Simulations on a Shoestring
By Tita Theodora Beal

Must pressures to control the cost of e-learning doom corporate learners to slide lecture? If you’re an e-learning designer yearning to break free of linear lectures that pose as performance development, here are two designs for cost-effective learning simulations. 

Before the economy tanked, we knew that talking at learners rarely changes performance. But as budgets and development schedules diminish, many of us have grabbed subject matter experts, picked their brains, and regurgitated their expertise as bullet points on slides and lecture notes. Indeed, it’s fairly easy to develop the slide show in a few days, email or upload the slides into e-learning software, and report to management that the learning program is complete. But are people really learning? Probably not. Enter cost effective learning simulations. 

Case analysis simulation

In this type of simulation, participants receive a case assignment describing a business goal, problem, crisis, or other challenge. They view thumbnail photos or illustrations of people that they will work with to resolve the challenge as well as related emails, letters, reports, or transcripts of phone and in-person conversations. They also use online guidelines and other resources to help resolve problems effectively. In this example, we’ll look at how a case analysis can be used to teach management skills for prospective branch managers in a major brokerage firm. (See Figure 1.)

How the simulation works. The first screen has three key elements:

• Simulation assignment, which includes any relevant icons. For example, a telephone if the assignment begins with an urgent message or a file folder if the assignment includes documents to read. The assignment includes printable worksheets that guide participants’ analysis and solutions. Learners must complete all worksheets and present them to facilitators and peers in the next group workshop.
• Thumbnail photos or illustrations of people with names and titles of staff members, customers, or anyone else involved in the assignment, such as local community leaders, charity fund raisers, and auditors.
• Menu of knowledge management resources, including corporate policies, recommended procedures and strategies, and guidelines for solving typical challenges.

Participants read a brief explanation of the situation and select a person or icon for the next piece of information. Game-like elements are embedded in these informational messages, and participants continue following the clues, clicking on additional icons and reading other relevant messages. As they read, learners take notes on the assignment worksheet and make recommendations for resolving any problems.

Learning methodology and performance objectives. The example simulation was developed with Ronin Enterprises as a training program for new managers at a major brokerage firm. The program blended print self-study resources, an online simulation linked to knowledge management tools, a group workshop, and on-the-job action learning assignments. As a result of each simulation activity, participants improved their ability to

• apply concepts and skills to typical job challenges they may have to resolve during their first few months as a branch manager
• use online resources in the knowledge management area as guidelines to help them analyze and respond to these challenges
• prepare a case analysis for use in group workshop debriefing sessions in which they will share insights with other new managers, receive feedback from facilitators and experienced managers, and improve their ability to resolve the challenge in the simulation
• plan activities to use what they learned in the simulation and related workshop sessions in real-life challenges.

Why this design is cost-effective. The entire simulation is built in basic html. There's no need for costly software, animation, video, or plug-ins that conflict with existing IT systems. Programming costs are relatively low and the thumbnail photos can come from inexpensive stock photo vendors or be created in-house with a digital camera and employees willing to moonlight as actors. Alternatively, you can draw stick figure faces or just type names and titles.

A sense of drama within the simulation comes from the realistic challenges and the urgency in the text emails, letters, reports, and transcripts of telephone conversations or meetings. Although the format is just HTML text, the content covers business issues crucial to participants’ future success and career advancement. Case storylines, which plunge potential managers into challenging situations that they must be prepared to handle, hold the learners’ attention better than any animated graphic bells and whistles or intricate branching scenarios

Additional content applications. Although we developed the simulation for a management development program, you can use the same structure for other performance objectives such as customer education. For example, the marketing director of a pharmaceutical company may want to provide value-added service by teaching physicians about a range of treatment regimens approved for a new medication. The thumbnail photos or illustrations represent patients with different types of conditions as well as nurses, family members, pharmacists, or managed care representatives with concerns, questions, or objections that physicians might need to handle when prescribing medications.

Learning games as simulations

Low-cost simulation games work well for strengthening learners conversational skills, such as sales and product knowledge. For example, the following simulation was developed with The Dess Group for an international pharmaceutical company. In this game, participants select a customer from a territory map; view comments, questions, and objections by that customer; select a response; get feedback; continue the conversation until they spot a buying signal; and close the deal. Before the learner moves on to the next customer, he or she meets an unexpected challenge. At any time during the "game," learners can check their accumulating score, which is based on points for using each selling skill correctly.

How the simulation works. There are global links that allow learners to navigate the experience via the following areas:

1. Review Product
2. Review Selling Skills Model
3. Check Game Score
4. Close Sale
5. See Awards

In addition, screen flow for each customer sequence follows the format below:       

Learning methodology and performance objectives. As a result of playing this simulation game, participants should improve their ability to

• customize call objectives and opening statements to different types of customers
• discuss the benefits of using recommended medications with certain patient types and answer questions about drug features that make those benefits possible
• handle anticipated objections by providing information that clears up misunderstandings
• overcome doubts and by pointing out benefits that offset real disadvantages
• recognize buying signals and be able to agree on next steps for each phase of the account relationship.

To win, a player’s (or sales representative’s) performance must reflect different customer interests and styles. For example, they must demonstrate an ability to cite research findings for a physician who is analytical and academic but give anecdotal information about patient types to a physician who places more value on trust with patients.

Why this simulation is cost effective. Participants feel as if the simulation reacts to their responses and branches into many different conversational paths. But in reality, the structure is a simple linear sequence of a stimulus (the customer’s comment, question, or objection) with multiple-choice responses. General feedback on each response transitions to the next stimulus. To control costs, the conversation is text only—but if budget allows, audio or even video can add to the overall learner experience.

The trick to making the simulated conversation seem to branch is simple: The last sentence of any feedback screens is the same and brings the conversation back to the same track. For example, the last sentence of all programmed feedback responses might include the following: The physician looks over your brochure and says, “Interesting, but…” Then the physician’s next comment appears with a new group of multiple-choice responses.

Other content applications. In addition to using this structure for providing practice in the use of selling skills and product knowledge, you can adapt it to strengthen any type of conversational skills. These may include handling customer service problems and complaints, management discussions with employees, and interviewing skills.

Next Steps

To start designing a simulation based on one of these simple, cost-effective structures you will need to perform the following key tasks:

Clarify learning objectives. In other words, identify what you want participants to be able to do as a result of completing the simulation, then sequence these performance objectives from simple to complex.

Distill key learning content into a skill guide, worksheet with analysis questions, decision flow chart, matrix of relationships, or other performance support tool that presents a conceptual framework. These tools also can serve as a guide during the simulation as well as a follow-up tool after training.

Identify challenges that will compel learners to practice applying the objectives. Also identify the types of people involved in the simulation, including a typical range of personal styles, motivations, and preferences.

Add individuality. Each case situation or conversation needs to showcase people that have their own objectives and personalities--which may conflict with learners. For example, a very analytical customer might become irritated with any responses by a sales rep that offers anecdotes rather than statistics. Meanwhile, a customer that values interpersonal relationships may become irritated with sales reps that recite stats rather than case examples of other customers.

Build in the elements of a good game, including

For interesting descriptions of more complex simulations, check out the “Beer Game” in The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge or “Serious Play: How the World’s Best Companies Simulate to Innovate” by Michael Schrage.