Getting to Know Gamification in Jive: Bunchball's Nitro Console

With gamification and user engagement strategies becoming more prevalent within corporate environments, it can be a challenge to navigate the options available. As we work with our clients in their Jive communities, we've become very familiar with Nitro, Jive's Bunchball Gamification Console. For those who have just started exploring Nitro, with a bit of practice you'll be an expert before you know it!

First up: Some Bunchball basics.

What is the Nitro Console exactly? It is a Jive-owned subset of Bunchball that gives businesses the ability to sustainably engage users with highly personalized, collaborative, and rewarding game mechanics. At Social Edge, we know that productivity can flourish when you integrate gamification tactics and missions with workflows. The options provided by the Nitro console create opportunities for users to complete work in a uniquely competitive environment, because we know that gratification is motivation.

Now, let's dive lightly into the console itself. Peppered across the left side of the console are five tabs: Site, Actions, Catalog, Users, and Analytics. Among the many tabs and options, here are three areas to help get you started:

 1. Site > Point Levels: Here you can adjust, add, delete, and modify point levels. Used properly in the community, the levels and their descriptions will incentivize end users to complete missions. These are their visual rewards for actively participating in the community?so you want to make each and every person feel victorious, even after completing the most simple of tasks. It is important to note that you can incorporate the theme and branding of your community within Nitro to personalize missions for your Jive environment.

2. Actions > Missions: Within this tab, find a list of the out-of-the-box Nitro missions. To assist you with the timing and assignment of these missions, they are organized by range of difficulty. At Social Edge, we recommend editing the name and description of each mission to coincide with your community?s pre-existing naming conventions. You can also create specific rules for completion, and dates to accomplish them by. Remember: start small. Present simple missions first to intrigue and lure your end users-- then steadily boost the difficulty as awareness rises and points soar. Our gamification philosophy at Social Edge is to keep your users on their toes, but remember to reward them frequently and consistently.

3. Analytics > Dashboard: The importance of viewing your community?s metrics is indisputable! Take a peek at user statistics and set date perimeters for viewing all activity. By inspecting these statistics, you?ll be able to evaluate the missions you?ve been assigning to users, then assess and consider editing them. Ask yourself?Are the point levels too small? Is it too difficult to attain badges? Are users finding the missions challenging and overall rewarding? We recommend taking a step back and scrutinizing the steps in your plan where engagement is low.

Remember, strategy and methodology around your Bunchball use is vital. By 2014, Gartner Research Analysts predicts that a colossal 80% of gamification strategies will abruptly fail to deliver and meet business objective. Avid preparation and execution are essential here, and the Social Edge team can help you strategize and implement a gamification plan that leads to a successful and engaged community.

If you attended JiveWorld13, you were lucky to experience the excitement surrounding gamification. Bunchball hosted several sessions during the week informing attendees about how they can increase ROI through engaging users. A particularly exciting development is the creation of a new, more user-friendly Nitro Console that makes navigating and configuring missions easier than ever.

Be sure to stay tuned for a more in-depth look at the console and implementation tactics. As always, feel free to ask our experts here at Social Edge for any assistance or guidance. We would love to help you get your Bunchball implementation off the ground so you too can experience the productivity benefits the platform offers. At Social Edge, we can teach you ways to appropriately plan for, and achieve, your business goals using the system.

Ready, set? Game on!