Designing a Gamified Learning Tool for Enhancing Project Monitoring Skills in Technical Engineering Projects

An Interdisciplinary Approach Integrating Project Management and Systems Engineering.

Abstract

Within project management and systems engineering there are five process groups. While the theory related to these groups is covered well in higher education, there is limited room to explore challenges that mimic the execution and monitoring of real-world engineering projects. The main reason this step is usually left behind, is the high variability during the execution. This gap in education limits the student’s ability to grasp the dynamic nature of project execution, where progress must be tracked, risks mitigated, and baselines for scope, time, and cost frequently adjusted. Since various studies in recent years have described the benefits of gamification in education, a gamified learning tool to enhance project monitoring skills could help in the teaching of the execution process group of a project. The aim of this study is to create a boardgame that uses the best project management and systems engineering practices from the execution and monitoring process groups. In this way, students can use the safe environment provided by the game to gain experience. The boardgame will be based on the best practices and challenges of project management and systems engineering, as well as the best practices of gamification and the interdisciplinary approach. The review also covers a look into previously developed serious games and the best ways to track learning outcomes. The game aims to be customizable to simulate different real-world scenarios to allow for diverse projects in the technical engineering field.