The game
At the Next Web Conference in Amsterdam I saw a web game developer called Wooga, who is continuously measuring and improving its products in real time. Wooga is not alone, the process of continuous measurement and improvement is really mastered by the internet industry. Could other industries learn from this? Could we develop cars or food or education or insurance or any other products or services that are improved on a daily basis? I would think so, but many companies are now organized for big budget, big impact, big momentum releases and changing a company’s core processes is extremely difficult. And more importantly, it requires a shift in thinking – from momentum to continuum thinking. It basically requires a change of a company’s DNA.
But it is possible to challenge industry recipes. Let’s take a look at the gaming industry. While most game developers still rely on big releases every couple of years, Wooga is a social media game developer that has this continuous improvement methodology in its core. So what do they do that we can learn from?
Define funneled outcomes
The ultimate goal is customer satisfaction, but what does this mean in terms of measurable results? For Wooga this means having as many people play their games for as long as possible. But this is not specific enough. Wooga has defined a funnel to qualify the behavior of players. For example the drop out rate of players between the different levels is put in the funnel.
In the automotive industry safety is an important outcome. As cars are increasingly being connected, car manufacturers may measure in real-time the number of emergency stops, the number of accidents at 10km/h, 20km/h, etc. And create a real-time safety funnel.
Measure the funnel quantitatively
If a metric is not in line with the expected results, it means that there is an improvement to be made; for example if too many players drop off between 2 levels. In our automotive example, if too many drivers are having accidents at a certain speed and angle, there is an improvement to be made.
Measure qualitatively
At Wooga every 2 weeks usability tests are performed with live testers. Their input is taken into the next release cycle. We’re talking a few weeks here, between the input and the improvement.
A/B testing of improvements
When a problem is detected a couple of possible improvements are developed. These improvements are tested against each other on different groups of live players. Literally everything is tested: the gameplay (e.g. The growth time of plants in the game) as well as the user experience (e.g. The size and shape of pop-up windows). Sometimes these tests return no significant results, but at least they are sure. The best performing solution is then released to all players. A/B testing is obviously easier in digital goods or in services than in manufacturing, but it’s not impossible in manufacturing. Manufactured goods often have little differences per country or continent to adapt to legislation or culture.
Benefits
In a highly competitive market with no exit barriers such as the online gaming industry, customers can switch to competitors at any time. Continuous real-time measurement and improvement will optimize the loyalty of customers at any time. This goes hand in hand with an alternative revenue model: Wooga sells in-game features. Players do not save up for the next big release and provide a continuous source of revenue.
Would other industries benefit from this too? Yes. Unless you have the luxury of being a monopolist or having big exit barriers, every company will benefit from improving their products and services in real-time. Is it impossible? I guess not. Modular design and mass customization have been around for a while, enabling design changes at relative low costs. It is rather a state of mind that needs to be changed.
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