[Back]

G. Jacucci, H. Tellioglu, I. Wagner:
"Design Games as a Part of Social Practice Design: A Case of Employees Elaborating on Organizational Problems";
Talk: The 16th European Conference on Information Systems, Galay, Ireland; 2008-06-09 - 2008-06-11; in: "Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Information Systems", (2008).

This paper describes the experiences of practicing `social practice design´ with two user groups in a
small company producing virtual electronic components. Based on an ethnographic study of ongoing
production work and meetings in this company we identified several core problems which were
expressed in terms of `how can we overcome this problem´ questions, among them: `How to acquire a
business management culture´ and `How to change from being sophisticated contractors to a
profitable brand´. These questions were addressed by the two user groups in the form of two design
games - the organizational game kit and the creative product design game. The paper describes how
these design games facilitated vision creation, enabling participants to act as change agents. The
design games helped them voice their concern and get a common understanding. The physical objects
that served as game elements supported their engagement. Image cards and organization building
blocks served as thinking tools - we could observe participants selecting, picking up, moving,
labelling these elements, thereby enacting ideas whilst talking. The playful and fun aspect of a game
activated participants to engage, explore options, and enter the realm of the imaginary. They helped
establish a situation of trust and confidentiality.

http://media.tuwien.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/htellioglu/papers/ecis08-paper1.pdf