Bringing together concepts from mechanism design and game theory with the classic mechanism design example of sharing a piece of cake between Alice and Bob. We relate easier to stories, told through different human perspectives. The birth of Alice and Bob showed us that it was easier to understand cryptography through our favourite characters and communicate complex concepts. If you're familiar with mechanism design, learn how to apply concepts from UX like personas, journeys and usability testing. And if you're familiar with UX, gain insight into what game theory, protocols and tokens mean in the context of users. We'll be using a structured technique that we've run with several groups of designers in Australia to explore and experiment with their protocol design. We use the cake sharing exercise as a warm-up technique, which helps bring these concepts out of the land of the abstract where you act out the roles of real people and share real cake. Moving on, we'll explore insights around complexity in actor interactions, and share the worksheets we've created so you can more easily conduct low fidelity experimentation with incentives, penalties, and design options across different industries and ideas. @the_flightplan mail@theflightplan.io

1. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
UXMECHANISM
DESIGN
ALICE
CRYPTO-CURIOUS GRAPHIC
DESIGNER
“I want to earn money using
my skills for blockchain
projects”

2. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
A technology with power to
redesign how people organise.
We hope to see our vision and
values come to life.
What we implement now will
create a future that will be our
legacy.
BUT HOW
WILL THIS
GAME PLAY
OUT?

3. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Our focus is on creating utility and adoption. We work
with the UX/Product/Design community.
Our platform creates full stack Dapp instances without
coding, integrating web3 UX patterns.
DESIGN-LED USE CASES

4. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
UXMECHANISM
DESIGN
ALICE
CRYPTO-CURIOUS GRAPHIC
DESIGNER
“I want to earn money using
my skills for blockchain
projects”

5. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
User Experience

6. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
UX
Understanding the user’s experience when they interact with
your product.
Afocus on the emotional and functional details.
From abstractions and assumptions, into how things work out
in real life.

7. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
UX DESIGN APPROACH
RESEARCH
User interview
Competitor analysis
Value prop testing
INSIGHT
User journeys
Personas
User flows
PROTOTYPE
Wireframes
Mockups
Designs
VALIDATION
User testing
Multivariant testing
Simulation
D
iverge
D
iverge
Converge
Converge

8. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Personas
Help bring to life different users, customers or other actors
who participate in our ecosystem. See the world through
their perspective
ALICE
CRYPTO-CURIOUS GRAPHIC DESIGNER
“I want to earn money using my skills
for blockchain projects”
Currently a no-coiner but wants to learn more about
crypto and blockchain

9. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Mockups and prototypes
Rapidly implement your concept in low-fidelity. Allows you to
start testing and validating your design directly with users
Role play
Paper prototype

10. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Simulation & user testing
Get into the specific details of potential user behaviour and
system outcomes by stepping through user’s action and
watching how people use your product
Different people simulating behaviours of different
actors in the ecosystem
Finding insights in the high and lows
Patterns and extremes

11. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Mechanism Design

12. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Mechanism Design
An approach to designing ecosystems and people
interactions towards a desired outcome
Aims to create compatibility between the goals of
individual actors and the system

13. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTOR TYPES
Actors and their
preferences for different
outcomes
OUTCOMES
Potential end results
according to actor
preferences
GAME MECHANISM
Strategies available to actors
and how final outcome is
determined
MECHANISM DESIGN DISCIPLINE
Stanley Reiter diagram illustrates a game of mechanism design

14. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
SYSTEM MECHANISM INCENTIVES TOKENS
Alice, Bob and friends
Goal of the System
Game mechanics
Outcomes
Rewards
Incentives
Penalties
MECHANISM DESIGN IN PRACTICE
Privileges

15. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
SYSTEM MECHANISM INCENTIVES TOKENS
Alice, Bob and friends
Goal of the System
Game mechanics
Outcomes
Rewards
Incentives
Penalties
Privileges
GAME THEORY

16. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Helps us understand the strategy
model of actors in the system based
on the expected payoffs for different
actions, allowing us to identify
potentially dominant or equilibrium
strategies
GAME THEORY
A B C
A (x, y) (x, y) (x, y)
B (x, y) (x, y) (x, y)
C (x, y) (x, y) (x, y)
Player 2
Player 1
Example of a Payoff Matrix

17. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Strength in approaching
complex human behaviour
UXMECHANISM
DESIGN
Strength in economic discipline
around system design

18. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Mechanism Design
Apiece of cake?

19. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
The
“Actors”
We have 3 actors. We bring the actors to life by giving them personas. A role, and a quote describing their goal in the system

20. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
About the System
The system describes the goal of the
ecosystem and the item at the center. In
this case the system aims to fairly
distribute the cake
SYSTEM GOAL
Equal distribution of cake between Alice
and Bob

21. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
1

22. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Mechanism
Design Options
The Dad decides.
Dad cuts the cake and allocates the slices.
One child decides. Alice cuts the cake and chooses
her slice.
P2P Cake sharing. Alice cuts the cake, Bob choose
the slice.
These are the rules of the game.
In this cake game we explore 3
mechanism designs based on the 2
actions: cutting the cake and allocating
the slices

23. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
FORM YOUR GROUP
3 people
Organise into groups of 3

24. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Instructions,
worksheet,
facilitating

25. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
2
Dad cuts the
cake &
allocates the
slices

26. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
2 3 SIMULATION
The Dad Decides
Play out the first mechanism design,
each person acts out one of the roles:
Alice, Bob or Trent
Capture insights on the experience
and whether the system goals were
met

27. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
One child
decides & P2P
Cake sharing

28. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
2 3 SIMULATION
One child decides & P2P Cake sharing
Play out these mechanism designs,
each person acts out one of the roles:
Alice, Bob or Trent
Capture insights on the experience
and whether the system goals were
met

29. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
FUNGIBLE OR NON FUNGIBLE?

30. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Penalties
After doing
something bad,
penalised
Rewards
After doing
something good,
get a reward
Privileges
Special powers
or authority
granted
Incentives
Declared upfront
in exchange for
some action or
outcome.
4 INCENTIVE DESIGN

31. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Adding the use of
TOKENS
Earned as rewards
Taken away as a penalty
Staked to access special privileges
Secured for future transfer to incentivise
Exchangeable for utility today/in the future

32. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
4 DESIGN
Incentive design & tokens
Based on the insights, apply
incentives/rewards/privileges/
penalties. Optionally add tokens

33. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
5 SUMMARISE
Your cake mechanism design
Describe your mechanism design
succinctly. If you have used a token,
come up with a memorable name

34. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
YOUR CONCEPT

35. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN

36. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
YOUR CONCEPT
In your groups, think of a concept
ecosystem to simulate.

37. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
The System
and Actors

38. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
1 THE SYSTEM
Identify the:
- Actors and fill out the persona
details: role and quote for Alice, Bob
and friends
- The centrepiece (e.g. cake)
- The system goals
- The actions that various actors take
in the system

39. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Start with the
current design

40. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
2 MECHANISM
3 SIMULATION INSIGHTS
Identify the:
- Basic starting rules for the initial
mechanism design
- Which actors perform which actions
Play it out and capture insights
CURRENT DESIGN

41. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
2 MECHANISM
3 SIMULATION INSIGHTS
Create 2 possible variations to the
mechanism design
Play them out and capture insights
FUTURE DESIGNS

42. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Incentives and
tokens

43. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
4 INCENTIVE DESIGN &
TOKENS
Based on the insights, apply
incentives/rewards/privileges/
penalties. Optionally add tokens

44. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Summarise

45. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
ACTIVITY
5 SUMMARISE
Your new mechanism design
Describe your mechanism design
succinctly. If you have used a token,
come up with a clever name

46. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
CAKE DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS
Ease of cutting
Ease of eating
Flavour popularity
Fractionalisation
Fungibility
Low fidelity to encourage
experimentation
Thank you
Patisserie Saint Tropez!

47. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
IMPLEMENTING

48. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
REQUEST FOR
COMMENT
1. What did you find useful
2. How might we improve it
3. Want to get involved? Leave your
details so we can get in touch

49. THEFLIGHTPLAN.IO@THE_FLIGHTPLAN
Gendry Morales & Nas Munawar
Twitter @the_flightplan
theflightplan.io
mail@theflightplan.io
Thanks