Project detective - a game for teaching earned value management
Christiane Gresse von Wangenheim, Bruno Zacchi Rausis, Gustavo Machado Soares, Rafael Savi, Adriano Ferreti Borgatto · International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies · 2014
Game-based learning has gained attention as it can effectively reinforce concepts and contribute to teach higher-cognitive competencies while at the same time making learning fun. Teaching project management competencies can also benefit from games by simulating life-like situations. We present a game to reinforce earned value management (EVM) concepts and to teach their application – an important competency for project managers. The game is designed as an investigation, in which students analyse data and status reports, calculate EVM indicators and interpret them in order to identify what went wrong in a fictitious software project. The game has been developed based on theory and teaching experience and has been applied in undergraduate computing programmes. First results indicate its potential to support learning effectively and efficiently on the cognitive levels of remembering, understanding and application. The game also has shown to be engaging, offering the possibility to complement traditional strategies.