Overall Experience with Scenario

I ran through the simulations 4 times. Each time I ran through the simulation I tried to focus on

adjusting one aspect of the simulation more than the others. For example in one of my run-

throughs, I focused on the number of people on my team more than I did any of the other

aspects. I obviously adjusted other aspects as needed but I wanted to see if focusing on a specific

aspect would help keep the simulation within the management targets. One of the biggest

challenges was trying to keep the team’s mood in a relatively good place. There were times when

I would adjust something small and as simple as the number of one-on-one meetings that the

team would have and it would have such a negative effect on the team's attitude. For the next

scenario, I want to try making different-level printers. I didn’t mess with that aspect of the

project and looking back at my run-throughs that seems like something that could have a big

impact on the overall project. Also when starting off a run-through, trying to stay under budget

or within the budget is so important because once you go over budget it is very hard to come

back from that.

It took me a little over an hour to complete all my attempts. There were a few approaches that I

took to gain some information on how to best go about running through the scenarios. The first

approach I took was advancing a couple of weeks at a time without adjusting much. I wanted to

see if there were certain things that the team could stick out and complete the project with even if

it meant they were stressed one week then perfectly fine the next. One of the other approaches

that I took was drastically adjusting things and letting myself go over budget or get behind

schedule. This approach showed me that I was better off making small changes here and there.

As I stated earlier anything that put me over budget was really hard to come up back from.
If I ever fell behind schedule I would try to outsource help and I would adjust the number of

meetings that the teams would have. While this did help the team to get back on schedule, these

solutions didn’t keep the team's attitude in a good place.

When the teams became stressed, bored, or not as productive I would manage this by increasing

the number of meetings that were had. These meetings seemed to keep the teams more in the

loop and up to date about what needed to be done. I would also add a team member or two if the

teams were consistently stressed by the amount of work that needed to be done.

For the next scenario, I want to focus on things such as the use of overtime and the level of

product that is being made. I didn’t adjust those things in my first run-throughs and looking back

I want to see if those elements could impact the success of the project. I also want to be smarter

with my budget next time. Allowing myself to go a little over budget one week and then maybe

going under budget another week when there has been some good consistency in the team's

attitude.

Management Strategy

One of the strategies that I attempted when managing my project was keeping the team size

small but their skill levels high. At the beginning of the run-throughs, this seemed to work but as

the project progressed and it became more demanding it seemed as though the team members

couldn't keep up with the amount of work, and then when I would outsource help it only made

them feel as if they were doing the same tasks over and over again. A strategy that I think

worked well was making sure that there were lots of meetings being held. If the team’s attitude

ever became one where they felt as though they needed more direction I would add more one-on-
one meetings to the agenda! The meetings help to keep the team members up to date and they

feel in the loop.

Cause and Effect Relationships

Every adjustment or decision that was made had an impact on one thing or another. For example,

when it came to decreasing the number of team members, this would cut cost but it would put the

team behind schedule. Therefore more outsourcing needed to be done in order to keep up with

the schedule. Also, the fewer team members that there were usually resulted in more problems

discovered then team morale would be very low and stress levels would increase. Any parameter

that was adjusted would usually affect more than one of the project outcomes, which then leads

to the team attributes shifting. This just goes to show how much attention to detail there needs to

be in order to have a successful project.

People Factors

Stress levels and team morale are heavily impacted by deadlines. When the team felt as though

they were falling behind on the schedule or they felt as though they didn’t have enough hands to

complete the project on time the team would become very stressed which lead to a decrease in

the team’s morale.

The stress levels and morale of the team can make or break how productive a team can be. If a

team feels as though they are more than capable of completing a project with the correct tools

and the right amount of hands the team can be incredibly productive. On the other hand, if a team
feels like they aren’t being supported, they don’t have the skill level to complete the project, or

they simply don’t have enough people to get it done, a team won’t be as motivated to get the job

done.

Changing team members can have a big influence on team productivity. The more people there

are on a team generally the more tasks can be accomplished per day which can lead to the project

being completed on schedule. The only issue there is that with this simulation it was hard to keep

a high amount of people on a team because the budget wouldn’t always allow for it. That would

lead to people being removed from the team which can sometimes lead to a decrease in team

morale.

Communicating with outsourcing vendors was quite tricky for me throughout the simulation.

There were times when communication with the outsourcing vendors was necessary to stay on

schedule but it would create confusion and frustration within the team. That confusion and

frustration would then lead to holding more meetings to make sure team members were kept up

to date with what was happening with the project. So while it helped with productivity to did

seem to confuse the team more times than not.