Innovation Management Approaches: Design Value Calculator Gamification

Abstract

Design is a specific form of complex innovation that affects all areas of an organization’s management. However, the essence of design is vague, and it is difficult to fully grasp the concept of design. Therefore, it is difficult to find criteria for determining its value. The problem of establishing a causal relationship between design value and user experience is addressed in this paper. The relationship between these two variables affects the importance of design in organizations and can be used to quantify the value of design. Indeed, based on the results of existing research, it is known that this term has many meanings, and it is necessary to reject the possibility of its total quantification. Much of the related research has focused on the area of user experience and customer value, while other related research has focused on design value, which cannot be measured directly but rather, for example, through system dynamic modelling. This approach, i.e., the use of a system dynamic model to determine the value of design, is still missing in the research literature. The main research method for determining the value of design is the experimental method, supported by other research methods: modelling and structured questioning. Inputs to the model, which represent the opinions of the company’s managers on the design, are obtained through a board game that provides an attractive and easy-to-understand user interface for the research participants. The value of design is determined by using a sample case study that contains key variables according to the company’s business model. The value of the design is calculated based on the indicator “design cost-effectiveness” over six years of the start-up company’s business. The indicator is experimentally verified in a model with an identical structure and different scenarios concerning the involvement of design change in the economic development of the firm. This paper aims to use the gamified DVCG model as an innovative concept in business management through a case study. The contribution of the paper to science and practice is to provide experimentally validated evidence to help identify the areas where design investments are needed to make the most sense for the economics and management of the organization.