instructional)
•Gamers
•Subject Matter Experts
•Sponsors
Middle (Details)
•Subject Matter Experts
•Stakeholders
•End Users
Late (Polish)
•Quality Assurance
•Expert Players
•End Users
Other Best Practices
• Have specific objectives for each prototype,
but embrace uncertainty
• Always keep the goals of the simulation
(learning objectives, experience) at front
and center
• Be clear in communications as “reality”
changes
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire
November 5-8, 2007
San Jose, CA
About Enspire Learning
► Enspire delivers exceptional simulation experiences
that help our clients address strategic learning
challenges
► Our Austin‐based team of 60+ learning professionals
provides best practices in design, development, and
delivery of e‐learning, simulations, and blended
learning
► Our award‐winning solutions have delivered value to
some of the most demanding and prestigious
organizations around the world
“The Enspire team who worked with me from the initial point of contact through implementation was
exceptionally professional, friendly, helpful and detail-oriented. The simulation itself was a big success.”
-Dr. Corrine Bendersky, Professor of Management, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Questions?
www.enspire.com | shon@enspire.com | nathan@enspire.com
Session 507 – The Three P's of Simulation Development ROI:
Prototype, Prototype, and Prototype– Nathan Kracklauer and Shon Bayer, Enspire