Who you are looking at

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Who you are looking at

• Dr Stijn Hoppenbrouwers, Nijmegen, the
  Netherlands
• Assistant professor
• Radboud University
• Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and
  Computer Science
• Institute for Computing and Information Sciences
• Dept. of Model Based System Development
• Tools for Enterprise Engineering group (headed by
  prof. Dr. Erik Proper)
• Keywords linguist, information modeling,
  conceptual modeling, domain specific language and
  its evolution, process of modeling, modeling as a
  conversation, tools for modeling

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The Game of Enterprise Modelinga
human-computer-interaction perspective on
operational EM methods and toolsJönköping,
April 17, 2008
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Whats in a Game?

• Games have rules
• But games also leave lots of space to decide your
  own moves...
• ... and therefore to make mistakes, or be
  brilliant.
• Part of the rules are the goals of the game
• Its end or victory conditions
• Many games are boiled-down versions of real life
  challenges (like battles, or problem solving)
• Games create goal-driven activities combining
  creative behavior within a constrained setting

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Some stuff aboutEnterprise Modeling
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Some Challenges for Enterprise Modeling

• Focus for now is on lightweight formal modeling
  (e.g. processes, data
  structures/ontologies, rules, value chains, ...)
• Some challenges in view of enterprise modeling
• Getting a grip on utility of modeling
  cost/benefit efficiency effectiveness
• Improving quality of modeling (both social and
  technical)
• Increase actual application of modeling in
  enterprise engineering
• Reduce dependency on experts (modeling for the
  masses)
• Getting really collaborative modeling going
• Current tools are mostly specialist editors,
  hardly any support for modeling process
• Textbook methodology and generic modeling
  languages cannot be expected to take the field to
  a much higher level

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Operational Interaction View onMethods and Tools

• Methods should support modelers in creating
  explicit models but also in achieving shared
  understanding, consent, commitment.
• Operationalization no more hiding behind rough
  textbook guidelines, rough phasing, and fixed
  modeling languages
• Approach modeling as interactive communicative
  activity
• Interaction between modelers
• Interaction between modelers and the model
• Modeling as a conversation (at an elementary
  level) exchange of propositions, agreements,
  rejections, questions, arguments ...
• But not always literally so (at realistic level)
  involve templates, views, patterns, schemas,
  strategies whatever facilitates the interactive
  process

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Studying and Supporting Enterprise Modeling

• Based on the interaction/conversation view, we
  may
• Study and improve the art/science of enterprise
  modeling
• Design support systems/environments for it
• Bordering on negotiation studies, cooperative
  decision making, etc.
• But also engineering aspects (formal modeling of
  some sort).
• Involve techniques from Human-Computer
  Interaction, Collaborative Systems methods, DSS,
  ...
• But also formal grammars, CASE tools, formal
  model checking, systems analysis and simulation,
  software generation, ...

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Beyond study Shaping Modeling Behavior

• Formal modeling constrained by goals (utility,
  efficiency syntax, validation, completeness,
  ...) rational
• Procedures for modeling may be basis for game
  procedures, in particular for inexperienced
  players (strong guidance).
• Yet we can also just set assignments creative,
  interactive, ad-hoc messy (especially for
  advanced players)
• So constraints are both needed and a problem
  balance is called for for each specific
  situation.
• EM and beyond strategy/policy making, rule
  definition blend with intervention methods
  (management science)
• EM as a goal-driven interactive activity that
  requires freedom of action and decision within
  clearly set boundaries
• ... Which of course reminds us of games

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Games for Enterprise Modeling
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Game Design Theory

• Järvinen 2006 Games without Frontiers Theories
  and Methods for Game Studies and Design
• Games are systems (and may have sub-systems)
• Games are dynamic systems (structure, function,
  history)
• Games are/include information systems (which is
  why their computerization is so successful)
• Rules, and Objects the rules Act on
• Communicative aspects of rules communicative acts

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Game Design Theory basic elements

• Goals
• What players strive for
• Components
• Concrete items that players care for (e.g.
  pieces)
• End and Victory Conditions
• When the game is lost or won, or ends introduce
  competition and control the games duration
• Game mechanics
• The sorts of actions players can perform

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Game Design Theory basic elements (2)

• Environments
• Spatial constraints like a board or virtual space
  (not mandatory)
• Themes
• Metaphors that add meaning to a game (not
  mandatory)
• Interfaces
• Especially for video games, but picking up a
  piece on the board is also an interface
• And, of course, rules gluing it all together
• Also, as part of the rules and the victory
  conditions a score system (many alternatives)
• Games may involve a jury or referee or game
  master, so rules need not cover 100 of
  constraints, goals, and evaluation (scoring).

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• Spot the similarities with EM interactions?
• We already refer to many challenging activities
  the game of ...
• But I propose to go way beyond just the metaphor
• Yes, we can study current EM practice and methods
  as a game its rules (for specific situations),
  its moves, its strategies, ...
• We can also go one step further and design games
  (i.e. methods), thus influencing/designing the
  process
• We can even take a further leap and start
  thinking about EM in

Interactive Virtual Gaming Environments
But lets not get carried away. Still, there is
such thing as Serious Gaming
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Getting Started with Games for EM

• What are the rules of the game(s)?
• Implicit or explicit?
• Chosen within process or imposed from outside?
• Some rules will change as the game proceeds
• Note that Goal Setting is part of Rule Setting
  so
• What are the goals and sub-goals of a particular
  game?
• What are the elementary game interactions
  (proposing, rejecting, etc.), and how these map
  to more efficient forms of interaction
  (templates, schemas, etc.)?
• Two main approaches to concrete game aspects in
  EM
• Investigate actual games for particular
  situations (e.g. process modeling, value
  modeling, and so on)
• Investigate generic gaming principles for EM
  environments

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Extra aspect Designing Motivation

• Especially if we address the challenge of
  bringing high quality lightweight formal
  modeling to the masses, we believe that
• Games will have to be designed that have the
  players create formal models without them being
  confronted with any classic formal stuff (not
  even complex/abstract diagrams)
• Dragging them through this stepwise process will
  require considerable motivation on their behalf
  (problematic).
• So the process should be pleasantly challenging.
  It does not have to be great fun but should not
  be a complete bore.
• In Game Design, detailed study has been made of
  how to make unattractive tasks more interesting
  and even more fun. We can use this knowledge.

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Main arguments for taking a game approach

• Clear, goal-oriented, rule-based framework for
  methods
• Many possibilities for collaborative setup
  (multi-player)
• Advanced data gathering possible (interactions
  explicit)
• Usability / playability / HCI central
  (out-of-the-box approach)
• Justifiably controlled working environment
• Emotive factor becomes concrete
• Clear link with virtual worlds / games (tools,
  environments)
• Many possibilities in education and practice

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Examples
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Existing game-like applications in comparable
contexts

• All sorts of management games and simulations
• Von Ahn classification games
• OntoGame (Hepp et al.), also classification
  http//members.deri.at/katharinas/ontogame/
• RuleXpress score system (quality attributes)
• Peter Rittgens COMA prototype not a game as
  such but a simple generic structure for
  negotiation about models. Could well be part of a
  modeling game system.

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Some possible features of modeling games

• Workflow/ToDo list be challenged
• Iteration challenges, initiatives, reaching
  higher levels
• Competition and collaboration
• Roles and differentiation between players
• Time pressure
• Score system and performance indicators

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Task Description Game

• Provide list of things you need
• Provide list of steps you take
• Indicate whether a thing is input-output-instrum
  ent of step
• Work out objects and attributes in steps (
  activities)
• Work out temporal dependencies between
  objects/attributes/activities
• This results in generation of basic process
  diagram (e.g. BPMN) including AND-joins.
• Meant to be tested (ultimately) on teenagers
  formal process modeling without being aware of
  this proof of concept.
• Prototype (screenshot next slide, of round 1)
  is still limited
• There will be a score system
• There will be streamlined assignment description
  (no jargon)
• There will be collaborative functionality

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Value Modeling Game

• Based on E3 Value method (Gordijn) context of
  web service design
• 3-10 players end customer(s) and suppliers
• Collaborately create value chain for realizing
  some product/service
• Feasibility and profitability conditions
  (end/victory)
• Competition various teams within game. Whos
  first/best?
• Requesting, offering, negotiation
• Chain is lightweight formal model, flow-like
• Game could use players own input, but also
  scenarios with prepared target products and
  components, and preset budgets

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Directions
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Research Directions

• Create prototypes of common games
• Process information modeling (prototype almost
  finished)
• Value modeling (with Tilburg University)
• Regulations Modeling (business rules etc.)
• ...
• Investigate and try out gaming aspects for
  virtual EM environments, in particular in
  industry (already on the way)
• Use data of games played to study enterprise
  modeling
• Playability (HCI)
• Goals of modeling what are they, in which
  situation?
• Quality (measuring as well as guiding towards)
• Roles and profiles of modelers (expertise,
  attitudes, ...)
• 2 PhD projects just started studying process
  modeling from Organizational Semiotics and
  Systems Dynamics perspectives