uef.fi
PUBLICATIONS OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND Dissertations in Forestry and Natural Sciences
ISBN 978-952-61-4552-5 ISSN 1798-5668
Dissertations in Forestry and Natural Sciences
DISSERTATIONS | VERUSCHKA PELSER-CARSTENS | DEVELOPING A SERIOUS GAME DESIGN FRAMEWORK ... | No 469
VERUSCHKA PELSER-CARSTENS
Developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components
PUBLICATIONS OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND
Researchers in serious game design suggest that the use of serious games in education
can enable pervasive skill development in students.
The novice lecturer intending to design serious games will gain an understanding from this
study pertaining to serious game design elements, mechanics and dynamics.
An iterative serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital
components is set out in this study.
The iterative framework can be augmented by lectures to fit their curriculum outcomes and thus enable them to design and develop their
own serious games for educational use in or outside of the classroom.
VERUSCHKA PELSER-CARSTENS
Developing a serious game design framework for
educational tabletop games with digital components
Veruschka Pelser-Carstens
Developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components
Publications of the University of Eastern Finland Dissertations in Forestry and Natural Sciences
No 469
University of Eastern Finland Joensuu
2022
Academic dissertation
To be presented by permission of the Faculty of Science and Forestry for public examination in the Auditorium AU100 in the Aurora Building at
the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, on June 17, 2022, at 12 o’clock noon.
Punamusta Oy Joensuu, 2022
Editors: Pertti Pasanen, Matti Tedre, Jukka Tuomela, and Matti Vornanen Sales: University of Eastern Finland Library
ISBN: 978-952-61-4552-5 (Print) ISBN: 978-952-61-4553-2 (PDF)
ISSNL: 1798-5668 ISSN: 1798-5668 ISSN: 1798-5676 (PDF)
Author’s address: Veruschka Pelser-Carstens North West University
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences School of Accounting Sciences
Vaal Triangle Campus
1174 Hendrick Van Eck Boulevard Vanderbijlpark, 1900, South Africa.
email: Veruschka.PelserCarstens@nwu.ac.za Supervisors: Prof. Markku Tukiainen
University of Eastern Finland School of Computing Joensuu Campus P.O.Box 111
FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland email: markku.tukiainen@uef.fi Prof. A.Seugnet Blignaut North-West University Vaal Triangle Campus
1174 Hendrick Van Eck Boulevard Vanderbijlpark, 1900, South Africa.
email: Anitaseugnet@gmail.com (Retired)
Prof. Verona Leendertz North-West University TELIT-SA
Vaal Triangle Campus
1174 Hendrick Van Eck Boulevard Vanderbijlpark, 1900, South Africa.
email: Verona.Leendertz@nwu.ac.za Dr Carolina Islas Sedano
University of Turku Software Engineering
FI-20014 Turun yliopisto, Finland email: carolina.islassedano@utu.fi
Reviewers: Prof. Dr. R. Klemke
Technische Hochschule Köln
Game Informatics / Cologne Game Lab
Postanschrift: Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 54, 50968 Köln, Germany email: roland.klemke@th-koeln.de
JProf. Dr . Sofia Schöbel Universität Osnabrück
Juniorprofessur Wirtschaftsinformatik
Katharinenstraße 3, 49069 Osnabrück, Germany email: sofia.schoebel@uni-osnabrueck.de
Opponent: Associate Prof. Teemu Leinonen Aalto University
Department of Art and Media Otakaari 1 X,
FI-02150 Espoo, Finland email: teemu.leinonen@uef.fi
7 Pelser-Carstens, Veruschka
Developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components
Joensuu, University of Eastern Finland, 2022 Publications of the University of Eastern Finland
Dissertations in Forestry and Natural Sciences 2022; No. 469 ISBN: 978-952-61-4552-5 (Print)
ISSNL: 1798-5668 ISSN: 1798-5668 (Print) ISBN: 978-952-61-4553-2 (PDF) ISSN: 1798-5676 (PDF)
ABSTRACT
Accountancy teaching professionals should consider various factors when conducting accounting education. These factors include a new generation of students as well as a myriad of evolving changes in the business environment, which in turn demand changes in the skills required from novice accountants entering the workplace. Research studies have demonstrated that accountancy teaching professionals shun change to traditional teaching and learning practices. It is therefore pivotal to creatively contemplate practical solutions for the challenges facing lecturers and students in accountancy.
Researchers in accountancy education have argued that accountancy lecturers should rethink their teaching and learning practices to address prevalent workplace requirements, such as students’ development of pervasive skills (e.g., critical thinking and the use of technology). Researchers in serious game design for educational use posit that the use of serious games as a teaching and learning tool can enable pervasive skill development. Furthermore, the use of serious games in the classroom may encourage, empower, inspire, and motivate learners. However, not all lecturers have the know-how to develop serious games that can be purposefully used within the accountancy curriculum to address workplace requirements. Therefore, this study aimed to coordinate serious game design elements, mechanics, and dynamics with curriculum outcomes to develop a serious game design framework for lecturers who are new to serious game design and who endeavor to use serious games as a teaching and learning tool. To develop such a framework, the following primary research question was proposed: How can a serious game design framework be developed for educational tabletop games with digital components? The following secondary research questions were also proposed: (i) How do serious games enable accountancy education? (ii) How can serious game design elements, mechanics, and dynamics be consolidated with
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accountancy education outcomes and workplace requirements? (iii) How can tabletop game features be combined with digital game components?
Design science research was employed to develop a framework for educational tabletop games with digital components and to develop a serious game in accordance with the framework.
The outcomes of this study are: (i) This study developed a framework for educational tabletop games with digital components that can be followed by lecturers who have no experience in serious game design. (ii) This study developed a serious tabletop game for accountancy students that encompasses pervasive skill development.
The recommendations proposed by this study are not only for lecturers in accountancy education but also for any lecturers in other fields of study who want to design serious games as a teaching and learning tool. The recommendations include the following: (i) the developed serious game design framework can be used by lecturers who are new to serious game design because it includes theoretical explanations that are prevalent to topical workplace needs and requirements; (ii) the serious game design framework can thus also be used for curricula other than accountancy education; and (iii) additions and exclusions can be made to the framework to serve a specific purpose or curriculum outcome because the framework is not stagnant.
In conclusion, the decision to employ serious games as a teaching tool should be based on a well-grounded theory of learning as well as on the skills required for the learning area. An iterative approach to serious game design regarding how to combine game characteristics such as game mechanics, elements, and dynamics, with curriculum outcomes is indeed required. Prior to this study, an iterative approach in the form of a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components was not readily available for lecturers new to serious game design, and thus, this study developed such a framework to address the research questions. Furthermore, a serious game for accountancy education called Liike was developed in accordance with the framework.
Universal Decimal Classification: 794.657
Library of Congress Subject Heading: Board games in education; Educational games;
Accounting; Serious games
Yleinen suomalainen ontologia: pelisuunnittelu; hyötypelit; laskentatoimi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I express my special gratitude to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for providing me with the wisdom, knowledge, and inspiration for conducting this research.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to Dr. Jarkko Suhonen for his incessant support, guidance, counseling, patience, enormous knowledge, and motivation during the time of my PhD study. I appreciate the support and effort of Prof. Markku Tukiainen, head of technologies for education and development research groups, who served as one of my PhD supervisors. Thank you for visiting South Africa for a serious game design and development workshop to advise and guide me in my endeavors. To my supervisors from North-West University, I also appreciate the support and guidance of Prof. Seugnet Blignaut who co-authored three articles with me. To my independent supervisor Dr.
Carolina Isalas Sedano, thank you for presenting two workshops in South Africa on serious game design. The guidance you provided was of immense value, not only to me but also to all of the people1 who played a key role in my PhD journey. In addition, I would like to thank Mr Lance Bunt and Mr Japie Greeff for their co-authoring, timeless academic counseling, design and art input, as well as general emotional support. Similarly, my appreciation goes to Mrs Marie Preston, who co-authored an article with me. To all of the role-players who assisted me throughout my PhD journey, who contributed curriculum and module information as well as pedagogical clarity – your input was invaluable: Mmes Estie Lubbie and Monique du Plessis as well as Prof. Thys Swanepoel. Many thanks also go to the numerous friends and well-wishers who crossed my path in Finland and Amsterdam, especially Me Sara Muršić, who introduced me to BlippAR. To Otsile Serame, I highly appreciate your design guidance and input toward the realization of the Liike Quiz Application. An outpouring of gratitude goes to my husband, Rev. Altus Carstens, my parents Mr Graham Pelser and Mrs Tina Pelser, as well as my sibling Mrs Alecia van der Neut, for all of your encouragement and prayers during this journey. This thesis is dedicated to my daughter Alenka Carstens. Love you!
Joensuu, June 2022 Veruschka Pelser-Carstens
1 Hereafter referred to as role players
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11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AE Accountancy education
CA(SA) A member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants DSR Design science research
GBL Game-based learning
NQF National Qualification Framework NWU North-West University
SAICA South African Institute of Chartered Accountants SAIPA South African Institute of Professional Accountants
SG Serious game
SGDF Serious game design framework
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TERMINOLOGY
Considering the vast interpretations of skills terminology, the author hereafter attempts to provide a contextual understanding and explanation of terms related to skills development generally found in academic texts. These skill-related terms are normally used to provide meaning within a specific context and may therefore differ in use and phrasing.
In addition, the terms generally used in this study are also included and clarified hereafter.
Term Clarification of term
21st-century skills Researchers explained that 21st-century skills comprise not only skills and abilities but also learning dispositions that have been identified as required for success in 21st-century society and workplaces (Rotherham & Willingham, 2010).
Lecturers, however, commonly refer to 21st-century skills as soft skills and pervasive skills required by students in the business world (Viviers, Fouché, &
Reitsma, 2016).
Accountancy education NWU academic yearbooks explain
accountancy education as an all- encompassing concept that does not focus on accounting alone; rather, it is a language of business that includes various business subjects.
Avatar An avatar is a graphical representation of
a user/player/student or the user’s character or persona (Kromand, 2007). In this study, the term avatar also refers to animal miniatures (meeples) or game characters.
Educational games Educational games are games
intentionally designed for the purpose of education that may help students to understand concepts, learn domain knowledge, and develop skills as they play games (De Freitas, 2018).
13 Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) The 4IR is often described as the result of
the integration and compounding effects of multiple exponential technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) (Penprase, 2018). 4IR technologies are viewed as technologies that may have a significant impact on our lives and therefore educational responses to the 4IR are needed (Penprase, 2018).
Gen-Z Gen Z is comprised of individuals born
between 1996 and 2009. Gen Z view technology as an extension of themselves and the utilization thereof as an expansion of their minds, which in turn fuels societal change (Sladek & Grabinger, 2014).
Pedagogical skills Pedagogical skills are usually referred to as the skill of the lecturer in developing pervasive skills in students (Blenkinsop, Telford, & Morse, 2016).
Pervasive skills Pervasive skills encapsulate the cognitive and soft skills required of graduates in order to apply their discipline-specific knowledge in the workplace (Barac & Du Plessis, 2014).
SAICA 2025 SAICA 2025 is a competency framework
that sets out competencies and skills to be addressed in accountancy education beyond 2025. This framework is thus future focused and was developed to prepare prospective CAs(SA) for the roles they are likely to fill in the future (Maseko
& Masinire, 2020). Gen Z will be the class of 2025.
SAICA competency framework This competency framework (SAICA, 2019) outlines the competencies and skills expected of a CA (SA) at point of entry into the profession (i.e., when one is eligible to become a SAICA member).
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Serious games Serious games are games designed for a
primary purpose other than pure entertainment (Alvarez & Djaouti, 2011).
Serious games may move beyond the scope of educational games by offering motivating and engaging experiences, interactive learning environments, and collaborative learning activities. Serious games apply a level of subtlety and develop deeper mechanics and rules that build to the ultimate learning objective.
Serious game design frameworks Frameworks that underpin serious games with a sound theoretical framework, which integrates and balances theories from two fields of practice, namely pedagogy and game design (Kiili, 2005a, 2005b, 2005c).
Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution necessitate the blurring of boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. They are a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies (Oke &
Fernandes, 2020).
Theoretical knowledge Theoretical knowledge teaches the why – why one technique works where another fails (Bourdieu, 1973). Theoretical knowledge can often lead to a deeper understanding of a concept through seeing it in context of a greater whole and understanding the why behind it (Stepin, 2005). Therefore, lecturers also use the term technical knowledge in conjunction with theoretical knowledge when explaining the bigger picture (Fouché, 2006; Viviers et al., 2016).
15 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS
This thesis is based on data presented in the following articles, which are referred to by the Roman Numerals I–VI.
I Pelser-Carstens, V., Preston, M. J., & Blignaut, A. S. (2017). Games for learning in accountancy education: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies.
ISSN 13098063 (Online).
https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/440418
II Pelser-Carstens, V., & Blignaut, A. S. (2018). Towards a table-top board game for South African higher education accountancy students. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies.
ISSN 13098063 (Online).
https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/440425
III Pelser-Carstens, V., & Blignaut, A. S. (2017). Towards using mobile technologies to digitise a table-top game for accountancy students. Article presented at the 16th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning.
mLearn 2017: Proceedings of the 16th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning. Article No.: 26 Pages 1–5. ACM Digital Library.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3136907.3136932
IV Pelser-Carstens, V. (2019). Game based learning: a table-top game approach to knowledge application and pervasive skill acquisition. Article presented at the EdMedia+ Innovate Learning conference.
ISBN 978-1-939797-42-1 LearnTechLib Digital Library
https://www.learntechlib.org/p/210122/
V Pelser-Carstens, V., Bunt, L., & Greeff, J. (2019). Liike: the design and development of a serious game for accountancy students. Article presented at the European Conference on Games Based Learning.
DOI: 10.34190/GBL.19.53
https://www.proquest.com/openview/592119b5cb4088916f0c2e2bb4a49 564/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=396495
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The following article has been submitted for review:
VI Pelser-Carstens, V., Leendertz, V. (2021). Toward a theoretical serious game design framework for accountancy education.
(Manuscript submitted)
The above publications have been included at the end of this thesis with their copyright holders’ permission.
17 AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION
The articles presented hereafter delineate the different design and development stages of the serious game Liike. Furthermore, the development of the serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components, in terms of which the Liike game was designed, is expounded. The articles are original, and the PhD candidate was the main contributor. The following paragraphs provide detailed descriptions of the candidates’ contributions.
ARTICLE I: I am the main author of this article. I focused on a literature review of empirical and theoretical articles related to the use of games in accountancy education to determine how games for learning can contribute to accountancy education. I scrutinized relevant keywords from research databases to gather applicable articles for analysis.
Authors one and two probed all the articles indicated by the research databases to identify usable articles relevant to the aim and purpose of this article as well as to the PhD study. Authors one and two summarized the results obtained from the analysis of the identified feasible articles.
I wrote the first draft and subsequent drafts were made by the efforts of authors one and three. Author three was one of the study leaders for the main author’s PhD study.
This article was written for publication in an accredited journal. The journal in which Article I appear, is accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa.
ARTICLE II: I am the main author of this article. Its objective is to provide an explanation of the use and development of a tabletop board game for accountancy education. I conducted a pilot study with my students as research participants. I provided them with a questionnaire and analyzed the data that they provided. I anthologized the article, and the co-author was responsible, as PhD study leader, for providing comments and feedback to improve the article for publication purposes.
This article received the “best article/paper award” at a conference. It was written for publication in an accredited journal. The journal in which Article II appears is accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa.
ARTICLE III: I am the main author of this article. I developed a tabletop game and consequently assimilated a pilot study on the use of the tabletop game as an instrument that amplifies and supplements my existing teaching methodology. The pilot study of the tabletop game (Article II) indicated that by playing the game, students developed skills and actively applied their theoretical knowledge to advance in the game. The results of the pilot study held that the students would favor a digital component for the next phase of development of the tabletop game. Therefore, this article addressed how mobile technology could further the benefits of the tabletop game in terms of social aspects,
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virtual playing of the game, and the random generation of game elements with mobile technology.
I wrote the first draft and subsequent drafts were produced by the efforts of authors one and three. Author three was one of the study leaders for this PhD study. This article was written to be presented at a conference as well as published in an affiliated accredited conference journal. This article was presented at the 16th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning.
ARTICLE IV: I am the sole author of this article. This article presents the design process of the tabletop game Liike. This article is the first of two design articles. It presents a broad explanation of the overall design of Liike, whereas Article VI explains the detailed iterative design process. Furthermore, Article VI builds on Article IV by establishing and developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components.
This article was written for presentation at a conference. It was presented at the EdMedia+ Innovate Learning conference and subsequently published in the conference proceedings.
ARTICLE V: I am the main author of this article, which reflects on the serious game dubbed Liike. Liike was developed for undergraduate students at the School of Accounting Sciences, NWU, South Africa. The purpose of Liike is not only to address the professional competencies and skills that students require in the workplace but also to afford students an opportunity to apply theoretical concepts learned across different modules. This article presents the details of the design and development process of Liike. Furthermore, the article highlights the Liike design-oriented research goal and methodology.
Ultimately, the key characteristics that informed the design of Liike are presented as lessons learned.
Authors two and three were key role-players in the development of Liike. Author two was the artist/graphic designer of the design features of Liike, and author three is a game characteristics expert. This article was co-written for presentation at the EGBL conference – PhD colloquium stream. The article was nominated for presentation at a competition- stream during the conference. It was subsequently published in the conference proceedings.
ARTICLE VI: I am the main author of this article, and the co-author is one of the PhD study leaders. This article presents an iterative approach to serious game design. The article elucidates the analysis of the game design literature, game characteristics, and enactment of game design principles. Furthermore, it explores the development of a serious game design framework comprising a curriculum as well as game elements, mechanics, and dynamics. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of articles listed in the digital academic databases Web of Science and ProQuest. Articles were systematically reviewed according to (i) the time span of 2015–2020; (ii) the
19 document type of journal articles; and (iii) the keywords of “framework AND serious games.” A serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components is proposed in the article, not only for accountancy education but also for interdisciplinary use.
Article VI has been submitted for publication and is not yet published.
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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ... 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... 9 1 INTRODUCTION... 25 1.1 Motivation for the study ... 26 1.2 Research questions and objectives... 28 1.3 Research design and methodology ... 29 1.4 Organization of the thesis ... 34 2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY: DESIGN SCIENCE RESEARCH ... 39
2.1 What is design science research? ... 39 2.2 Design science research as utilized in this PhD study ... 42 3 LITERATURE REVIEW ... 47
3.1 The feasibility of a serious game for accountancy education: SLR 1... 47 3.2 Towards a serious game framework for educational tabletop games with digital components: SLR 2 ... 52 4 A SERIOUS GAME DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATIONAL TABLETOP GAMES WITH DIGITAL COMPONENTS ... 59
4.1 The development of a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components... 59 4.2 The pilot test conducted for the first iteration ... 64 5 UTILIZING THE SERIOUS GAME DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SERIOUS GAME LIIKE ... 71 5.1 Liike development: Workshop 1 ... 71 5.2 Liike development: Workshop 2 ... 73 5.3 Workshop 1 and 2 outcomes – The design and construction of Liike ... 75 5.4 Heuristic evaluation – Focus Group 1 ... 81 5.5 Heuristic evaluation – Focus Group 2 ... 83 5.6 Feedback from workshops and focus groups: Reflect, revisit, and explore ... 86 6 LIIKE: THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL
COMPONENTS ... 91 6.1. Development and implementation of the Liike digital components ... 91 6.2 The overall Liike application design ... 93
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6.3 System architecture: Hardware and software requirements ... 98 6.4 Database design ... 98 6.5 The utilization of BlippAR as a digital component of Liike ... 100 6.6. Conclusion of the third iteration and evaluation and research outcomes ... 103 7 CONCLUSION ... 109
7.1 Summary of chapters and interpretation of results ... 109 7.2 Research questions and objectives... 110 7.3 The impact of applying DSR to achieve the overall aim of the research study . 112 7.4 Lessons learned, limitations, and future research ... 115 7.5 Recommendations ... 116 7.6 Final conclusion ... 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 119 APPENDICES ... 127
23 LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. The primary and secondary research questions and objectives ... 29 Table 2. The link between the serious game design framework for educational tabletop
games with digital components and the design and development of Liike (iterations, processes, and findings) ... 31 Table 3. Number of articles retrieved from Scopus as the research database ... 48 Table 4. Number of articles retrieved from Emerald Insight as the research database .. 48 Table 5. Synopsis of the content analysis on the characteristics of games for learning
from the systematic literature review ... 51 Table 6. Key code findings in the curriculum code group ... 54 Table 7. Key code findings in the game elements code group ... 56 Table 8. Key code findings in the game mechanics code group ... 57 Table 9. Key code findings in the game dynamics code group ... 58 Table 10. Pilot study participant characteristics ... 65 Table 11. Subject knowledge of students in tax and law courses ... 66 Table 12. Student’s perceptions of their technical and soft skills ... 66 Table 13. Students’ participation and feedback related to skills ... 67 Table 14. Students’ attitude towards playing the game ... 67 Table 15. Lecturers’ attitudes toward playing the game ... 68 Table 16. Reliability and construct validity of students’ responses ... 69 Table 17. Results obtained from role-players in Focus Group 1 ... 83 Table 18. Responses from Focus Group 2 for multi-module questions and answers as
set
for the Liike game... 84 Table 19. Open-ended response from Focus Group 2 on the preference of design of the
multi-module questions ... 85 Table 20. Open-ended responses from Focus Group 2 on the preference of the
question-and-answer design for the Liike game ... 85 Table 21. System hardware and software for designing the Liike quiz app ... 98 Table 22. Independent evaluation and validation of the Liike game and framework:
Lecturer 1 ...104 Table 23. Independent evaluation and validation of the Liike game and framework:
Lecturer 2 ...105
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Design science research process, guidelines, and explanation ... 40 Figure 2. The design science research process, including iterations and steps, as
employed
in the design and development of the serious game Liike ... 43 Figure 3. Combining the design science research process with the PhD objectives ... 46 Figure 4. Serious game design framework for education tabletop games with digital
components ... 63 Figure 5. Brainstorming the amendment of the pilot game ... 71 Figure 6. Workshop 2: Discussion on curriculum, game mechanics, game elements, and
game dynamics... 74 Figure 7. The first paper-based version (mock-up) of Liike as designed by different role-
players ... 75 Figure 8. Art and graphic design of the Liike game characters ... 77 Figure 9. The Liike game tiles... 78 Figure 10. Liike wild cards ... 80 Figure 11. Liike iconography ... 80 Figure 12. Liike mobile application start screen ... 93 Figure 13. Liike quiz activity screen ... 94 Figure 14. Pop-up message for answer selection ... 95 Figure 15. User feedback for incorrect answer given ... 96 Figure 16. User feedback for correct answer given ... 96 Figure 17. Quit or finish button indication ... 97 Figure 18. Liike question-and-answer playing cards: Paper-based version ... 99 Figure 19. SQLite database table ... 99 Figure 20. Sample Java code for creating the SQLite database ...100 Figure 21. Design and development of BlippAR ...101 Figure 22. Application and employment of BlippAR ...102
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1 INTRODUCTION
The literature consistently indicates that graduates entering the professional accountancy workplace do not possess the skills required by the accounting profession (Fouché, 2013). This is due to current accountancy teaching practices, where lecturers do not adequately equip students with the necessary skills. Skills are an all-encompassing concept that includes terms such as pervasive skills, generic skills, soft skills, and 21st- century skills. These skills are seen as the requisites for applying and realizing the technical and theoretical knowledge gained at university level in the workplace (Keevy, 2016; Kgapola, 2015; Mohamed & Lashine, 2003). These vital and imperative skills for the workplace include but are not limited to communication (verbal, listening, and writing), interpersonal interaction, critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills (Crawford, Helliar, & Monk, 2011).
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) is responsible for the curriculum design for chartered accountancy education in South Africa. The curriculum and program design adheres to the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) levels and divides technical knowledge and skill requirements into seven specific competencies: (i) strategy, (ii) risk management and governance, (iii) accounting and external reporting, (iv) auditing and assurance, (v) financial management, (vi) management decision making, and (vii) control and taxation. Furthermore, three sets of pervasive skills are also identified: (i) ethical behavior and professionalism, (ii) personal attributes, and (iii) professional skills (Viviers et al., 2016). SAICA postulates that lecturers in higher education (HE) should address these skill requirements within their curriculum and module design (SAICA, 2019). However, SAICA has not submitted clear guidelines to higher education institutions on how lecturers should embark on the journey of incorporating these skills into their classroom. Academics, however, postulate that the debates over accountancy education reform are rarely debates at all (Gray & Collison, 2002) as they fail to challenge the traditional tenets of the discipline and continue to prioritize the perceived technical needs of professional practice. The importance of producing rounded graduates with a broad range of skills has largely been side-lined as textbooks used in the accountancy curriculum deal with technical aspects, rules, and regulations, and not necessarily with the practical application of the subject matter in a dynamic accountancy business environment. A gap exists between theory and practice and it is up to accountancy teaching professionals (i.e., lecturers) to attempt to bridge it (Fouché, 2006). Furthermore, the responsibility of lecturers is not only to bridge this gap but also to amend their teaching methods so that a new generation of students (Boyce, 1999; Chen, 2010) obtain skills for adapting to the changing business environment (Fouché, 2006).
Accountancy education reform should not be a complex task as academics are ex natura responsible for designing the program at the macro, meso, and micro levels
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according to the competency framework of SAICA; furthermore, they are responsible for selecting texts and materials, implementing applicable teaching and learning strategies, and assessing competencies – not per subject but holistically according to the competency framework of SAICA (Boyce, 2004). Lecturers may augment their teaching methodology to create a safe space for knowledge application and skill attainment through the simulation of a professional work environment, such that learning can relate to real life (Gramsci, 1971; Weil, Oyelere, Yeoh, & Firer, 2001). Various tools can be used to augment real-life scenarios, such as simulations, work-integrated learning, and work- simulated learning; however, to create a safe space for students to acquire knowledge and skills and to simultaneously understand the holistic approach to the requirements of SAICA for assessment, the implementation of serious games can adhere to all the aforementioned requirements.
Academics retain considerable influence over the setting of course and subject structure, design of the syllabus and curriculum, selection of texts and materials, and implementation of teaching and assessment strategies, including the setting and assessment of students’ work (Boyce, 2004). Due to this role of academics, there are constant debates over accountancy education reform (Gray & Collison, 2002). This is because traditional curriculum outcomes fail to challenge the historical tenets of the discipline and continue to prioritize the perceived technical needs of professional practice. The desire to produce rounded graduates with a broad range of skills has largely been side-lined. Within the accountancy education environment, this means that students should be given the opportunity to develop their abilities to articulate different perspectives, views, ideas, and concepts clearly. Ultimately, students should be equipped to develop their personal and collective positions on issues and to discover possibilities for activating those positions through praxis. These are aspects that find a foothold in modules from the accountancy curriculum, such as (i) Law, (ii) Tax, (iii) Accounting, (iv) Auditing, and (v) Financial Management. Textbooks used in the accountancy curriculum deal with technical aspects, rules, and regulations and not necessarily with the practical application of the subject matter in an accountancy workplace. Furthermore, due to the existing gap between the theory (university) and the practical application thereof (workplace), it is within the control of the accountancy teaching professional to attempt to bridge this gap (Fouché, 2006). Accountancy teaching professionals, however, resist change (Fouché, 2013), and therefore, it is of the essence to think creatively to find practical solutions for the challenges facing accountancy teaching professionals.
1.1 Motivation for the study
Research in the field of improved teaching and learning practices is readily available (Coates & Radloff, 2013). However, responses from the business world and professional
27 bodies such as SAICA and the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) suggest that teaching and learning practices still do not indicate practical application and skill obtainment (Kavanagh & Drennan, 2008; Tucker & Lowe, 2014). This problem is exacerbated insofar as SAICA and SAIPA are not explicit about how lecturers should incorporate skills into their curriculum design as well as the application thereof (Fouché, 2006, 2013; Viviers et al., 2016).
Serious games are seen as a receptive strategy for incorporating skills into the accountancy curriculum and the called-for application thereof within a classroom environment (Pelser-Carstens, 2019). Furthermore, serious games are considered an innovative and creative way of bridging the gap between the classroom and boardroom as researchers have suggested that they can be employed as tools in a teaching and learning approach that simulates real-life. Moreover, serious games are not merely about creating games for students to play; they involve designing learning activities that can incrementally introduce concepts and guide students toward an end goal, such as skill obtainment to fulfill the requirements of SAICA (SAICA, 2019) as well as accountancy workplace needs.
The justification of this study is entrenched within the desire of students and lecturers (within the School of Accounting Sciences, North-West University [NWU], South Africa) to assimilate the need to develop and acquire skills. Five lecturers within the school indicated their willingness to contribute to the study, as they
a) wanted to fulfill SAICA and SAIPA requirements;
b) expressed the skill shortcomings of graduates who enter the accountancy workplace;
c) required from students a deeper understanding of technical knowledge application;
d) wanted to use teaching tools that guarantee maximum results and stimulate cohesion between lecturer and student;
e) understood the need for a teaching tool that can fill the gap between the classroom and boardroom;
f) needed a teaching tool that can be used for both teaching and assessment purposes.
The five lecturers perceived that an approach for addressing the gap between theory and practice was through the implementation of serious games. No serious game exists in South Africa where more than one module from the accountancy curriculum is exposed through playing the game for educational purposes. Thus, in this PhD study, the PhD candidate:
i. sought to ascertain whether a serious game would be a feasible teaching and learning resource for accountancy education by conducting the following qualitative and quantitative research:
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• Qualitative: Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) on serious game use in the teaching and learning environment,
• Quantitative: Playtesting a mock-up serious game to gauge student’s receptiveness to the use of serious games in accountancy education.
ii. sought to ascertain if existing serious game models and frameworks are feasible mechanisms for use by lectures who are inexperienced in the design and development of serious games;
iii. developed a serious game for educational use in accountancy education at NWU, South Africa; and
iv. endeavored to contribute to the existing knowledge base in DSR.
1.2 Research questions and objectives
The overall aim of the research study was to develop a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components and to design and develop a serious game for accountancy education (in the School of Accounting Sciences, NWU, South Africa) according to said framework. To achieve this aim, specific actions were performed, and steps were taken by setting primary and secondary objectives. Primary and secondary research questions were formulated to address specific concerns throughout the study as well as to identify possible problem areas. The aim of the study and the research questions and objectives were born out of the research problem discussed in Section 1.1.
29 Table 1. The primary and secondary research questions and objectives
Primary research questions Primary research objective How should a serious game design framework
be developed for educational tabletop games with digital components?
• To perform content analysis and cluster exposition on different serious game features as seen in accountancy education.
• To conduct a systematic literature review on games for learning in the teaching and learning of accountancy education.
Secondary research questions Secondary objectives How can serious game design elements,
mechanics, and dynamics be consolidated with accountancy education outcomes and workplace requirements to design a serious game for accountancy education?
• To conduct a systematic literature review on games for learning in the teaching and learning of accountancy education.
• To conduct a locally bound case study where accounting students, as research participants, play a custom-made tabletop board game and, by means of a questionnaire, reflect on their motivation to learn subject matter through playing the game.
• To present the details of the design process of a serious tabletop game.
How can tabletop game features be combined with digital game components?
To employ Design Science Research to develop a tabletop game as well as a quiz application as well as to incorporate augmented reality.
How do serious games enable accountancy education?
To conduct a systematic literature review(s) on games for learning in the teaching and learning of accountancy education.
1.3 Research design and methodology
DSR was used to address the research questions and objectives set out in Table 1. DSR is to some extend a new approach to research (Reubens, 2016) with the goal of constructing a new reality for solving problems instead of explaining an existing reality or helping to make sense of it (Iivari & Venable, 2009). Thus, DSR looks to develop valid and reliable knowledge for designing solutions, and therefore, it can be reasoned that DSR has a dual mandate (Baskerville, Kaul, & Storey, 2015; Horváth, 2007), namely (i) to utilize the gained knowledge to solve problems and to (ii) create change or improve existing solutions through insights and theoretical explanations. Horváth (2007) posited that an actual creative design action between explorative and confirmative research actions is possible when DSR is divided into three phases: (i) the exploration, induction, and deduction of
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the problem, context, and activities as well as hypothesis setting; (ii) the design and testing of the solutions; and (iii) the verification of the hypotheses, validation of the research, and generalization to other applications.
In this study, the aforementioned dual mandate and three phases relate to different iterations and steps taken (Figure 2) to answer the research questions and achieve the objectives set out in Table 1. These iterations and steps have been underscored by researchers (Grenha Teixeira et al., 2017; Lapão, Da Silva, & Gregório, 2017; Peffers, Tuunanen, Rothenberger, & Chatterjee, 2007) in the following chain: (i) identifying the problem through context awareness and needs analysis to justify the value of the solution; (ii) planning and setting objectives for a solution; (iii) designing and developing artifacts; (iv) demonstrating by using the artifact to solve the problem; (v) evaluating the solution and comparing the objectives and the actual observed results from the use of the artifact; and (vi) communicating the problem, the artifact, and its utility and effectiveness to other researchers and practicing professionals (Table 2).
For the purpose of designing Liike, this developmental chain of six actions was split into three iterations, and each iteration was divided into different steps. This notion was underwritten by Peffers et al. (2007), who stated that researchers do not always have to start from the first step (i.e., identification) but that they mostly go through all of the steps one way or another, moving outward from the point of entry of the research. The result of the DSR project is thus a purposeful artifact that can be a product or a process; it can be a technology, a tool, a methodology, a technique, a procedure, a combination of any of these, or any other means for achieving a purpose (Baskerville et al., 2015; Iivari &
Venable, 2009). In this study, the resultant artifacts were (i) a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components and (ii) a digital tabletop game for accountancy education called Liike. DSR is expounded on in Chapter 2 of this dissertation.
31 Table 2. The link between the serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components and the design and development of Liike (iterations, processes, and findings) IterationProcessFindings related toresearch questions and objectives Identificationof the problem through context awareness and needs analysis to justify the value of the solution •To develop a serious game design framework foreducational tabletop games with digital components and then, according to this framework, to design and developa serious game for accountancy education.
•Content analysis and cluster exposition through a systematic literature review conducted to determine the feasibility of serious games as a teaching and learning tool for contributing to accountancy education. •Pilot study for determining if a serious game in higher accountancy education can be developed and implemented in a teaching and learning environment to (i) apply theoretical concepts; (ii) deepen learning; (iii) address skills required in the workplace; and (iv) motivate students. ………... •Systematic literature review to present an iterative approach to serious games design. This approach elucidates the analysis of the game design literature, game characteristics, and the enactment of game design principles. Furthermore, Article VI explores a serious game designframework comprisinga curriculumand game elements, mechanics, and dynamics. In addition, the framework encompasses theoretical explanations of the aforementioned concepts.
In Articles I, II, and III: Accountancy education as well as the current accountancy curriculumwere investigated. It is understood that traditional methods in teaching and learning are still used, resulting in a gap between the classroom and boardroom in terms of workplace skill requirements. Numerous educational tools exist to enhance or amend traditional teaching and assessment practices.Serious games are considered effective for addressing both teaching and assessment practicesasthey enhance student motivation, are engaging, and are associated with behavioralchangeand skill obtainment. From Article VI: A serious game design framework is establishedfor games designed within the scope of teaching and learning.
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Planning, objectives, and purposeful solution: To design and construct a serious game as well as to evaluate and reflect on existing game design literature. Keywords:plan, design, construct, evaluate, reflect, revisit, exploration, implementation Design workshops (two separate three-day workshops) for discussing and understanding the following: •First three-day workshop session: (i) if a serious tabletop game for accountancy education will be a feasible tool in teaching and learning, and (ii) how to develop a serious tabletop game. •Second three-day workshop session: to amend the pilot game in accordance with the knowledge obtained during the first three-day workshop session.
From Article IV: An understanding is gained of (i) the use of serious games as a teaching and learning tool, and (ii) how to develop a serious game. This knowledge is mainly acquiredthrough investigatingDSR. Furthermore, firsthand practicalexperienceis obtained on the process of educational game design through DSR. Design, develop, and construct through revision, analyses, and exploration ofcurrent knowledge (research studies). Expand the design and construct of the amended pilot game, now referred to as Liike. Re-evaluate and reflect on the current design of the amended Liike game. Demonstration.
•One-on-one sessions with (i) pedagogicalexperts (teaching, learning, and assessment); (ii) curriculum experts; (iii) game design experts; (iv) players; and (v) playtesters. •Playtesting Session 1 [Focus Group 1]. •Playtesting Session 2 [Focus Group 2]. •Purpose: Role-players coming together to reflect on the development of Liike as a serious game. •Set and design: (i) Literature review; (ii) distribute the Liike game questionnaire and analyse the data obtained.
During the one-on-one sessions, the experts and role-players explained (i) the current need requirements in accountancy education, as indicated by the workplace and professional bodies; (ii) how to design a serious game; and (iii) how to link the design of a serious game with pedagogy, the accountancy curriculum, and assessment demands.Articles IV and V addressed (i) the continued playtesting of Liike; (ii)the Liike game features and mechanics. Furthermore, the article divulges the playtesting results and
33 feedback obtained from the focus groups. Evaluation, reflection, exploration, and implementation. •Investigate propitiousdigital components to be used in the design ofLiike as a serious game.
•Literature reviewArticleIIIexplains how the Liike gamewas digitalizedthrough a mobileapp and BlippAR. Furthermore, the novice method of digitizinga tabletop gameusing smartphones is explained because these devices are becoming more prevalent and easier to obtain; however, it is not yet clear how they should be implemented to enhance gameplay without distracting from the essence of the game. Evaluation and reflection. Analysis, exploration, continued design, and construction.
•One-on-one sessions with applicable role-players •Literature review •Computer Science: Technology use and design Purpose: To explain how to design digital components as integrated into the overall design of Liike as a serious game.
Article VI refers to the amendment of questions and answers (playing cards) as suggested by SAIPA clerks (Focus Group 2) and the continued development of the Liike game by iterating the step-by-step design process of the (i) Liike app and (ii) Liike BlippAR use. Implementation and maintenance The purpose istoevaluate and reflect on maintaining the usability of the Liike game.
•One-on-one sessions with design experts to create a link between the Liike digital components and the student learning platform. •Computer Science: Technology use and design.
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1.4 Organization of the thesis
Chapter 1 provides the introduction, background, and motivation for this study. The research questions and objectives are presented and explained. A quick observation of the research design and methodology are provided before being elucidated in Chapter 2.
Chapter 2 explicates the research design and methodology (DSR) applied for the development of a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components. Furthermore, it explains the design and development of a serious game for accounting education.
Chapter 3 discusses the first iteration of this study, which pertained to the needs and context analysis. It discusses the feasibility of serious games for education as well as that of designing and developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components. The following are elucidated:
• SLR 1 (Article I)
• SLR 2 (Article VI)
• Pilot test (Article II)
Chapter 4 explains the second iteration, which focused on the steps (planning, design, creation, evaluation, reflection, revisiting, and exploration) for the creation of Liike. The following are elucidated:
• Workshop 1, Workshop 2, Focus Group 1, and Focus Group 2 (Article V)
• The reflection and consideration of digital components (Article III)
In Chapter 5, the third iteration (Step 1) is presented. The development of the Liike quiz application (app) is discussed and the use of AR in the form of BlippAR is elucidated.
Article VI is also referred to.
Finally, Chapter 6 also refers to the third iteration, specifically Step 2, which allows for a final discussion of the research questions and objectives. Thus, the evaluation of the framework, research contributions, limitations of the research, and possible recommendations for future research are discussed.
1.5 Ethical considerations
Ethical clearance was obtained for this PhD study at NWU, South Africa, after an ethical procurement process. A confirmation reference was issued after an ethical clearance proposal, submitted by the author Veruschka Pelser-Carstens, was scrutinized by two ethical clearance committees within the School of Accounting Sciences and the Faculty of
35 Economic and Management Sciences. These two committees have oversight over all studies conducted that involve lecturers and students, who were targeted as respondents in this PhD study. An ethical clearance reference number (NWU-00790-19-A4) was issued to proceed with data collection. The ethical clearance is applicable for the duration of the PhD study. The ethical clearance was applied as follows:
Article II – Participants and Ethical Considerations
A pilot study was conducted on the initial draft of the serious game Liike, which was playtested by a diverse gamut of students: White, Black, Indian, male, and female students from diverse cultures. Data was obtained from 27 students who playtested the Liike game and who completed the accompanying research questionnaire. The questions were explained to the students, who participated voluntarily and anonymously. Not all students who played the game completed the questionnaire. Due to anonymous participation, the researchers could not request additional individuals to complete the questionnaires to increase the sample size. No incentives were provided for participation in the study; thus, the study adhered to the ethics clearance conditions.
Participant characteristics and descriptions:
• School of Accounting Sciences honors students at the 4th-year level who played the game: 40 students
• School of Accounting Sciences honors students at the 4th-year level who completed the questionnaire: 10 students
• School of Accounting Sciences undergraduate students at the 2nd-year level who played the game: 15 students
• School of Accounting Sciences undergraduate students at the 2nd-year level who completed the questionnaire: 9 students
• Lecturers at the School of Accounting Sciences who played the game: 8 lecturers
• Lecturers at the School of Accounting Science who completed the questionnaire:
8 lecturers
Professor J.P. Fouché (North West University, South Africa) permitted the use of the standardized questionnaire that he developed during the Commercium™ project (Fouché, 2006)– a board game developed to meet the teaching and learning environment needs of first-year accounting students. The questionnaire was adapted for the pilot study according to the objectives of the study. It comprised five sections: (i) biographical information; (ii) evaluation of required skills; (iii) evaluation of subject content; (iv) evaluation of the teaching methodology; and (v) evaluation of the effect of the game on the students’ attitude toward playing the game in a teaching and learning environment.
The questionnaire encompassed Likert and semantic differential scales, which required the respondents to select the alternatives that were most applicable to them. The respondents completed the questionnaire on a multiple-choice answer sheet. Their
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responses were electronically captured and statistically analyzed with SPSS v20 (SPSS Inc, 2012).
Article IV – Participants and Ethical Considerations
The Liike prototype was playtested by five lecturers. These participants were also the module information and academic content contributors within the School of Accounting Sciences. The module information and academic content pertains to question-and- answer playing cards as a game element of Liike. A survey was completed by the five participants to measure the psychological constructs of intrinsic motivation, amotivation, identified regulation, and external regulation as they relate to Liike and how it is played.
The participants were also asked to evaluate each other’s academic content as incorporated in the question-and-answer cards, thus providing feedback related to curriculum outcomes. All ethical considerations required by the NWU were explained to the participants, and all agreed to participate in the study and data collection. The survey questions were explained to the participants, who participated voluntarily and anonymously. Even though it was a small group of participants, their participation was considered anonymous because their identities were not disclosed. Furthermore, no incentives were given for participation in the study, aligning with the ethics clearance conditions.
Article V – Participants and Ethical Considerations
Different stages of design of the Liike game required disparate participatory feedback, which is explained as follows.
• Evaluation of the Liike game mechanics, elements, and dynamics:
The participants who playtested the serious game Liike were three designers (game-, art-, and graphic-) as well as four module information and academic content contributors (lecturers). To address the research questions developed for this PhD study, the academic content contributors completed a questionnaire. The three designers abstained from completing the questionnaire and chose to rather observe the playtesting to provide critical feedback on the game mechanics, elements, and dynamics. The designers and lecturers were informed of the purpose of the playtesting as well as the purpose of completing the questionnaire. Furthermore, all ethical considerations required by NWU were explained to the participants, and all agreed to participate in the study and to the use of the collected data.
• Evaluation of Liike game questions:
The Liike question-and-answer playing cards were playtested for pedagogical soundness.
The results were obtained through administering a questionnaire to five SAIPA clerks employed at the School of Accounting Sciences, NWU, Vanderbijlpark. A total of 100 questions per module were voluntarily playtested. Four out of the five clerks completed
37 the questionnaire. One clerk did not complete the questionnaire due to workload and time constraints. SAIPA clerks are graduated students, selected from a group of top performers after the completion of their honors-level students, who are working as interns at the university for one year. The clerks were informed of the purpose of the playtesting and completing the questionnaire. All ethical considerations required by NWU were explained to the participants, and all agreed to partake in the study and to the use of collected data.
• Evaluation of the Liike game:
Two independent lecturers, not involved in the design process of Liike, playtested the game.
• L1: This independent lecturer is an expert in the integration of technology in education and the aspects of engagement in multimedia learning and online education.
• L2: This independent lecturer is an expert in communication and media studies.
L2 conducts research in multimedia learning and instructional design by approaching research from both an educational and communications perspective.
As a person, this expert is also a board game enthusiast and plans to develop a board game in the future for corporate communication and media studies education.
Both lecturers were fully informed of the ethical considerations, anonymity, gathering and use of data. Participation was voluntary.
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2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY: DESIGN SCIENCE RESEARCH
Chapter 2 explicates the research design and methodology applied to develop a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components as well as the design and development of a serious game for accounting education. Design science research (DSR) was employed as the research methodology for this PhD study.
Although DSR was briefly explained in Section 1.3, the following section provides a more detailed explanation. The next section presents a full understanding of how DSR was used and applied in the design and development of a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components as well as the Liike game.
2.1 What is design science research?
DSR is a contemporary approach to research (Reubens, 2016) with the goal of constructing a new reality (i.e., solving problems) instead of explaining an existing reality (Iivari & Venable, 2009). Baskerville et al. (2015) explained DSR as a dual mandate: (1) to utilize gained knowledge to solve problems, create change, or improve existing solutions, and (2) to generate new knowledge, insights, and theoretical explanations.
Concerning reducing the gap between theory and practice (see the research aim, problem, questions, and objectives in Chapter 1) through more relevant research, Van Aken (2004) advocated research that results in proposals beyond descriptions, explanations, and predictions. This kind of research, with a prescriptive approach, finds support in DSR.
DSR is considered a research method that devotes attention to the development of studies aimed at prescription, project, and artifact building (Dresch, Lacerda, & Miguel, 2015); thus, it is a method that is not concerned exclusively with understanding the problem but also with possible solutions (Dresch et al., 2015). Researchers have argued that, on the one hand, there is research that is based on the paradigm of design science, whose objective is to design artifacts and prescribe solutions to existing problems, thus improving or creating new systems (Van Aken, 2004); however, on the other hand, there is research that is based on traditional sciences studying complex natural or societal phenomena in order to explore, describe, explain, and – if possible – predict (Romme, 2003; Van Aken, 2004). Research thus suggests that DSR appears to be a responsible approach that not only operationalizes research but also aims to allow for the design or development of an artifact, or even to prescribe a solution. According to Dresch et al.
(2015), DSR allows the development of research for many different fields and therefore
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establishes a systematic process that aims to design and develop artifacts that can solve problems. Another key characteristic of DSR is that, although it is oriented to problem- solving, it does not seek an optimal solution but rather a satisfactory solution to the problems under study (Dresch et al., 2015). Researchers proposed guidelines, presented in Figure 1, when employing DSR.
Figure 1. Design science research process, guidelines, and explanation Adapted from March and Storey (2008).
From Figure 1, DSR can be seen to be motivated by the desire to improve the environment through introducing new and innovative artifacts as well as the processes for building them (Alan R. Hevner, 2007). The philosophy behind DSR can be explained as
Problem awareness
Suggestions and solutions
Conclusion and communication Value addition
Evaluation Development
Explain (i) what the problem is and (ii) what the relevance of becoming aware of the problem is. Bring forward the awareness of the problem using a systematic literature review(s).
Researcher(s) should (i) indicate that there is still no solution to the problem at hand, (ii) engage in discussions and workshops with experts and different role-players, and (iii) propose satisfactory solutions such as the development and use of an artefact.
Development of artefact is performed in (i) different phases, iterations, and/or steps, and (ii) different role- players and or focus groups “test” the artefact.
Evaluate the artefact developed through discussion(s) and workshop(s) with different role-players and focus groups.
Furthermore, playtest the artefact with different role- players and focus groups.
Contribute to the advancement of the existing knowledge base through delineating how the artefact was developed (different phases, iterations, and steps of development).
Elucidate the lessons learned during the development of the artefact.
41 the scientific knowledge that can be generated through constructing an artifact (Guba &
Lincoln, 1994; A.R. Hevner, March, Park, & Ram, 2004; Vaishnavi, Kuechler, & Petter, 2007).
Figure 1 also holds that a new and innovative artifact needs to be developed that is a response to a clear and relevant business problem, which was defined and identified by researchers as problem awareness (A.R. Hevner et al., 2004). Problem awareness is thus the realization that there is a particular problem in business, society, or science (Helms, Giovacchini, Teigland, & Kohler, 2010), and once the problem has been defined, one can start to investigate the problem through available literature. Through investigating literature, a possible design solution can be offered in the form of an artifact (Helms et al., 2010).
Once problem awareness is in place and the investigation of the problem through a literature review is complete, potential areas and ideas for solving the problem are researched and suggestions concerning a solution, in the form of an artifact, may be proposed (Helms et al., 2010). Clear objectives and restrictions must be established to evaluate the quality and efficacy of the possible artifact (Helms et al., 2010). The outcome of the research should make a clear research contribution and proper research methods should be applied in developing the artifact (Helms et al., 2010). The design process is typically a searching process in which several iterations are required to tweak the artifact to the initial requirements (Helms et al., 2010).
In the research design, it is crucial to plan for different iterations. It should be more than just a trial-and-error process, have a strong theoretical basis, and use established data collection and analysis methods (Helms et al., 2010). Researchers suggested that different role-players are required for creating an artifact and that a sound approach to doing so is to employ workshops (Helms et al., 2010). The use of workshops is considered a key element in successful innovation processes since they enable and support interaction between users as well as different strategies for involving them (Helms et al., 2010). Additionally, how users are involved in the innovation process is argued to have a strong influence on the innovation outcomes (Gruner & Homburg, 2000), which suggests that design activities that maximize the engagement of users (Magnusson, Matthing, &
Kristensson, 2003) lead to the most innovative outcomes. Diversity of user backgrounds is also acknowledged as an element that supports innovation because it represents an opportunity to create new interdisciplinary insights, especially when supported by a conducive process and a stimulating environment (Grant, 1996; Swan, Newell, Scarbrough, & Hislop, 1999).
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2.2 Design science research as utilized in this PhD study
Based on Figure 1 above, the DSR process can be inferred to generally include different steps or activities (Grenha Teixeira et al., 2017; Lapão et al., 2017; Peffers et al., 2007), including workshops, to arrive at the optimal solution for the identified problem. For this PhD study, an adaptation of Figure 1 was employed in the form of the following iterations and steps, as presented in Table 2: (i) the three iterations executed during DSR, (ii) the steps within each of the iterations, and (iii) the research questions and objectives of each of the three iterations.
Furthermore, a combined figure (Figure 2) is provided as a summary of the DSR process employed for the development of a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components as well as the development of Liike, a digital tabletop game for accountancy education.
