Project Simulation – Online Access
Duration: Project Simulation Access Time: Up to 180 days
Credits: 10 PDUs or 1 CEU Category A – $359.00 USD
Presented by: Lambert Consulting Group, Inc. (REP 1358 )
Simulation Creator/Designer: MindEdge, Inc
Challenge Yourself – Grow your Skills! An In Basket Project Simulation will allow you to test your current skills and build new competencies. This may be an excellent opportunity to challenge yourself by applying Project Management skills to the highway project – an environment that may be unfamiliar to you!
Target Audience: This simulation is designed for adult learners with project management experience. Learners who successfully complete this simulation will be awarded 10 PDUs/contact hours.
Level: Intermediate – This simulation does not have any prerequisites. This course does not require any additional supplementary materials.
Estimated time to complete: 10 hours of online course work. This course has an “Ask the Expert” feature, which submits your questions directly to an expert in the field you are studying. Questions are answered as quickly as possible and usually within 24 hours.
“This simulation is a winner! I would highly recommend the Allerton Connector Project Management Simulation to anyone looking for a capstone experience to test their knowledge and judgment in a real world project management environment.”
— Lee R. Lambert, PMP, CEO, Lambert Consulting Group,
Project Management Institute Fellow, 2009
Through this simulation, the learner will play the role of a project manager on a highway construction project in the small city of Allerton. This project is considered to be a “major project” by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which means it has a budget of $500 million or more.
Learners will be asked to make a series of decisions during the simulation. Each decision will impact the project in different ways. The goal in the simulation is to optimize positive scores across the following project management factors (as identified by the PMI® 2011 role delineation study):
- Initiating the Project
- Planning the Project
- Executing the Project
- Monitoring and Controlling the Project
- Closing the Project
- Cross-cutting Skills
Expected Learning Outcomes
This simulation is meant to sharpen your understanding of key project management skills. Including:
- Leading a project team
- Balancing competing interests, such as project scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, risk, communications, and procurement considerations throughout every project phase
- Dealing with controversial decisions and the potential for negative team or customer outcomes
- Analyzing schedule, budget, and quality data and using that information to make educated decisions
- Addressing issues related to project procurement
PMBOK Guide® Alignment
This simulation is designed to align with the PMI® PMBOK® Guide and the 2011 role delineation study. No prior knowledge of the PMI® framework is required, but feedback will refer to PMBOK® Guide sections where they are relevant.
Certificate of Completion
Many sections will have quizzes, and your score on these quizzes will determine whether you can receive a certificate of completion, and Project Management Institute professional development units (PDUs) for completing the simulation. If you average a cumulative 70% or above on the quizzes, you will receive the certificate. Successful Completion Requirement for IACET CEU: Learners must achieve an average test score of at least 70% to meet the minimum successful completion requirement and qualify to receive IACET CEU credit. Learners will have three attempts at all graded assessments.
Get an edge: Here are some pointers for doing your best in simulations:
- Know the background material. You cannot do well in a simulation if you haven’t studied the background material.
- Keep a positive attitude. The assessors are not trying to trick you, they want you to do well.
- Take breaks when you need one. Just like a project walk away and think a bit if you need to – don’t rush through.
- Avoid extreme or unusual behaviors while role-playing. Don’t get defensive, remember it is a role playing exercise.
- Be confident but not arrogant. Too much confidence could be read as not taking the exercise seriously.
- Get through the all the material. You will find important information that you will be able to use in the other simulations. Take notes, make lists, and write out a calendar. Making notes may be very helpful in the same way as in your projects. Whatever you write may be collected and included in the scoring of the exercise. Remember that the assessors can’t read your mind. In a simulation/exercise it is especially important to document your thinking.
- Expect conflicts. Simulations often assist you in determining how to resolve conflicts and issues. Uncover and address the conflicts.
- Be flexible. Sometimes the assessors will give you hints over the course of a role-play. For example, “Have you considered the possibility of acquiring one of our competitors?” Sometimes you will come into a role-play with a plan and learn something that requires you to change that plan. Don’t get stuck on one strategy if the simulation demands flexibility.
Click to purchase the Allerton Connector Highway Project Management Simulation
, 
, and 
.He regularly conducts classes and presentations on program, project, and risk management for conferences, associations, and universities. He also spent over 20 years with Hewlett Packard in its Project Management Initiative and has almost 40 years of worldwide PM experience, including work for Visa, DuPont, General Electric, and as an independent consultant.