12 Cooper, Nash, Phan, and Bailey
Copyright © 2005, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written
the top scores. Alternatively, we considered listing the top scores by category on a Web
site.
The prize options included merchandise from the JPL gift shop, trophies, or
certificates, with the possibility of a higher-valued grand prize such as a gift certificate
for dinner. We decided to leave the decision on the number of prizes to award, how to
acknowledge weekly winners, and how to select the grand-prize winner up to the contest
sponsor.
Summary
Despite the relatively simple nature of JPL 101, the decision space quickly became
complicated with multiple interacting requirements and constraints. Management was
presented the following options:
Option 1: Use the JPL 101 quiz for a Laboratory-wide contest. Winners in each category
would be chosen based on best score over the four weeks of the contest. Token
prizes, as permitted, would be given to the finalists, with the ultimate grand-prize
winner(s) chosen from a random drawing of the finalists. This option required
additional software development and coordination across multiple departments,
but had the potential to generate significant interest and participation. Additional
details would be worked out with the internal contest sponsor.
Option 2: Proceed with JPL 101 as originally conceived without the contest element.
This option required minimal software development, kept the focus on the content
and therefore the goals of the KM project to promote intranet capabilities, and was
considered less risky. However, it would not benefit from the executive-level
attention and did not have prize incentives as a way of gaining interest.After several months of debate, cost considerations won out, and Option 2 was
chosen.
Implementation
JPL 101 is a Web-accessible database of general organizational knowledge. Knowl-
edge is encoded as questions, answers, and connections to related information and
resources (see Cooper, 2003a for a detailed discussion of the use of the quiz interface).
The system is organized into quizzes each containing five to 10 multiple-choice and
matching questions. The deployment of the system took place over 12 weeks, after which
it entered steady-state operation. During each of the first 12 weeks, a new quiz was added.
Following the 12-week initial deployment of the content, the system provided access to
the full set of past quizzes.
The implementation of JPL 101 was relatively simple, with a minimal amount of user
functions. Due to rapidly dwindling support from the KM project, low maintenance costs
were essential and the questions and answers needed to be robust with regard to
obsolescence. In addition to question and answer fields, the JPL 101 database also
included administrative fields for identifying the category, originator, quiz, and valida-
tion date for each question.
During the initial 12-week deployment, the entry page for JPL 101 featured a direct
link to the current week’s quiz. Access to previous quizzes, background information, and