Check out Herrmann International team members playing the "Kinect Adventures" game in this video. The pack-in title for Kinect for Xbox 360 was the first consumer product developed from the ground up using Whole Brain® Technology and Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) data
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Kinect for Xbox 360 is sure to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season, but before Microsoft Game Studios and the Good Science Studio team could develop “Kinect Adventures,” the game that ships with the system, it had to get innovative with its design process.
And that’s where Whole Brain® Thinking came into play.
“Kinect Adventures” is the first consumer product that was developed from the ground up using a Whole Brain® framework and data from the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®). Herrmann International worked with the Good Science Studio team to apply Whole Brain® Thinking both to its internal team processes and interactions as well as to its approach to product development.
The result? More productive, inclusive teamwork and an innovative end-product that offers something for everyone and appeals to a Whole Brained world.
Assembling a Whole Brain® Design Team
Shannon Loftis, head of the Good Science Studio, believed that the Whole Brain® Model would provide the right framework for developing “Kinect Adventures.”
Her first task was to have the initial core team complete the HBDI® to uncover their thinking preferences. As the development progressed and they brought on new members to fully staff the project, the team was restructured based on HBDI® Profile results to ensure that all thinking preferences were represented.
Working with a Herrmann International consultant, they learned the importance of different thinking preferences in the innovation and design process as well as how to actively listen to and include all thinking styles. With this approach, they were able to generate better ideas, solve problems faster and work together better as a team.
What Every Customer Wants
But the internal piece was only one component. Understanding the audience – a much larger market than the traditional gamer audience – was also vital. The Kinect for Xbox 360 system was deliberately designed with a goal of appealing to everyone, not just hardcore gamers, and that meant the pack-in game that ships with the system would have to have something for everyone.
Again, thinking styles came into play.
Herrmann International research has shown that you can use clues to diagnose the thinking styles of potential customers and then identify product features and benefits that will appeal to different preferences. Using insights they had gained about thinking preferences through the Whole Brain® Model and activities completed during workshops with Herrmann International, the Good Science Studio team was able to understand what would appeal to diverse thinking preferences – whether someone prefers a play interpersonally or strategically, for example – and then create entertainment that engages all types of thinking styles.
The Whole Brain® Model served as a filter for evaluating every aspect of the game as it was being developed. If consumer testers didn’t rate an activity or element with descriptive words from all four quadrants of the brain, the team started over. It was this Whole Brain® filtering process that enabled the designers to develop a game with broad market appeal that really does have something for everyone.
The development of “Kinect Adventures” is an example of how organizations are embedding Whole Brain® Thinking into all areas of the business to get the Whole Brain® Advantage. Check out our Case Studies to read about examples in other industries, including the story of how August Home Publishing was able to quadruple the revenue of “Cuisine At Home” Magazine in just two years by aligning the content and style of the publication with its readers’ thinking styles.