SimulTrain - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

SimulTrain is a Project Management Simulator

Project Management Simulator

Project management simulation is simulation used for project management training and analysis.Project management simulation is often used as training simulation for project managers...

used in project management

Project management

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...

training programs. SimulTrain is a simulation of the planning and execution phases of a medium-sized project

Project

A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...

, that involves all of the events that occur.

SimulTrain is a computer-based multimedia tool which allows the participants to learn:

to structure a project;
to control the progress of a project;
to use project management tools.

History

The first version of SimulTrain was released in 1996. This educational software

Educational software

Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog...

has been constantly improved. In October 2008 the 7th version of SimulTrain was released.

The project management simulation SimulTrain is based on Dr. Roland Sauter‘s PhD thesis La modélisation des facteurs humains dans la gestion de projets. (1996). A model of human factors in project management was validated by a survey of 900 project managers. In 1996 the simulator was developed based on this model.

The first version ran on Macintosh. Since then a new version with numerous new features was released regularly every two years. Version 8.1 released in October 2010 runs on various operating systems (Windows, Macintosh, Linux) and is available both as online version and desktop version.

By 2010 over 85’000 people across 50 countries, have been trained with SimulTrain. The simulation has been translated into 18 languages.

Pedagogic concept

Training is done in small groups of 4 people in two sessions of 3–4 hours each. Each group has one computer with the simulation program. The participants thus learn how to work and make decisions as a team. The simulator allows the group to work on the progress and execution of the project. It confronts the learners with many situations requiring the ability of making fast decisions and of taking all of the project parameters into account (costs, deadlines as well as human factors). The feedback and consequences of the different decisions are immediately made visible. The simulator involves multimedia technology: the participants receive many phone calls, e-mails and voice-mails, thus immersing them in surrounding them in a realistic project atmosphere.

The trainees have to complete the project within the deadline and budget. Their main tasks as project managers include:

setting up the project team, hiring employees with the proper qualifications at the right time
showing team members their tasks
making adequate decisions when facing difficulties, overrunning the budget or failing to meet the deadline
maintaining a good team dynamic

With the simulation attendees learn in two ways:

from the reactions of the people involved in the project to the decisions made. (Feedback).
from the potent interactions that develop in the four-person groups as each person plays a very precise role (such as supervising the schedule, costs, quality, and motivation).

SimulTrain's only requirement is a general knowledge about project management, including the Gantt chart

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts...

and the Activity Network. Both online and desktop versions of the simulator are available.

IT service deployment project

In accordance with the marketing strategy defined at the beginning of the year, the management wishes to provide its customers with an on-line interactive service. This will allow customers to follow-up and control orders without the intervention of either the customer service or accounting departments. For this project a tentative schedule has been written with the list of activities, budget and time required. The core-team has been established.

Production project

Plastoceram is the leading firm in manufacturing special packages made of composite materials. One of its clients that produces pacemakers cannot find any appropriate solution for the case of its latest ultra-miniature model. A case thus needs to be developed for this client within a very short time. It should be made of a resistant, very thin and easy-to-fashion material.

Marketing project

Your company has devised a new all-in-one Smartphone. This high performance appliance includes many innovative features, which makes it very attractive for listeners on the go and consumers who enjoy new technologies. The product conception is almost finished and its launch on the market must now be prepared. For this project tentative specifications have been written with the list of activities, budget and time required. The core-team has been established.

Organizing a sport event

The International Lausanne Football Tournament will gather some of the most important European youth football clubs. The National Federation is organizing the event for the first time. An organization specialized in sport events allocates all its resources to the event. The project "ILFT phase B" is a part of the preparation process. The preparation must be finished 2 weeks before the opening day. The core team and budget have been established. Other resources of the Federation are available for the project.

External links

The free demo version can be found at www.sts.ch/smt/demo