Who wins? Process Management in Online Simulation Games
Innsbruck (A), May 2023 - Nowadays, simulations are widely used in learning processes to promote learners' actions and decision-making skills and to bring them closer to practical areas of learning with a realistic degree of complexity. At the MCI Management Center Innsbruck, a prototype of a cloud-based simulation game for process management was developed that combines many advantages. Prof. Maria Pammer, Prof. Christian Ploder, Prof. Reinhard Bernsteiner, and Christiane Aufschnaiter will present the serious game at the LEARNTEC Convention, 23 May at 17.15.
Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer and team: The simulation game we’ve developed is quite generic. The basic idea is that software exists as a cloud service that can be supplemented by various action plans in the form of case studies. This guarantees a high degree of flexibility and thus also enables integration into a broad variety of courses and training sessions.
What are the advantages of this simulation?
Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer and team: The great advantage of this online simulation is the multiplicity of possible applications. For example, it can be used for classic ideas for process improvement, such as lead-time reduction in a donut bakery. However, it can also be used for mapping service processes, such as applying to a university or the automatic posting process of incoming invoices in an ERP system.
Who developed it - and what was the intention?
Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer and team: The game’s development was initiated by Prof. Dr. Christian Ploder in the course of a bachelor’s thesis by Simon Rahm, B.Sc., and has been extended beyond the OPEXAGILEAUDIT research focus and further developed in many discussions and tests with Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer; Christiane Aufschnaiter, B.A, M.A.; and Prof. Dr. Reinhard Bernsteiner. All involved can draw on many years of successful deployment of business games at MCI | The Entrepreneurial School.
Is the tool useful, for example, through its contribution to the manipulation and visualization of change processes within the scope of digitalization?
Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer and team: Due to the software’s flexibility, every conceivable game scenario is possible. For example, a case can be created that strives to increase efficiency through the digitization of processes. However, this type of development usually also entails profound changes for the employees involved that can be dealt with in an accompanying course. Thus, the simulation is not only suitable for classic process-management subjects, but also for realistic work in the change-management area.
For which target groups is it suitable?
Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer and team: The tool and the appropriately adapted case descriptions can be used in schools and universities, but it also supports the instruction of certain contents in corporate training. For this purpose, this generic solution’s adaptability to any scenario is a very great advantage.
What empirical values are available for the simulation game’s deployment?
Prof. Dr. Maria Pammer and team: Several years of experience from the adoption of various simulation games, supplemented by scientific findings on the fostering of competence acquisition through simulations, constitute the basis for a concept that has also been presented at several conferences. The software’s use, including the initial case, has been tested as a prototype in a number of events at MCI, although the incorporation of the findings is continuing. By the end of 2023, a final version of the application as MVP with the completed case descriptions is planned.
