 There is currently a lack of studies on the usefulness of gamified task-management applications. Thus, could using gamification to make task and chore management more exciting, allow people to be more productive while they are engaged and focused on their tasks?

RQ (Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications)

A Study on Gamified Task-management Apps: 
- Selection of Gamified task-management app
- Choose subject population 
- Conduct Survey: Compare both groups with Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.
- Post-study Interview

Methodology (Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications)

Participants, who felt good about an apps’ reward system, were also more satisfied with its use. Conventional task managers are, however, preferred for speed and efficiency. Based on interviews, it seems that gamified task managers are not more useful than classical ones.

Results (Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications)

- Low sample size 
- Only 2  apps tested. No control group using a regular task-management app
- Only short-term (4 days) study. Results can’t be extrapolated. 

Limitations (Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications)

This article explores the usefulness of gamification on task-management applications in terms of motivation, engagement and productivity. 

Macalester College

The act of decomposing tasks into smaller microtasks that leverage micromoments (specific, strategic moments that occur during a person's day).

Microproductivity

 Kappen, D., Johannsmeier, J., Nacke, L.,(2013) Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications. Stratford, Ontario, Canada, October 2-4, 2013. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2583008.2583034

 Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/microtasks-and-microproductivity/

Microsoft's Microproductivity Research Team Overview

Mobile devices offer people the opportunity to get useful tasks done during time previously thought to be unusable. Because cell phones have small screens, they’re useful for short, simple tasks. The researchers in this study designed a special app, Play Write, whose purpose is to make complex editing tasks more fragmented and achievable while working on mobile devices. Results suggested that the app made participants feel more productive and less stressed, and they completed more edits on a document using the app.

Multitasking with Play Write, a mobile microproductivity writing tool

 In this paper, authors explore how software might help programmers make productive use of their time while away from their workspace. It explores how to facilitate programmers’ mobile work practices and cross-device work as subjects express interest in work more grounded in their existing code tasks. The paper introduces Mercury, a mobile programming tool that auto-generates microtasks based on programmers’ existing code. 

Mercury: Empowering Programmers’ Mobile Work Practices with Microproductivity 

Small jobs that requires a low level of skill and takes minimal time to complete. Microtasking is the process of splitting up a large job (macro-task) into smaller jobs.

Microtasks/ Microtasking

A small gap in time that occurs between other segments of occupied time during which microtasks can be completed

Micromoment

This article was written by the leader of the Microsoft Research team detailing concepts and developments needed to understand the domain of Microproductivity. It also presented the conclusions of a short study conducted by the team (not explained in detailed), and its practical implications. 

The future of Microproductivity 

- A Brief Perspective on Microtask Crowdsourcing Workflows for Interface Design
- Skill Development Framework for Micro-Tasking


Further Literature

The completion and aggregation of microtasks. Involves motivating people to complete microtasks, designing where and when to embed microtasks, and managing attention.

Task Completion Definiton

The sourcing of tasks and microtasks to an actor to complete. For example, a microtask could be completed by the task owner, peers, the crowd, or automation.

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