Author Archives: Tom Grant

Serena

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Tom Grant

Business problem: Alignment Education Serious games used: Knowsy Serena builds and sells tools for software development. Their prospective customers go through a complex decision-making process before buying. The success of their sales efforts, therefore, depends on understanding this process. Serena … Continue reading →

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Product Box

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Tom Grant

Players start with a blank box (it can be a a cereal box covered with plain paper), and a set  of markers. The object of the game is to summarize the traits of a product or service,  such as what … Continue reading →

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Knowsy

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Tom Grant

Knowsy is a simple game that tests how well the players know each other. One of the players picks a topic, such as movies, and then secretly arranges, in order of his or her preference, the items presented (to continue … Continue reading →

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Prune The Product Tree

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Tom Grant

Prune The Product Tree depicts product features as leaves or fruit on a tree. Players move features closer to the trunk if they are more important, or towards the outer branches if they are more peripheral. Players also cluster features … Continue reading →

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Buy A Feature

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Tom Grant

Buy A Feature takes work items — planned features in a software product, projects on which a team might work, etc. — and presents them as a list of items available for purchase. The cost of the items represents their actual cost, the … Continue reading →

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BuyerZone

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Tom Grant

Business problem: Insights Productivity Serious games used: Product Box Software that has been in production for a long time often needs a re-write. There is a need to catch up with the current technology, or it needs improvements in how … Continue reading →

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MIT Sloan School Of Management

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Tom Grant

Business problem: Education Serious games used: The Beer Game In the 1960s, professors at the MIT Sloan School Of Management devised a way to illustrate the principles of a supply chain. The result, The Beer Game, is a classic example … Continue reading →

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mtvU (MTV University)

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Tom Grant

Business problem: Communication, Engagement Serious games used: Darfur Is Dying In 2006, civil war in the Darfur region of the Sudan — along with the starvation, displacement, and mass killings that accompanied it — was a front page story. The … Continue reading →

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Budget Hero

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Tom Grant

Although the federal budget is the hottest topic in American politics, the details of the budget are not well known in the voting public. How big are specific line items, such as Social Security or foreign aid? What line items … Continue reading →

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X-Plane

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Tom Grant

Business problem: Education Serious games used: X-Plane X-Plane is a good example of a computer simulation created as a training tool. Players can fly simulated versions of over 1,400 types of prop-driven and jet aircraft, as well as helicopters, through … Continue reading →

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