A Cooperative and Competitive Serious Game for Operations and Supply Chain Management: Didactical Concept and Final Evaluation

Giovanni Romagnoli; Matteo Galli; Davide Mezzogori; Davide Reverberi

doi:10.3991/ijoe.v18i15.35089

Authors

Giovanni Romagnoli University of Parma http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9891-0314
Matteo Galli University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3368-2621
Davide Mezzogori University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3303-0789
Davide Reverberi University of Parma, Parma, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6768-3932

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v18i15.35089

Keywords:

Serious game, Digital game, Operations management, Supply chain management, Didactical evaluation

Abstract

In the last decades, Serious Games (SGs) have been implemented more and more in the engineering field, for both educational and professional purposes. The interest in digital SGs has increased even more in the last years of covid-19 pandemic, due to their location-independent availability and to the possibility to use SGs to apply theoretical knowledge and involve the users in a challenging way. Since the beginning of project XXXX in October 2018, the University of Xxxx started to develop a brand-new SG with a strong focus on Operation and Supply Chain Management. The game has been studied as a multiplayer cooperative and competitive game which projects learners in a fictitious universe where multiple companies compete against each other in the same market. The realization of the game started from the definition of the didactical concept, underwent the user acceptance testing phases (alpha and beta tests) up until reach the release and the corresponding final evaluation feedback.

Author Biographies

Matteo Galli, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

Matteo Galli was born in 1987 in Piacenza (Italy). He obtained his Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano (2013). After his studies, he worked in the private sector as an entrepreneur in a company offering management systems to SMEs; during this time, he consolidated his knowledge of industrial processes with multiple projects and dozens of customers. In 2020, at the University of Parma, he has been involved in the DigiLab4U project. Since 2022, he started a Ph.D. at the University of Modena e Reggio Emilia with the goal of optimizing large-scale waste management. He is currently co-author of five scientific publications.

Davide Mezzogori, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

Davide Mezzogori has received his Ph.D. on Industrial Engineering at the University of Parma. He is now research fellow at University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He is coauthor of more than 20 international scientific publications. He has published articles on the application of Machine Learning and Deep Learning algorithms to Industrial problems, such as demand forecast in the fashion industry, the application of neural networks to WLC systems, as well as articles on optimization algorithms (i.e., metaheuristics) applied to engineering operations management, such as scheduling problems and warehouse allocation problems. Currently, his research effort is towards Green Advanced Planning and Scheduling systems. He has been involved in the DigiLab4U project for the development of the serious game Op&SCM.

Davide Reverberi, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

Davide Reverberi was born in 1992 in Parma (Italy). He completed his master’s degree in Management Engineering with a focus on production methodologies at the University of Parma. He is now a research fellow at the University of Parma at the Department of Engineering and Architecture. Since May 2019, he has been involved in the Open Digital Laboratory For You (DigiLab4U) project with a focus on remote labs and lab-based learning. During this period, he has attended several workshops, both in Italy and abroad, on technical and didactic topics for laboratories. He is currently co-author of eight international scientific publications, two of which have been accepted in international journals. He has served as a local administrative manager for the project DigiLab4U.