An analysis of how well serious games cover the PMBOK

Abstract

Playing the role of project manager requires a certain level of knowledge and experience from previous projects, thus enabling better decision making. The use of serious games increasingly allows newer project managers to gain the necessary experience and knowledge in a controlled environment. Since several serious games have been developed, the need then arose to conduct a study to measure the level of coverage these simulators provide to the PMBOK. Fifteen games were included in this study and it is remarkable the effort that has been made to improve these tools, as it was found that of the 12 games, 7 covers at least 3 of the 5 process groups found in the PMBOK. It was also found that more than 80% of the serious games cover time management and that less than 20% of the games do not cover the procurement area. Our study recommends that comparative studies be done between simulators in ways to evaluate the improvements that newer simulators bring. Studies to evaluate the teaching learning method of the simulators should also be conducted so that the efficiency of this teaching learning method can be evaluated.