Project Planning Game

Description

The Project Planning Game is an IT-supported simulation that illustrates the complexity of planning a real-life R&D project. The project is based on a sequence of design, testing and plant set-up activities for a large component of an electronic system. The project has been described in the literature as a CPM (critical path method) network problem and focuses on the time/cost relationship in each activity of the project. Indeed, by allocating resources to a particular activity, the manager decides about the duration and corresponding cost of each network activity. The manager schedules the project with the negotiated project deadline in mind, focusing on the minimisation of the total project cost.

Objective

After a general introduction about the project characteristics (definition phase), the participant can start with the game by assigning start and finishing times to each individual project activity (planning phase). The software then simulates the execution of part of the project.

During this project execution the activity duration may turn out to be shorter or longer than expected. The participant should now consider the actual project duration relative to the plan and reschedule the project (control phase and feedback loop). By deciding on the time/cost possibilities of each network activity, the participant is responsible for the scheduling of the complete project.

The game is played individually (or in small groups) on a PC.

Pedagogical approach

After a general introduction of the critical path method (CPM), the participant has 90 minutes to simulate the execution of the project. During this time, the participant has 6 decision moments in which he/she can schedule the project or take corrective actions (see figure). To that purpose, the participant receives the necessary data about the actual duration of the project activities and other project characteristics, accompanied by a GANTT chart. After the game, a debriefing session discusses distinct strategies for project planning.

Target group

The game focuses on people confronted with the complexity of allocating scarce resources and start- and finishing times to activities of a large real-life project. It illustrates the difficulties a project manager faces when planning, scheduling and monitoring a large project. The game is particularly interesting for project managers, project planners and project team members. This game can be conducted for a Dutch or English speaking audience.