If your team and studio are intent on making the best possible games, then effort has to be placed on creating the best environment in which to make games.

One of the properties of a good environment, is one where knowledge is not only created, but shared. This concept of using knowledge to improve the team and studio on a a perpetual basis is known as organisational learning.

The benefits of using playtesting as a way of building a learning organisation include:

• Increasing knowledge across the studio - advances the team from what a few know, to what everyone knows.
  
  

• Creates one shared account of where the game is at.
  
  

• Helps in the detection and correction of errors.
  
  

• Stores knowledge - knowledge remains for future staff, even if current staff leave.
  
  

• Builds resilience - the stability of the team/studio can survive staff leaving
  
  

• Builds a culture of learning - “Sharing knowledge is what we do around here”.
  
  
  

To build a learning organisation, it is useful to consider three different perspectives:

1. People - who could help with managing the knowledge?
   
   

2. Process - how do we share knowledge?
   
   

3. Technology - what tools might help us store and share knowledge
   
   

Here we’ll mostly focus on process, how playtesting knowledge can be best shared. Next we’ll look at the two most common forms of how playtesting results are shared - reporting and presenting, and the team/organisational learning benefits of each.

Key Takeaway

When a playtest is complete the insights gained should not just benefit those who were present, but the entire team/studio. Sharing knowledge not only benefits the current team, but also the team of the future. Doing this on a perpetual basis helps build a culture of learning.

Next: 58. Writing a Playtest Report