Designing and Evaluating Gamified User Onboarding for an Industrial Simulation Tool

Sammanfattning

This thesis explores the potential of gamification to enhance the onboarding experience in a factory simulation tool designed for the corrugated fiber industry. The tool, developed for Van Den Bos Robotics, allows users to model transport systems and simulate production flows. While rich in functionality, the tool’s complexity may pose a challenge for new users during onboarding. To address this issue, a gamified onboarding system was developed, incorporating game design elements such as missions, achievements, levels, and in-app rewards to guide users through key features of the tool. Most gamification work focuses on employee performance and motivation; very little work is done on learning complex simulation software. This is a crucial gap provides a strong justification for the present study. By examining gamification in the context of digital tool onboarding, this thesis contributes new insights into improving learnability and user experience in industrial simulation environments. To evaluate the impact of this approach, a between-subjects experiment was conducted with 16–20 participants of diverse academic backgrounds. One group used a traditional onboarding method (verbal intro and manual), while the other group experienced the gamified onboarding. Task performance, usability (SUS), engagement, and cognitive load (NASA-TLX) were measured and compared.