Why (Serious) Games?
what are serious games?
Serious games are designed for more than just entertainment—they aim to educate, train, or tackle real-world challenges. Although they remain engaging and interactive, their primary goal is learning and development.
In agile environments, serious games give teams
the opportunity to gain practical experience.
By simulating real-world scenarios, they promote
exploration, experimentation, and reflection.
Across agile contexts, serious games:
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Build practical skills through hands-on learning
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Translate agile principles into concrete practice
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Shift team mindsets and foster collaboration through shared experience and feedback
background: how do people aquire agile skills and capabilities?
Agile skills are typically developed in two stages:
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Declarative knowledge (knowing what) is often acquired through reading and lectures [13][14].
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Procedural knowledge (knowing how) requires practice, reflection, and real-life application [13].
To support this learning process, teachers and coaches commonly use two instructional approaches:
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Deductive teaching introduces abstract concepts first, followed by examples and application [15]. This approach is well-suited for building theoretical knowledge.
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Inductive teaching encourages learners to explore and reflect through active participation. This is particularly effective for developing practical skills.
Research shows that inductive methods are better suited to building procedural knowledge. These approaches are often found in agile coaching and mentoring, as well as entrepreneurial learning initiatives [3][16].
OUR STUDY: SERIOUS GAMES IN PRACTICE
To understand how serious games support agile
transformation, we conducted interviews with game
developers, business consultants, and agile coaches.
We also analyzed 26 open-source serious games.
Our study focused on the purpose, characteristics,
and success factors of serious games in agile training
programs.
The findings show that serious games help:
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Raise awareness among participants
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Support both declarative and procedural knowledge development
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Encourage attitude shifts within individuals and teams
Read the full study [here] or continue with the summary below.
WHAT MAKES SERIOUS GAMES WORK?
Based on our research, we identified several success factors for serious games in training programs:
Pre-training phase:
Clarify the organization’s goals before the training begins.
Apply Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model in reverse: start with
the desired business outcomes, then define the learning
objectives [35]. Align game design with intended outcomes,
using frameworks like Design, Play, and Experience [36].
Training phase:
Adapt the game’s fictional context to reflect the
organization’s realities. Use feedback loops to connect the
game experience with real-world behavior. Set personal
goals to support the transfer of learning into everyday work.
Post-training phase:
Move beyond satisfaction surveys—evaluate actual learning
and behavior change (Kirkpatrick Levels 2–4) [35]. Use pre-
and post-assessments to measure skill development [37].
Allow time for participants to apply what they’ve learned and
measure long-term impact.
