I think only about 33% of my plans are successful. I have always been a hit or miss kind of guy and that is okay with me. I learn best by failing so I am coming to accept it without letting it discourage me from continuing forward. I think it is good to live by the old adage that a good baseball player fails two-thirds of the time at the plate.
But the question at hand is, when is it appropriate to call it quits on a particular experiment. The relative difference of last month to the month previous has really interrupted my plans for the highest-low game, but I am not convinced it will ever work the way I want it. On the other hand, I know my workers a lot better now, and think that I totally misjudged the incentives. What my workers want more than anything else is TIME OFF, not a parking spot or a gift certificate.
Secondly, I misjudged the complexity of the game (as I have already mentioned in an earlier post) and perhaps the SUBTLETY as well.
Are these brief observations enough to rationalize scrapping the game altogether? (By scrapping I mean, never mention it again because by this point nobody cares and everyone tunes me out anyway). Or is it worth trying to refine it and adapt it for the last month of the summer? Designing management games is not like designing regular board games that can be playtested quickly, refined, and pulled out again after some tweaking, so how can I playtest new hypotheses?
Some game designers are really game engineers. They can visualize beforehand how all the rules will fit together, which saves them a lot of time from playtesting ideas that would never work. I value this method of design, but I have not yet developed the ability to do it that way. As I said before, I learn by failure, and I will test 30 ideas as long as each one is new and exciting and I am convinced that among the 30 there is at least one winning combination.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Management blogs
Considering that much of what I hope to accomplish on this blog involves the synthesis of board games and management, I think that my readings/links have been a bit one-sided. Now to start evening (or morning?) out the playing field--that is to start balancing the scales--is a link to a management blog I have been frequenting called simply managementblog.org, which I found by googling "management blogs" (go figure). Anyways, the gentleman who writes on the blog leaves tasty bits of his conversations with managers about their problems at work and he has some valuable thoughts and insight.
I will be looking for some more to follow and will post them here as well, or put them in the links section at the right.
As always, any suggestions would be welcomed.
I will be looking for some more to follow and will post them here as well, or put them in the links section at the right.
As always, any suggestions would be welcomed.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Worker Placement #2
As promised, here are some pictures of my "Worker Placement" scheduling game.
This isn't overwhelming is it?
Overall there were spots for 201 workers on 7 pages of 8 1/2" X 11" paper taped to the office table. I wish I could have gotten some action shots of people "playing" (picking their poison), but lack of foresight has prevented this.
Here is a close-up of one piece of paper. Each paper contained 3-4 days worth of scheduling. Half of the challenge for the worker placement game was in the design of the pages. I really wanted to get all four tasks for each set of days on the same page without making it too complicated. Before adopting this design I thought about using Starburts instead of Skittles because I was concerned about Skittles rolling around, but I couldn't figure out a design that would accommodate the awkward square shape of Starbursts (I actually compromised and used Starburst Jellybeans in addition to Skittles).
I consider the worker placement scheduling game a success. I managed to get 201 shifts scheduled in under three hours and I didn't have to force anybody to take any shifts (since they are getting paid salary instead of hourly, it can be difficult to get them to work hourly shifts). Everyone got to pick their own hours AND their own type of tasks. From that standpoint I am very pleased.
There were some things I would change for the future though. First, and most importantly, the time could be reduced. I had each person select two shifts at a time. While for most, selection was fast and easy, some people took close to ten minutes to decide where to put two workers. With 201 shifts total, the game dragged on. Next time I think that by having players select four shifts at a time instead of two that the game would be shortened.
Second, the incredible and unique visual spectacle of 201 Skittles and jellybeans on the table in geometric order overwhelmed some of the workers. Instead of being pleased that they only had 18 shifts to work over the course of a month and that they had the opportunity to pick every one of their shifts, they instead saw a jam-packed month of hard work (and no overtime pay). I have had to combat feelings of despair and negativity. I don't have any ideas yet about how to avoid this side-effect, but it is also possible that the negative attitudes were brought to the table before the game began, which means that a fresh crop of workers could yield different results.
Lastly, since this was my first time scheduling these types of tasks I had no ideas evaluating the tasks relative to each other. In the game a four hour desk shift and a 45 minute bed-stripping session were each one selection, which means that somebody who picked mostly desk shifts would be working predominately more hours than somebody who picked mostly bed-stripping. I don't see the time difference as a very big problem, as long as the relative difficulty of each task is the same, which I am sure is not the case. Next time I would make the more difficult shifts allow the player to place an extra worker--in essence reducing the amount of shifts they would have altogether--so that there would be more incentive to pick harder shifts and relative fairness would increase.
Still, I am pleased. The worker placement mechanic was helpful in achieving my scheduling goals, and I think that worker placement could be expanded to improve other aspects of management as well.
This isn't overwhelming is it?
Overall there were spots for 201 workers on 7 pages of 8 1/2" X 11" paper taped to the office table. I wish I could have gotten some action shots of people "playing" (picking their poison), but lack of foresight has prevented this.
Here is a close-up of one piece of paper. Each paper contained 3-4 days worth of scheduling. Half of the challenge for the worker placement game was in the design of the pages. I really wanted to get all four tasks for each set of days on the same page without making it too complicated. Before adopting this design I thought about using Starburts instead of Skittles because I was concerned about Skittles rolling around, but I couldn't figure out a design that would accommodate the awkward square shape of Starbursts (I actually compromised and used Starburst Jellybeans in addition to Skittles).
I consider the worker placement scheduling game a success. I managed to get 201 shifts scheduled in under three hours and I didn't have to force anybody to take any shifts (since they are getting paid salary instead of hourly, it can be difficult to get them to work hourly shifts). Everyone got to pick their own hours AND their own type of tasks. From that standpoint I am very pleased.
There were some things I would change for the future though. First, and most importantly, the time could be reduced. I had each person select two shifts at a time. While for most, selection was fast and easy, some people took close to ten minutes to decide where to put two workers. With 201 shifts total, the game dragged on. Next time I think that by having players select four shifts at a time instead of two that the game would be shortened.
Second, the incredible and unique visual spectacle of 201 Skittles and jellybeans on the table in geometric order overwhelmed some of the workers. Instead of being pleased that they only had 18 shifts to work over the course of a month and that they had the opportunity to pick every one of their shifts, they instead saw a jam-packed month of hard work (and no overtime pay). I have had to combat feelings of despair and negativity. I don't have any ideas yet about how to avoid this side-effect, but it is also possible that the negative attitudes were brought to the table before the game began, which means that a fresh crop of workers could yield different results.
Lastly, since this was my first time scheduling these types of tasks I had no ideas evaluating the tasks relative to each other. In the game a four hour desk shift and a 45 minute bed-stripping session were each one selection, which means that somebody who picked mostly desk shifts would be working predominately more hours than somebody who picked mostly bed-stripping. I don't see the time difference as a very big problem, as long as the relative difficulty of each task is the same, which I am sure is not the case. Next time I would make the more difficult shifts allow the player to place an extra worker--in essence reducing the amount of shifts they would have altogether--so that there would be more incentive to pick harder shifts and relative fairness would increase.
Still, I am pleased. The worker placement mechanic was helpful in achieving my scheduling goals, and I think that worker placement could be expanded to improve other aspects of management as well.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Worker Placement #1
Thus far, my most successful application of board game mechanics to management have been to the scheduling process. Recently I had the task of scheduling 11 workers to four different and diverse tasks over the course of one month. Task 1 was pre-checking rooms to make sure they were ready for guests. Task 2 was working the front desk for four-hour increments. Task 3 was conducting tours, and task 4 was stripping linens from beds and taking them to a designated location.
I'm convinced that when workers are able to choose what they have to do, they are more likely to do a better job. In addition, I'm also convinced that when workers have to compete for the opportunity to do the job they want then they will be even more effective.
Enter the worker placement method. First, and most importantly, I had to create a "board" that contained ALL the available options. I figured that simplicity was key so I slaved over an adequate board for hours, trying to get the right design so that all the available shifts could be seen on one sheet including a corresponding calendar so that they knew when the shift was relative to the others. I wanted the whole experience to be a visual representation of everything they would have to do over the course of the entire month. In all there ended up being 201 shifts, which divided by 11 people is 18 shifts per person, with three left over.
Next I had to choose appropriate game pieces. I don't have enough colors or pieces to facilitate 201 selections so I decided to buy skittles and jellybeans to represent each player's "workers."
Finally, I placed 18 skittles or jellybeans of each color in small plastic cups and designated those candies as "not for eating." The rules were simple. On your turn place two of your workers on any two open spots. Game progressed around the table clockwise and then backwards in typical draft-style fashion.
The result looked something like this:
(Although for some reason Blogger is not letting me load photos so they will have to wait until a later time)
Check back soon for the pictures and my review of how it went.
I'm convinced that when workers are able to choose what they have to do, they are more likely to do a better job. In addition, I'm also convinced that when workers have to compete for the opportunity to do the job they want then they will be even more effective.
Enter the worker placement method. First, and most importantly, I had to create a "board" that contained ALL the available options. I figured that simplicity was key so I slaved over an adequate board for hours, trying to get the right design so that all the available shifts could be seen on one sheet including a corresponding calendar so that they knew when the shift was relative to the others. I wanted the whole experience to be a visual representation of everything they would have to do over the course of the entire month. In all there ended up being 201 shifts, which divided by 11 people is 18 shifts per person, with three left over.
Next I had to choose appropriate game pieces. I don't have enough colors or pieces to facilitate 201 selections so I decided to buy skittles and jellybeans to represent each player's "workers."
Finally, I placed 18 skittles or jellybeans of each color in small plastic cups and designated those candies as "not for eating." The rules were simple. On your turn place two of your workers on any two open spots. Game progressed around the table clockwise and then backwards in typical draft-style fashion.
The result looked something like this:
(Although for some reason Blogger is not letting me load photos so they will have to wait until a later time)
Check back soon for the pictures and my review of how it went.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
21 Games
(Not my wall of games...unfortunately?)My good friend Jeff got married last weekend. I'm so proud of him.
While I was at the wedding, his brother, a real estate agent with an entrepreneurial drive, encouraged me to delve into a discussion about 21 different games, analyzing each one for its application to management.
Until now, I have merely been creating and testing a couple hypotheses, which have been valuable to my progress so far and have helped me to understand what I am really trying to do, but I think his idea will help me to broaden the scope of my ideas and challenge me to develop a more comprehensive--and hopefully relevant--set of board game applications.
My goal then, over the course of the next year (2? 3?) is to take Jeff's brother's advice and compile on this blog the applications I can draw from 21 different games. I'm not sure whether I will limit this to board games or not, although if I do I will need to invest pretty heavily in some new games, which, for a poor college grad, could take a while. I will take donations (wink).
Also, I am unsure whether I will study every mechanic within a game for any semblance of application, or whether I will simply pick a mechanic that sticks out to me as being particularly useful and investigate it in detail.
In either case, I am interested in your, the reader's, suggestions for any games that you feel might be appropriate for this discussion. The list of games I own is pretty limited, but I would like to have some more ideas about which games to buy, so that I can spend my money wisely.
Thanks to Brettspiel
A big thank you to Brett at Brettspiel for the shout out. Only problem is, if people start linking to my blog then I'm going to have to update it more often!
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