Integrating Gamification and Usability: A Framework for Usability Recommendations for Gamified Systems
Kristina Magylaitė, Rimantas Butleris · 2026
Gamified systems incorporate gamification elements to influence user behaviour and engagement. Although gamification frameworks and usability standards exist, their integration remains insufficiently formalised. Gamification elements are often classified inconsistently across abstraction levels, while usability guidelines are typically applied at the system level without linkage to specific gamification elements. This paper proposes a framework for constructing and applying usability recommendations for gamified systems. The approach integrates a taxonomy of gamification elements organised according to the MDA model, a recommendation metamodel, and a tool for determining usability recommendations for gamified systems. The framework generates usability recommendation sets based on parameters such as age group, application domain, gamification goals and usability goals. Its application to three systems from different domains demonstrates that the framework produces different recommenda tion sets depending on user and system parameters. The proposed framework provides a formal approach for linking gamification elements with usability recommendations.