Closing the loop between project network simulation research and pedagogy

The introduction of simulation into pedagogy has been demonstrated by researchers to enhance learning outcomes. However, the use of simulation in classroom environments can provide an opportunity to pretest simulation research designs and to identify new potential avenues of theoretical inquiry that can be explored through simulation research. This paper presents the results of five years of experience integrating simulation research on project networks into project management courses. Initial attempts to integrate research-oriented computational simulation models met with limited success. An intermediary set of in-class exercises and a simplified web-based version of the project network simulation were created to expose students to the impact of network structure on adaptation performance. This strengthened comprehension by the students. However, it also led to an iterative expansion of the research from a narrow focus on network relational stability to include designs focused on cultural and linguistic differences, retention loss and opportunistic behavior.