The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisitions Institute (FAI) is looking to hire companies to develop “interactive challenge” mobile apps for use in virtual acquisitions training. The federal agency hopes to reap the success of other government bodies that have used mobile apps for training their workforces. Two outstanding examples are the Center for Disease Control’s “Solve the Outbreak” and NASA’s “Space Place,” both of which use games to teach job-related skills.
The apps would give federal acquisitions workers the opportunity to practice new techniques and hone their skills in a simulated environment, without the risk of failing and affecting negative consequences on the job. Other benefits include the ability to immerse acquisitions workers in challenges that could crop up on the job; provide immediate feedback; and avoid the cost of face-to-face training.
The FAI has provided training and development opportunities for federal acquisitions workers since 1976. These now include online and in-person training, seminars, certification programs, and archived resources such as videos and other online tools. Mobile apps would be a timely addition to the agency’s stable of resources.
According to Lisa Akers, president of ASI Government Products and Solutions division, “acquisition gaming” has the power to cultivate critical thinking – a sorely-needed skill for federal acquisitions workers, who often are not tested on their ability to think quickly and analytically when faced with a situation on the job that requires immediate action. She provides the following guidelines for developing games that improve job performance, which can be applied to any industry:
- Skip multi-player games—they’re more costly.
- Incorporate soft skills training.
- Tell a good story, but don’t give learners all the information needed to make a perfect decision. This is their chance to exercise their critical thinking skills.
- Seed the game with performance support tools that learners can take back to their jobs.
- Skip the avatars and virtual sagas for budget-friendlier mini-games.
- Collect user data: “From frequent visits to external websites and resources, to video and audio viewing, any action the gamer takes can be recorded and synthesized into meaningful data,” says Akers. “What are the trends when they navigate a scenario? Where do they get stuck? Where do they excel? When should the game throw them a curve ball?”
