#ERPsim #MIS #Management Information Systems #Business Processes #Simulation #Logistics game #Manufacturing game

Presentation

Quang “Neo” Bui is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Analytics at Saunders College of Business at The Rochester Institute of Technology. He has been teaching since 2012, started using ERPsim in classes from there and was certified in 2018 to teach other faculty members. His research focus is on technology adoption.

My overall experience with ERPsim has been great. I really appreciate the games and the ERPsim Lab team's efforts. I have been using it for 5 to 6 years and I can see that the game has evolved over time, and I really appreciate that the team has taken the time to adjust to feedback from users and evolve the games.

Using ERPsim in Class

Prof. Bui teaches two enterprise and process integration courses using ERPsim, one for undergraduate and another for graduate students. In both, he has deeply integrated ERPsim into the teaching process. Prof. Bui uses ERPsim at the end of the semester after teaching his students about SAP transactions, processes, and management and marketing strategies. He chose this approach because he wants his students to be familiar with the business processes before entering the simulation.

He bases his classes on the pedagogical material provided by the lab but has tweaked some parts to foster more competition between the students. Because he wants to motivate through competition, he grades his students based on their ranking during a final contest. He wants to push his students to strive for the best strategy.

In addition to teaching his students about business processes he also encourages them to use the analytical tools provided by the simulator. Some of his students even devised Python scripts to analyze the data!

I like that ERPsim has different ways for students to apply analytics skills to the game. Before, I used SAP Lumira as an analytics tool to guide students through analytics exercises in the games. Now, students can also integrate Tableau and Microsoft visualizations to enhance decision-making.

Prof. Bui has been using a variety of scenarios since he started his ERPsim experience. He gradually made his way up to the extended version of the manufacturing game, which has become his favorite because of the game-control it offers, and because its complexity makes it way more interesting for students.

He also has experience with the logistics game, which he uses for his graduate students. He enjoys watching them apply strategies taught in class to the final competition.

His favorite part of the ERPsim simulation is the communication aspects it teaches his students. Even when online, they always have to find better ways to communicate. They also have to learn how to integrate each team member's knowledge into their strategy to be as effective as possible.

Out of all of the three games I have tried so far, I liked the Manufacturing Extended game the most because it gives me the most control compared to the other games. Also, the game is a little bit more complex, so students feel more challenged when they play the game.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof. Bui moved his classes to a virtual classroom. He taught his undergraduate students synchronously as it was easier to organize them in groups during live sessions, which is very important when using the manufacturing game.

Because he uses the ERPsim logistics game in his graduate course, he chose to teach alternatively synchronously and asynchronously. This method allows his students to alternate between in-class hands-on workshops and out-of-class time to think about the challenges they face and choices to make.

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