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A Simulation-Based Game for Project Management Experiential Learning.

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 A Simulation-Based Game for Project Management Experiential Learning

Alexandre Dantas, Márcio Barros, Cláudia Werner

COPPE / UFRJ – System Engineering and Computer Science Department
Caixa Postal: 68511 – CEP: 21945-970 – Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
{alexrd, marcio, werner}@cos.ufrj.br

Abstract. The inadequate use of project management projects, providing the basis to leverage the present
techniques in software projects can be traced to the lack scenario of so many faulty projects.
of efficient project management education strategies, This paper discusses current project management
where learning by experience and motivation are key education strategies and their deficiencies. We consider
issues. An experiential learning process for project the application of simulation and games to support
management requires an environment where students can management training. We have developed a game,
act as managers without the costs and risks associated to namely The Incredible Manager, and used it in two
an unsuccessful software project. Simulation can support experimental studies to evaluate our hypotheses
this process, but simulation tools lack the look-and-feel of concerning the usefulness of games to a project
a real project development environment. In this paper we management training program. This paper presents the
propose a simulation-based game that can be used to game structure and results obtained from the studies.
provide experiential learning to project managers. A The paper is organized in eight sections. The first one
System Dynamics model describing a software project, a comprises this introduction. The next section discusses
simulator, and a game machine that handles user the deficiencies presented by the traditional professor-
interactions and presents simulation results in a game-like centric education strategy when applied to project
fashion compose the game. System Dynamics limitations management courses and some research that has been
to support a game-like user interface are discussed. Also, made to complement this approach with other tools.
we present an experimental study that evaluates an Section 3 presents the game that we have developed and
experiential learning process based on the proposed game. its architecture. The following sections present the major
components that compose this architecture: Section 4
presents the simulation model, Section 5 presents the
1. Introduction simulation model, while Section 6 describes the game
machine. Section 7 discusses the experimental studies that
Project management can be considered an universal were executed to evaluate the game usefulness. Section 8
concept, but according to the software engineering concludes the paper by presenting our final
literature and recent researches [3][11][16] its adoption in considerations.
software projects is still inadequate and deficient. The
high number of software projects that are cancelled each 2. Experience in Education
year and the number of project presenting schedule and
cost overruns [3][16] may be consequences of this lack of One of the keys for educational success is motivation and
project management. one of the best motivations for learning project
It is widely accepted that experienced project management comes from taking a role in real projects that
managers perform better than inexperienced managers in failed due to insufficient management [5]. By analyzing
concluding their projects successfully, that is, within their past situations and evaluating a different path that the
planned schedules and budgets. Project management is project could have taken if specific decisions were made
strongly dependent on knowledge and still many project in particular points, a student can enhance his
managers are promoted from technical teams due to their management skills and ability to make decisions. This is
successes in previous projects without proper training and similar to the case study approach that was developed
education to acquire management skills [11]. early in the 20th century and is currently applied in
Thus, education strategies adopted to prepare project organization planning and administration [6].
managers play an important role in preventing from However, most of our current project managers are
inadequate use of management techniques on software developers who were promoted considering technical
skills, without proper training to assume their new project model in a few hours, focusing their attention on
responsibilities. Even those who receive some training relevant events occurring throughout the project execution
usually learn through traditional educational strategies, and hiding the details that may confuse the trainee while
which are content-centric: they focus on “what to learn” learning a major lesson. Simulation models can be
instead of “why to learn”. The instructor decides what, quickly analyzed and configured for several distinct
when and how learning will be conducted, usually by development situations that could only happen in large
using classes, textbooks and tests [15]. projects, with long schedules and large teams.
Two characteristics of software project management The use of simulation to support project management
present difficulties to the application of the content- education has been analyzed by several studies [10][12].
centric educational approach. First, it should be noted that In a recent paper [14], Pfahl et al. present a controlled
only adults undertake project management: so, project experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of using a
management training is adult training. Second, large-scale simulation model in education. In this study, subjects
software projects are complex elements and their were separated in two groups. One group managed a
behaviour is often too complex for mental analysis. software project with the aid provided by a simulation
Concerning adult training, pedagogical studies [9] model. The second group acted as a control group, using
have shown that the content-centric approach is not the COCOMO model as a predictive tool for project
adequate for adult learning, since adults prefer to learn planning while the experimental group used a simulation
based on experience and learn better when they can apply model. The results of the study indicate that the use of
to solve their current problems. Thus, learning by simulation models provides a better understanding about
experience and motivation are key issues for better typical behaviour patterns of software development
management education. projects. However, the unique use of simulation models is
Concerning complexity, the traditional education insufficient to project management education. Simulation
approach may not be adequate since project management is usually a predictive approach: models try to capture
strongly depends on past experiences and knowledge. some specific real world issues so as simulation can
While analyzing a decision, a manager usually seeks in present good insights about the results obtained from
his memory for a similar situation in other projects or uses particular decisions made. Results are mostly represented
his perception to capture current reality and mentally by numbers or graphics that are abstract representations of
predict its future state according to available alternatives what is really happening within the model during the
[4]. This approach requires that the manager has simulation.
experienced similar situations in the past. Recently, we have conducted two experimental
In the learn-by-error approach to management training studies that illustrate some simulation drawbacks for
(implicitly taken when no formal management education educational goals [2]. Both studies consisted of evaluating
is provided to novice managers), this experience comes the use of simulation to support decision-making on
from participating in failing projects. In the case-study software project management. Subjects were students
approach, this experience comes from creating and from two different universities (3 D.Sc. students, 26
analysing descriptive models of software projects. M.Sc. students, 16 B.Sc. students and 4 B.Sc.). They were
However, large software projects are characterized by asked to manage a small project with a major objective of
dynamic complexity in the form of feedback loops, concluding it in the lowest schedule as possible, while
delays, and cause-and-effect relationships distant in time. attending to specific quality restrictions.
Their behaviour cannot be efficiently predicted by mental A project emulator (that is, a software that dictates
models [17]. Such interpretation often leads project project behavior overtime) was used to represent the
managers to wrong decisions. Since project behaviour proposed project. Subjects interacted with the emulator,
cannot be easily derived from basic principles (the content making decision about which developers should take part
to be learned), the content-centric approach must be in the project team, how many hours should each
complemented by mechanisms that support experiential developer work per day, if inspections should be included
learning. in the development process, and which developer should
Mentoring novice managers through pilot-projects is accomplish each project activity. Half of the subjects used
an example of such mechanisms. However, it is rarely System Dynamics models [7] and simulation to analyze
possible to create real projects for manager trainnes due to their options and evaluate their decisions before applying
practical constraints on schedule, budget, and risk. them in the project emulator. The remaining subjects
Another alternative could be the adoption of managed the project based on their own experience,
simulation models of software development projects. without the aid provided by the simulator.
Simulation can reduce training time, budget and risks. The results of these studies show us positive
While real projects can last for months and their failures correlation between subject experience, interpretation
may have a high cost, students can simulate a similar difficulties and success in attending to project objectives.
This was an unexpected result because modeling and elements, as can be seen in Figure 1: a simulation model,
simulation were supposed to provide more help to a simulation machine, and a game machine, which will be
inexperienced managers. Another important issue detailed on the following sections.
observed relates to subject engagement. The lack of
engagement had negative influence over the subjects’
performance. To make modeling and simulation more SIMULATION PHASE
MODEL DEFINITION
useful for inexperienced managers, we shall look for FILE
better ways to present simulation results. It is usually
difficult for a model analyst to trace model observed
results to intermediate behaviour. GAME PLAYER
A problem with simulation tools is their lack of a real MACHINE
project development environment look-and-feel. Since the SIMULATION
interaction with the project environment does not MACHINE
resemble a real situation, student’s motivation can be
limited while using simulation tools. An experiential MODIFY THE MODEL AND INTERACTS AND
learning process for project management requires an PRESENTS THE RESULTS RECEIVES FEEDBACK
environment where students can act as managers. Besides,
in an artificial learning situation, student motivation and Figure 1. The game structure
engagement play an important role. Some special drivers
for such motivation include self-realization, challenge, 4. The Simulation Model
victory, rewards, pleasure, and fun. In this sense, games
can be integrated to simulation models, adding fantasy, The simulation model represents the world and the
visual effects, and a more compelling interaction model aspects that will be simulated and presented to the player.
for students. Digital games are also a growing market to However, software development projects are difficult to
adults: the average American player age is 29 years while model since they are classified as systems of complex
the average task-force age is 39 years [15]. However, dynamics [17].
playing is usually considered to be the opposite of Addressing these difficulties, System Dynamics [7] is
working. a modeling discipline based on a holistic view to describe
Some current research works present the adoption of and evaluate the visible behaviour presented by a system.
game concepts in software engineering education, such as Such behaviour is determined by the structure of the
the SimSE Tool [13] and the SESAM Project [5]. elements that participate in the system and the
However, the effectiveness of simulation and game-based relationships among them. Such structure and
learning is a discussion point. Since the educational relationships are described in the model through
effects of different approaches are difficult to isolate, mathematical equations. This modeling discipline has
measure and trace, their effectiveness is not well already been used in the development of software project
documented and established. There are also many models [1], which became a base for subsequent reviews
disturbing factors that must be taken into account in a and extensions by other authors.
comparison, including subjective factors such as the One of these extensions is the scenario-based project
quality of a teacher or a book. Some approaches may be management paradigm [2], which separates uncertain
more suitable according to some specific situations and aspects from known facts in project models. This
educational goals [8]. separation occurs by building distinct models (namely
scenario models) for each uncertain aspect that can
3. The Incredible Manager influence a software project. The models can be more
easily developed, modified, integrated and expanded to
To evaluate the game-based learning approach, we have embrace management knowledge from the technical
developed a simulation game, called The Incredible literature and practice.
Manager. The diversity of game styles makes it difficult Scenario models provide a library of generic
to establish a game taxonomy, but we consider adventure, management events and theories that an instructor can
puzzle, and simulation-games well suited for educational integrate to a project model and present to management
goals aiming at reasoning, judgment, decision-making and trainees during a simulation session. By using
system thinking. simulations, it is possible to evaluate the impacts of the
By using the game, a student is asked to act as a desired scenarios over the expected project behaviour.
manager, planning and controlling software projects with
success, i.e. within the planned schedule and budget
estimates. The game construction is based on three main
5. The Simulation Machine 6.1. Begin Phase
The beginning of a phase presents the project to be
The simulation machine is the element responsible for
managed by the player. The project description document
controlling simulation steps, iteratively calculating model
includes the description product to be delivered, special
equations to evaluate system elements' behaviour.
scenarios that may impact the development and project
Different from ordinary simulators, the simulation
characteristics: tasks and its function points, quality,
machine for a game must be interactive. Using ordinary
schedule, budget demands and constraints.
simulators, a student playing the role of a manager should
prepare a plan (configuring model elements and
relationships) and follow it until the end of the simulation. 6.2. Project Planning
This static structured simulation does not represent with In this step, the player is asked to develop a project plan
confidence the reality: during a software development to be executed. The player must select and hire
project, the manager makes decision all the time during appropriate developers from those available in the market.
the development process – not only during the planning Once the team is defined, developers must be assigned to
phase –, modifying the original plan (and thus, the model execute the task network. Each task must be executed by
structure) to better control the project. only one developer and the player must determine the
The simulation machine developed in our work is able effort (number of days) necessary to complete each task.
to translate and simulate System Dynamics models and to The effort on quality assurance activities, such as
process events during simulation. This dynamic structured inspections, is also up to the player decision: the player
simulation can take into account player actions over the can even remove these activities from the project plan.
model structure during the game run without rebuilding The player can modify the project plan at any time
the behaviour generated by previous simulation steps. during project execution, firing and hiring developers,
modifying their work-hours or modifying the estimated
6. The Game Machine duration of tasks. The project plan resume shows the
overall budget and duration estimates to the project.
The game machine is the element that the player interacts
with and receives visual feedback from the model 6.3. Planning Acceptance
simulation. It is able to deal with continuous game phases.
Each phase represents a separate simulation model, Once the project plan is ready, it must be send to the
configured externally in a game configuration file. This stakeholders for acceptance. The plan can be approved or
flexibility allows the adoption of several different not. A project plan is refused if its overall estimates are
educational goals using the same game. The player starts over the constraints described in the project presentation
the subsequent phase immediately after finishing the at the begin phase. If the project plan is refused, the
preceding one, even if the later was concluded without player must plan for it again until it is accepted.
success.
During a phase, the project development takes place 6.4. Project Execution
with hired developers executing a net of project tasks The network task of the accepted project plan is then
(defined in the model). The characters who take place in executed by the allocated team. Figure 2 illustrates the
the game are: office room where development takes place. The time and
funds available for development, as shown in the bottom
• Manager - The player's role, responsible for project on the screen, are the ones requested in the accepted
planning and several decision-making; project plan. Project execution runs in continuous turns,
• Developers - The team to develop the project. Each one consuming project resources. The player must be aware of
has different skills and characteristics such as hourly the project behaviour and take corrective actions when
cost and work hours per day; necessary. Visual effects and project reports show the
• Boss - Represents all the project stakeholders and is game characters (and model elements) state, such as
responsible for the project plan acceptance and project exhausted developers, late tasks, project without funds,
pressure during development. and so on.
To avoid finishing the resources before project
Each game phase is also divided into five steps: Begin completion, the player may need to modify the original
Phase, Project Planning, Planning Acceptance, Project plan on the fly. According to these decisions, different
Execution and End Phase. players can live the experience of managing the same
project in different ways.
 tasks was reduced from 20 to 15, in order to reduce the
second study duration, however, without success.
Only one of the subjects reached the end of the game
with success (in the first study). Despite the failure, the
subject's feedback was considered positive. The training
concept with the simulation-game instrument was
considered motivating, dynamic, practical and enjoyable.
Subjects pointed out some important aspects such as
psychological pressures (from continuous-time turns and
compelling visual effects), high difficulty as a motivating
challenge to the player and the entertainment factor while
executing the game without losing the engagement to
achieve the goals. Tables 1 resumes the results of the two
runs.
Table 1. Game-based Learning Evaluation Results
Figure 2. The office room Raised Indifferent Reduced
PM Skill 100% 0% 0%
6.5. End Phase Interest in PM 87% 13% 0%
Good Indifferent Bad
The phase ends when the project resources are done Game-based
without project completion (failure) or when all the tasks 100% 0% 0%
Training
are done and the project is completed with success. All None Lots Few
Presented
7. Game-based Learning Evaluation 0% 0% 100% 0%
Lessons Learned
Yes No Much Little
In the software project management context, to depict the Was the training
game utility and the improvements that our research 47% 0% 53% 0%
fun ?
should develop, two runs of a case study were conducted
to evaluate the adoption of The Incredible Manager game The main limitations and drawbacks reported by
within a training concept. The training was divided into subjects were related to simplifications that were made to
simulation and discussion sessions, as stated in [11]. allow the creation of a simulation model for software
However, only one session of simulation and discussion projects. For instance, our current model is unable to
was applied. represent real-world situations, such as multiple
During the simulation session, the subjects were asked developers working together in a single task, social
to play one phase of the game. When the simulations were interactions among developers, psychological and
finished, an instructor and all subjects participated in a organizational issues. Some subjects demanded the
discussion session. The instructor presented common adoption of a multi-user interface, distance-learning
scenarios and approaches of project management, positive facilities in the game, and some kind of wizard to trace
and negative examples for specific decision-making and explain the actions, consequences, lessons learned,
situations, allowing the students to better interpret their and alternative routes for decision-making during the
actions and performance during the simulation session. execution of the game. Such wizard would help users to
The first study was conducted with 7 subjects (1 D.Sc. evaluate their own performance after executing the game.
student and 6 M.Sc. students) from a software project
management course of a Brazilian university. The second
8. Final Considerations
study was conducted with 8 subjects (6 M.Sc. students
and 2 B.Sc. students) from a laboratory for industrial
In this paper we analyzed the adoption of practical
software development within a different university in
mechanisms to complement the traditional content-centric
Brazil. All subjects received training in project
education strategies. The current focus is on training
management topics (e.g. function point estimates) and in
software project managers, since the lack of knowledge of
the game utilization. The training session last 20 minutes
management techniques and the inadequate use of
in both runs. The first simulation session last between 50
management techniques is considered to be a root factor
and 120 minutes for the first run and between 55 and 140
that inhibits project success.
minutes for the second run. Although the overall project
Simulation-based games seem well suited to be
function points have been kept, the number of project
introduced in an experiential learning situation, such as
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