CASE STUDY
TRANSLATING GAME DESIGN → PRODUCT DESIGN
Exploring how game progression principles can create a more engaging and intuitive career development experience.
01
Level UP
From Player Progression to Career Progression
Throughout my career in games, I’ve designed experiences that give players clear objectives, make progress visible, provide meaningful feedback, and communicate what comes next.
As a people leader, I saw an opportunity to apply those same principles to career development. While I worked to give my teams clear expectations and a path toward their next level, the tools we used often functioned primarily as documentation systems. Goals were easy to lose track of, progress was difficult to see, and meaningful career development relied heavily on managers creating their own processes outside the tool.
Applying game design progression principles to career development makes goals actionable, progress visible, and career growth easier to navigate.
PROBLEM
Employees want clear expectations, visible career paths, transparency around advancement and compensation, yet career development tools often function as systems for logging goals and evaluations rather than showing meaningful progress toward them.
hypothesis
Career-development tools could borrow from game progression systems to make objectives, milestones, progress, and next steps more visible throughout the employee journey.
design objectives
Create a career development experience that clearly communicates:
Where am I?
Where am I going?
What do I need to do next?
DURATION
7 DAYS
SCOPE
CASE STUDY 5 MIN READ
TOOLS
Figma, Figma Make
02
Brainstorm
Understanding Progression
How do games communicate where a player is, where they are going, and what they should do next?
Guidelines - See full exploration
Pick 3 Games spend 30 Minutes understanding their progression systems, answer the following questions.
Where am I? How does the game communicate current status/progression?
Where am I going? How does it communicate the larger goal?
What do I do next? How are current objectives surfaced?
How do I know I'm progressing? Bars, milestones, completion states, feedback, etc.
What happens when I reach a milestone? What changes/unlocks?
Why do I want to keep progressing? What creates motivation?
Findings → Design principles
What did these games teach me that I can transfer to career-development software?
ALWAYS SHOW ME WHERE I AM.
SHOW ME WHERE I AM GOING.
TELL ME WHAT TO DO NEXT.
MAKE PROGRESS VISIBLE.
MAKE MILESTONES MEANINGFUL.
03
CORE LOOP — Employee Progression
Day 1 – Get Set Up See full Figma flow
Complete essential onboarding tasks, gain access to tools, and connect with your team.
Milestone: Onboarding Complete → Begin First Project
30 / 60 / 90 – Learn, Contribute, Own
Progress through three stages: understand your role, contribute independently, and take ownership of meaningful work.
Milestone: Role Onboarding Complete → Role Mastery
Role Mastery – Succeed at Your Current Level
Demonstrate role expectations through measurable goals, real work, and ongoing feedback, with regular progress reviews.
Milestone: Quarterly / Mid-Year / End-of-Year Reviews
Career Progression – Prepare for What's Next
Track demonstrated competencies, identify development opportunities, and build evidence of readiness for advancement.
Milestone: Promotion to Next Role
Next Level – Begin a New Progression Cycle
Advance into a new role with new expectations, responsibilities, and opportunities for growth.
Milestone: Repeat Progression Cycle
04
Creative direction