Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2019 - 51

along with an explanation and directions
to additional resources. The design also
included starts and stops in the story, which
allowed the content to be modularized,
ensuring learners did not have to complete
the entire game in one sitting. At the end of
each module, learners received a code that
was used to unlock the next module.
After finalizing the story and activities,
the game design was handed over to the
development team. Each module went
through the following design process:
1) Storyboard Design - high-level design
of the module
2) Storyboard Review and Approval
3) Alpha Design - flash development of
the module
4) Alpha Stakeholder Review and
Approval
5) Gold Design - updates to the module
based on the Alpha stakeholder
review
6) Gold Stakeholder Review and
Sign-Off
As each module was signed off, it was
packaged with other modules and
reviewed to ensure each module flowed
naturally into the next.
While the game is meant to be a standalone
experience, the team also curated a separate
platform to house additional performance
support. This included additional resources

THE GAMIFIED APPROACH
ENABLES ANALYSTS TO
WORK AT THEIR OWN PACE,
RATHER THAN FORCING
THEM INTO A ONE-SIZEFITS-ALL TIMELINE.
that directly supported an activity or
topic in the game, or development
content that complemented the game
and helped learners find where to gain
additional practice in any of the skill areas
(e.g., resource guides, video tutorials and
additional courseware).
LAUNCH AND FEEDBACK
The game launched to the incoming class
of Human Capital analysts in July 2018
and received overwhelmingly positive
feedback. Learners were excited to
experience a gamified learning approach
and appreciated having access to additional
resources. While the game was designed
to be self-paced, some learners played
the game as a team and then engaged
in discussions and informal knowledge
sharing; this form of social learning further
increased the program's impact.
The Human Capital leadership team was
introduced to the game through a threeminute trailer. They were as thrilled with
the game's concept as they were with its
business impact - decreased time-out-

of-market for new analysts, innovative
design and an annual reduction in analyst
onboarding costs.
And all the analysts had to do was save the
world...
Melissa Schnure is a L&D manager supporting
Deloitte Consulting's Human Capital practice.
Andrés Peters is a L&D manager supporting
Deloitte's Government & Public Services
practice. Katharine Suettinger is a development
leader supporting Deloitte Consulting's Human
Capital practice. Email the authors.

LESSONS LEARNED

When creating a story-based learning
experience, having a table read with
character acting can help identify
issues with story flow or dialogue.

Music can have an incredible impact
on the overall effectiveness of the
story. We used it as a way to spike
attention and draw our participants
into the immersive experience.

Consider technology from a continuity
perspective - as the project was built
on Adobe Flash Player, this course will
have to be redeveloped using more
current technology in 2020 - when
Adobe Flash Player is phased out. This
was highlighted at the start of the
project and factored into our future
release schedule.

T RAIN IN G I N DU STR Y M AGAZ INE - UNDERSTANDING YOUR LEARNERS 20 1 9 I WWW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2019

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