Have you watched a teenager play Xbox? It is kind of magical. The dizzying action on screen is a tribute to the uninterrupted connection between his mind, fingers, and controller.
Now and then, my son will twist my arm to play FIFA. My poor soccer team stumbles around the pitch. I have two things I know how to do — pass and tackle — which leads to a lot of yellow cards and few goals. I don’t find it fun. And I am certainly not able to express myself through the game.
I’d love to battle head-to-head. But I’ve been left behind, and I’ve given up trying to catch up. Fortunately, it just gaming — I have better ways to spend my time.
But what if we were talking about my professional career?
If your job touches data, this is how it can feel. I talk to people all the time who feel left behind. They know what they should be doing to bring data into their organization. They have a vision for how data should be presented and shared. Yet the actual working with data feels like mastering the 12+ input devices on an Xbox controller (“Dad, just hit L-B to switch players!”)
https://support.xbox.com/
The complexity of being in-the-game keeps rising. Your controller — let’s call it Tableau or PowerBI — keeps getting more buttons. The experienced data users gain new moves, new tricks. Great for them; not good for the noobs. This is where we’ve lost the thread in the analytics industry:
A lot of analytics isn’t about more complexity, more features, or even bigger data. Many organizations are stuck in the starting gate just trying to do the basic things right. Show me some metrics, let me explore the drivers, and let me talk with other people about what we are seeing.
Complexity creates a steeper learning curve for the new data users. We aren’t inviting new people in; we’re catering to those already in.
Casual gaming was the answer in the gaming world. Invite people who don’t identify themselves as “Gamers” to enjoy a low-barrier distraction. Games like Among Us explode in popularity when accessible game play combines with fun game dynamics.
When there are fewer buttons, I’m back in — playing a game and bonding with my son. Now I only lose because of my limited skills at deception, not because I’m a clumsy button masher.
For more on what we can learn from gaming.
