Investigating the Impact of Gamification on Performance and Engagement of Panelists in the Descriptive Analysis of Puffed-Rice Cakes

Panelists are commonly found to be disengaged from the repetitive tasks associated with descriptive testing, leading to poor panel performance and resulting in data that lack actionable insights. One potential solution to this issue is gamification, an effective design strategy to stimulate engagement and performance by applying game elements to targeted nongame environments. To investigate the impact of applying gamification, this study used four descriptive analysis (DA) panels treated with gamification elements during the training phase and/or evaluation stage (control/control, control/gamified, gamified/control, gamified/gamified). In all gamified sessions, panelists were repeatedly exposed to game elements identified from the User Types Hexad model. Following training, panelist performance (product discriminability, repeatability, panel consistency), engagement, and their response to implemented gaming elements were measured in the evaluation session. Results suggested that longer gamification exposure and a combination of game elements are necessary to maximize the effect of gamification on sensory panel performance.