Sharkworld - The Project Management Game

Managing complex international projects is not about administrative procedures and paperwork - it's mainly about influencing and leading the stakeholders in the project. A project is not a success until all stakeholders experience it in that way.
This asks a lot from the personal and communicative skills of the project manager, an aspect that is insufficiently handled in many project management training programmes. That's why Ranj has developed an exciting educational experience that shows what it's really like.
Sharkworld is regarded worldwide as an important innovation in the field of training project management skills.

Trip to China

Sharkworld combines simulation elements with a story and characters, to create an engaging project management experience. With the help of picture and video material, players are taken on a trip to China. There, the main character must replace a project manager who has mysteriously fallen ill.
Once there, players have to manage their project. Through conversation, chat and email, they have to take care of the interests of boss, client and team. They also make schedules and budgets. The choices that players make during the game, decide whether the project becomes a success or turns into a disaster.
The game uses various media to give extra depth to the experience. When players are not behind the computer, they get text and voice messages from game characters on their mobile phones. The characters in the game also send emails.

Bullet points

• An accessible and cost effective alternative training programme that introduces users to project management in a playful way.

• Players are part of an exciting story instead of a boring training. The choices they make influence the outcome of the story.

• Players feel how it is to deal with all stakeholders in a project.

• Players learn the ins and outs of project management by managing a major project themselves. They can experiment with various leadership styles in a safe environment.

• The game uses (moving) imagery and different media to transport the players into the story.