Who says games are just for kids? IT and business users alike are deriving real-world benefits from IBM's Innov8. Billed as a "serious game," IBM's 3D interactive Business Process Management (BPM) simulator plays on research that finds people retain knowledge far better through the kind of hands-on learning that a video game promotes. Initially developed in conjunction with academia to support a more energetic and effective learning environment for BPM skills, the latest version of the game, Innov8, is now used as part of the course work in more than 100 universities around the world and has been evaluated by faculty and students at more than 1,000 institutions.

Innov8 has a straightforward objective: to engage the user and to create better understanding and coordination on business processes and their value to the organization as a whole. Available to users as a free online game, Innov8 provides players with a dynamic picture that diagrams how technology affects the business. Users can play with scenarios and make process changes to see what the net effect of the modifications will be. The game helps users better visualize the connection between business processes and the technology that enables them. This perspective helps organizations make sound decisions to support business goals. For example, Innov8 can project how implementing an inventory management system that automates a large percentage of the reordering process (and circumvents the need for manual approvals to restock shelves for in-demand products) will positively influence profitability.

Launched in May, the latest version of the game adds a number of new features and functions, including a global collaboration capability and ties into the IBM BlueWorks online process and strategy tool set. Innov8 2.0 tasks players with attacking three specific, and timely, organizational challenges. In the first green economy-focused assignment, the player assesses a conventional supply chain model with the goal of reducing the fictional company's carbon footprint. A second test has players trying to find solutions to traffic-flow issues by analyzing current traffic patterns to find better to routes that eliminate bottlenecks and public safety issues. In the final challenge, centered on a call center environment, players seek out more-effective ways to support customers.

What Innov8 2.0 does is draw users into fictional situations that mirror real world scenarios. Beyond providing users with a thought-provoking and intriguing way to reenvision business processes, the game supplies organizations with an effective way to get the dialogue going between IT and the line of business around BPM. The game trains users on the basics of business process management, helping them answer questions such as: What is the anatomy of a model? Which resources and data make the model come to life to drive business optimization? In effect, Innov8 defines the impact on the entire business ecosystem of decisions made from the model — explaining the effect of process changes on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as profitability, customer satisfaction and environmental impact.

Farmers Insurance has launched an ambitious Innov8 pilot with its University of Farmers, incorporating the game as part of its call center training curriculum used in the education of 11,500 claims employees. The pilot program's objective is to give both new and existing employees a hands-on learning experience with BPM in a call center environment. Companies in other industries, from financial services to manufacturing, may find the tool useful in advancing BPM initiatives and refining processes. Interest in Innov8 2.0 is strong enough across many verticals that IBM's Global Business Services group is launching a consulting practice centered on creating customized versions of Innov8 2.0 for specific businesses, from which many interesting use cases should emerge.

Innov8 2.0 is proving to be more than a slick 3-D game; the simulator is a tool to engage IT and business users in a crucial conversation around BPM. Getting a productive conversation going between these two entities, which too often operate at cross-purposes, is one of the more important contributions Innov8 makes to an organization's process optimization. As a featured element of IBM's Smarter Planet initiative, Innov8 2.0 can help businesses realize the broad benefits of BPM, allowing them to operate more intelligently and competitively, and drive the kind of universal improvements that will contribute to a healthier and more productive global environment.

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