RedCritter Tracker: Gamifying agile project management

Recommended by elsterama on July 22, 2011 via WebWorkerDaily

RedCritter Tracker is a thoughtfully gamified project management tool for software development teams that’s set to launch later this month. Founder and CEO Mike Beatty walked me through the app’s key capabilities: Project management support; visibility into employee skill sets, customizable rewards; and badges. The RedCritter team has been acknowledged as one of only two companies in the central U.S. to be included in BizSpark One, which identifies high potential start-ups in the Microsoft BizSpark program.

RedCriter Tracker makes skill sets visible on employee profiles to make it easier for management to select appropriate team members. They app comes with a default “master list” of typical software development and management skills but these can be customized to match company needs. Skills can also be embedded in email signatures and blogs so that competencies are kept top of mind during communication.

Management can guide employee activities through awarding of points: do this, get these points. These points can then be used in a “reward market,” with rewards determined by management. Rewards could be as simple and inexpensive as a gift card or office toy, or as heavy-duty as a trip or ticket to an event; it’s up to the company. Long-term efforts are acknowledged by cumulative points.

The badges (of which there are 50 different types) show off accomplishments automatically. Some expire (such as the “weekend warrior” badge, which expires after the week), while others can only be held by one person at a time, or may take six months to earn.

I love the transparency and self-selection of rewards that RedCritter Tracker supports. This approach takes a formal business need — project management — and integrates it with human interest in games and rewards, enabled by a clean-cut collaboration platform. The approach is thoughtfully applied in a way that allows management to guide efforts but still allows individuals to make their own choices.

Beatty offered this explanation as to the app’s approach, “Engage employees, support workplace morale, and subtly drive behaviors that affect the bottom line.”

RedCritter Tracker is set to launch later this month. If you provide your email address pre-launch, you’ll be offered a free four-user license.

See this video for a walkthrough of RedCriter Tracker and its features:

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