How to Create and Use Goals in Your Simulations

Why are Simulation goals so important?

Simulation participants are making a commitment. They’re spending their time and are hoping to gain something in return. It’s crucial for designers to create simulations that address the needs of your ideal participants. Maybe they're are trying to get better at their job, to learn  more about a passion, or are gain experience doing something they're unfamiliar with.

Goals define what participants will take away from the Simulation. A good goal is one that the participant could, after participating in the Simulation, easily tell a friend or colleague about.

For example, "I feel more comfortable about deciding which candidates to bring in for interviews now" or "I know a little more about what it feels like to skip reviewing the contract before signing."

Guide to writing your Simulation goals

When writing your goals, first list the key concepts or skills a participant would need to navigate the Simulation (Round by Round) at an expert level. 

Then, for each goal follow this formula:

  1. Write out the concept or skill you want participants to exercise. Example: Match job requirements with candidate skills
  2. Identify how this skillset would be used in the real world. Example: Reviewing applicant resumes and other application materials
  3. Put the skillset into a context. Example: Select candidates for interviews whose application materials show a skillset that match those in a job description

If you're creating a Simulation that compliments a course, your Simulation's goals should align with all or some of your course's key learning outcomes.

Use goals in your Simulation

Your Simulation's goals should be used to help you develop the content in your Simulation (text, videos, attachments) and its questions. 

Use goals when organizing and adding Simulation content

Here are some ways that you can use a goal you've set to inform what you add as content to your Simulation:
  • Often, it's a good idea to tell participants (through text or videos) that they'll be working towards this specific goal either in the Simulation (for example, in your Simulation Introduction) or in a specific Simulation Round.
  • Find videos, articles, or quotes from people in the field who do what's associated with the goal and add them to your Simulation. Participants love to "meet" people who actually do what they're simulating.
  • Add an attachment to your Introduction or a Simulation Round that's associated with the goal. For example:
    • Links to articles that concern events related to the goal
    • Scholarly research related to the goal
    • Social media content related to the goal
Use goals to inform the questions you add to Simulation Rounds
Thinking of the right questions to add to your Simulation can be a challenge for creators. We're often tempted to create questions that have one obvious best answer, add the question, then add multiple obviously-wrong choices to the obvious best choice. Here's a better way to use a goal to create a question:
  1. Review the goal and ensure that it includes both a skill and a context where the skill is applied. Example: Select candidates for interviews whose application materials show a skillset that match those in a job description
  2. Identify the Simulation Round where this context would most likely happen in real life. For example: let's say you're creating a Simulation that enables hiring managers to simulate the hiring process. Your rounds might be:
    Round 1: Write the job description
    Round 2: Find candidates
    Round 3: Review and interview candidates
    Round 4: Make the job offer
    Using the example goal above, it makes the most sense to create a question or questions that involve this goal in Round 3 of the Simulation.
  3. Now, create a question that offers participants a "choice spectrum" rather than simple "right / wrong" choices. For example:
    ✘ Which candidate's skillset matches most closely to the job description?
       ○ José
       ○ Chen
       ○ Florence
    ✔ How closely does Florence's skillset match the job description?
       ○ Not a match
       ○ Somewhat of a match
       ○ Close match
    By taking the second approach, you have more flexibility in designing the Simulation and can offer more feedback about Florence's candidate profile specifically by adding extra feedback as a side effect to the choice. Extra feedback associated with choices is an excellent way to help a participant make progress on the Simulation's goals.

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