Improving project management skills by integrating a boardgame into educational paths

Abstract

The increasing demand for practical project management skills makes crucial the adoption of innovative educational approaches. This study presents an experiment carefully designed to assess the effectiveness of an innovative project management educational boardgame named PMBoG. Two samples from a class of university students, enrolled in a bachelor's degree management course, participated in the experiment. One sample joined PMBoG sessions playing with and against other colleagues, the other sample did not participate in the sessions. After game sessions, both groups took a project management test to evaluate their capacity to make decisions or countermeasures based on classical project management issues. The test also included a questionnaire about game evaluations and peer feedback. Preliminary analysis using multiple statistical tests (t-test, ANOVA, Tuckey and Effect Size) indicates that participants in the experimental group demonstrated statistically significant higher performance compared to those who did not participate in the game sessions. The results suggest that the adoption of PMBoG positively impacts on increase of students' project management competencies. The study underscores the importance of incorporating experience-based and student-centered education tools in project management education, enhancing students' readiness for real-world project scenarios.