Applying Project

Management Skills
in a Simulation

Kathy Schwalbe, Ph.D., PMP

PDS 2006
Cincinnati, OH
schwalbe@augsburg.edu www.kathyschwalbe.com 1
Overview
 Fissure project management simulation
 Benefits and drawbacks of using simulations
 Student reactions to simulation
 Suggestions for using simulations to teach
project management
 Note: I did not have all of the data when I
created these slides (end of March 2006), so
there will be more info in my final
presentation. I’ll put final slides on my Web
site (www.kathyschwalbe.com) under My Bio

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Fissure – PMI REP
Specializing in PM Simulation

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Fissure Simulation
 Demo version (CD) bundled with my
textbooks (IT PM, 4th edition and
Introduction to PM)
 Project involves developing a prototype
Web site
 Demo version only includes 7 tasks and 10
potential team members
 Full version available from Fissure in
their courses

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Simulation Project Information
 The Alliance Prototype project is a strategic
effort to augment the sales and marketing of
Uniworld with an e-commerce equipped Web
site
 The budget for this 11-week project is
$40,000, and there cannot be more than 7
known defects
 After installing the application, users get a
guided tour by Peedy the parrot

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Sample Screen – Reference Information

Peedy

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Running the Simulation
 Read reference information
 Plan each week – resources, budget, schedule,
risks/opportunities, training, and stakeholder relations
 Make staffing decisions each week, such as deciding
who to hire, who to assign to what tasks and when,
when to send people to training, when to
recognize/reward people
 Determine the best way to have team and stakeholder
interactions (group meetings, individual conferences,
individual or team recognition, etc.)
 Run the simulation for the week, then review the results
in various report and chart formats

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Task Assignment Screen

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WBS and Budget Information

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Gantt Chart

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Network Diagram

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Risk Management

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Training

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Recognition and Rewards

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Team and Stakeholder
Interactions

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Summary After Running the
Simulation for a Week

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Communications After Running
the Simulation for that Week

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Earned Value Chart

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Quality Report

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 Benefits of Simulation*
 Learn from mistakes with no risk
 Quick connection between cause and effect
 Build and test project mental models
 Build and test leadership mental models
 Try new techniques/approaches
 Push your performance boundaries
 Learn by doing
 Learn from others in a team setting

*From Fissure documentation of simulation available on textbook Web site

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More Effective Than Just Lecture*
 The experience is real, invoking real emotions and real
learning
 Challenges are presented to the student as they manage
a project to get the work done on time and under budget
 The decisions the student makes while running the
simulation have consequences and an impact on the
bottom line results of the project (time, cost, and quality)
 The simulation teaches technical and soft skills in an
integrated way
 There is no “right” answer, there are many paths to
success and just like on real projects, there is lots of
uncertainty (random events)

*From Fissure documentation of simulation available on textbook Web site

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Students’ Reactions to Fissure
Simulation
 I assigned the simulation as an individual HW
assignment in fall 2005
 Mixed results
 Some students, mostly male gamers, liked the
simulation and spent a lot of time on it
 Some students, mostly female, hated the simulation,
couldn’t get it to work right, and thought it was a waste
of time
 Changes for spring 2006 semester – I made the
simulation a team assignment for my adult class
and paired assignment for two traditional classes

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Student Reactions
 Adult Weekend College students at
Augsburg had to run the simulation twice
as part of a team project
 The four teams liked using the simulation;
it took a while to figure it out, and most did
not finish the simulated project on time or
budget, even on the second try

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U. Of Minnesota Student
Reactions
 PM class there is mostly senior
engineering students, some graduate IT
students
 Suggested students do in pairs; made a
homework assignment
 Most students thought it was a good
learning tool and didn’t have much
trouble loading or running it

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Rating as a Learning Tool – U of M
10
9
8
7 Average = 7.0
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Rating

5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Respondent

1=low, 10 = high
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Teaching Assistant’s Summary of HWs
Pros
 Bar charts (in the report
section), Gantt charts, and
earned value charts are
useful tools to see the
overall progress of the
project
 "The PM is tasked with
realistic responsibilities in
the management of the
schedule, budget, training,
stakeholders,
communications, etc.“
 The fact that the user knows
the individual characteristics
of each employee helps the
user to play the game.
Cons
 The program has a steep
learning curve
 The documentation is not clear,
and learning and running the
simulation is time-consuming
 The feelings towards Peedy the
parrot are mixed; robot voice
was annoying
 "It's like a video game and you
can't use all of your senses to
get a feel of what is truly going
on, like meeting people to see
what their like or if they get along
with someone else on the team.“
 The program does not have
some essential functions, such
as the ability to save or go-back
easily. 26
Student Quotes
 “One of the most challenging tasks is hiring
and assigning the staff. Hiring an employee
has a two-week lead time (three-week lead
time for Lisa Derring).”
 "Meetings that are to the point and follow an
agenda can be extremely productive."
 “You need to be cost-conscious as well as
keep in mind the morale of the workers and
manage time on top of it all. This simulation
also makes you realize the constant nagging
of upper management.”
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Sample Great Response
 The following file is from one of my
adult, virtual students
 Scott’s response

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Augsburg Day Students’ Reactions
 When I assigned the simulation in the fall
semester, several of the students had
problems loading the software; most were
management majors
 One student never figured out to assign
people to tasks and never finished the project
 A few didn’t get it and gave up
 One said it was too phony and much
preferred doing a real project
 Women seemed to dislike the simulation
more than the guys

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Spring Semester Augsburg Day
Students’ Response
 Better this time, but women still seemed to
have more problems getting the software
loaded and understanding how the simulation
worked
 Guys treated it as a new game to figure out
 Several said it took too long to figure out and
run twice
 Most who did complete it thought it was a
good learning experience but wanted more
thorough instructions and a demo in class
first

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 My Personal Thoughts on Fissure
Simulation
 Overall, it’s a good learning tool
 It would be better if it were Web-based; some
students had trouble loading SW on their own PCs
and schools won’t allow it
 Should be able to assign all workers to tasks on
week 1 and just make changes as needed instead
of doing all assignments each week
 Interface could be clearer; students and I thought
Peedy was more annoying than helpful; change
the voice for sure!
 Add an animation of running one week so it’s
easier to figure out
 Explain final results of each decision at the end

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Suggestions for Using
Simulations to Teach PM
 Make sure users understand basic PM
concepts first (WBS, Gantt chart, critical
path, earned value, communications,
etc.)
 Have them run it at least in pairs
 If possible, do a demo first
 Have students write a paper
summarizing their decisions and
analyzing their results from one run to
the next
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