Where to start

This weekend, Shawn and I went for a walk and talk and took a bunch of photographs in downtown Austin. One of the main topics of conversation was Mastery Quest, and how we get started.

As you probably know, I have a strong emotional connection to the area of software development, and am committed to helping to improve the learning and recognition in that space. I've been wondering, though, whether that area is the right one for us to start in.  It's large, complex, has many nuances, lots of languages and environments and platforms. Is that too big for us to bite off right out of the gate?

Shawn, not being a techie, and sharing my love of photography, posed the question "How about if we start with photography?" While it's got no less nuances and richness than software development, it does seem to me to allow for a much easier start. It's an art, a craft, a science, an avocation, a career choice...

And as with software development, there are also many sites out there that already contain some part (even in some cases LARGE parts) of what we'd like to see as part of Mastery Quest.

Consider the Digital Photography School. It offers/they offer tips, challenges, a community. And the Photography Forum, which offers many of the same things. At this point in time, I would readily recommend either to someone who wants to learn about photography. What I feel they lack, however, is the combination of fun and structure that we want to create. There's no shortage of information or challenge. However, if I come along and say "I want to improve a bit every week, and I want to focus on certain areas," it's entirely up to me.

That's not a bad thing. Don't misunderstand me. I think it's important for each of us to take responsibility for our own growth and development and learning. But I also think it's important to integrate the lessons from gaming.

What I'd like to see us do is partner with these sites and figure out how to incorporate the lessons and tips and challenges they've created into a larger framework/structure. A lot of it is already there. Now let's add the fun, and the "experience points", and the recognitions.  Not prizes and awards, but recognition of things accomplished through avatars and badges and such.

What do you think? 

Mastery Quest Manifesto (work in progress)

I'm working on creating a manifesto^* for this grand vision.  Sometimes it's just too big for my head.  I'm inviting others to join me in creating this thing, because it's too big for one person, and it will take years to mature.

Here's the manifesto as it stands as of this writing:

There is much to be learned from games, and particularly MMORPGs**. These types of games incorporate some key concepts and technologies, which we believe to be of value:

• Micro-achievements
• Measurable progress
• Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
• Social media supporting
• Collaboration
• Learning
• Teaching
• Working at your own pace
• Self-direction
• Self-organization

While these things are not unique to MMORPGs, they are certainly key aspects of them.

We believe that it is possible - and desirable - to incorporate these things into an approach to approaching and achieving mastery in a variety of endeavors.

That approach should enable individuals to:

• Participate in communities focusing on the same endeavor
• Participate in communities of individuals who are at the same level of accomplishment/mastery
• Seek out individuals who are at "higher" levels of mastery for mentoring
• Record specific achievements
• Have fun while reaching higher levels of achievement/accomplishment
• Achieve growth within their realm of endeavor in ways that are recognized, accepted, and acknowledged by their peers and their larger professional/employment community

Further, that approach should enable the community to:

• Create challenges (quests, achievements)
• Mutually "certify" each other's achievements
• Create a recognized and accepted "brand" in the employment and commercial marketplaces

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^* Manifesto: A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related. (from Wikipedia)
^** MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. That's an online game in which thousands, tens of thousands, or millions of players are in the game, interact with each other, and play through avatars in various roles.

The Vision

I was talking to my friends Maura and Shawn (Shawn and I both love photography) this weekend, telling them about the ideas I’ve been developing as I read Jane McGonigal’s “Reality is Broken”. Between McGonigal’s work, Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” and his talk about 10,000 hours to achieve mastery, and all the recent references to 10,000 hours (like in Seth Godin’s blog post), I got to wondering about how to combine it all.

Here’s the result of my developing and wondering and pondering and talking:

I want to start on open source project to create something – game, system, website, whatever – that incorporates elements of alternate reality games (as described by McGonigal) including the four defining traits of games^*, somehow tracking and recording practice toward 10,000 hours, and that focuses on intrinsic motivation with a tickle of extrinsic motivation.

My first focus would be on facilitating the adoption of Agile principles and practices in organizations, although it’s far from limited to that.

I’m not defining it any further than this for now, because I want to engage folks “out there” to work with me on this project. It feels LARGE. It’s certainly larger than I can envision and implement myself. Does it intrigue you? Would you like to join me in creating something that could make a significant mark on the world?

If you’re reading this, then you know how to reach me. That’s your first quest. 

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^* “When you strip away the genre differences and the technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation.” ~Jane McGonigal, “Reality is Broken”