Abstract
In the problem of teaching project management, two approaches are used - unsupervised, where the student independently explores the knowledge, and supervised, where it is done under the oversight of a teacher. However, unsupervised approaches struggle with lower material assimilation and explanation of more complex concepts, while the teacher's availability bottlenecks supervised approaches' scalability. This paper proposes a hybrid solution integrating Generative AI (GenAI) to combine the scalability of unsupervised learning with the effectiveness of supervised methods. Firstly, a game-based simulation of a Software Development Project Management scenario was conducted with 67 students to understand the problem better. It highlighted students' high engagement and confirmed the need for feedback. Secondly, an initial validation using manually prepared queries showed promising potential in GenAI providing feedback and eliminating the need for teachers' engagement. However, it underlined the need to curate the answer scope and maintain the context of the simulation progress for such solutions to be effective. To answer those problems, two approaches are proposed: one leveraging a specialised Small Language Model and another employing a Large Language Model with Retrieval-Augmented Generation.
Paper Type
Poster
DOI
10.62036/ISD.2025.126
Explainable, AI-supported, unsupervised game-based simulation for improving software engineering project management learning
In the problem of teaching project management, two approaches are used - unsupervised, where the student independently explores the knowledge, and supervised, where it is done under the oversight of a teacher. However, unsupervised approaches struggle with lower material assimilation and explanation of more complex concepts, while the teacher's availability bottlenecks supervised approaches' scalability. This paper proposes a hybrid solution integrating Generative AI (GenAI) to combine the scalability of unsupervised learning with the effectiveness of supervised methods. Firstly, a game-based simulation of a Software Development Project Management scenario was conducted with 67 students to understand the problem better. It highlighted students' high engagement and confirmed the need for feedback. Secondly, an initial validation using manually prepared queries showed promising potential in GenAI providing feedback and eliminating the need for teachers' engagement. However, it underlined the need to curate the answer scope and maintain the context of the simulation progress for such solutions to be effective. To answer those problems, two approaches are proposed: one leveraging a specialised Small Language Model and another employing a Large Language Model with Retrieval-Augmented Generation.
Recommended Citation
Marek, K. & Hryniów, K. (2025). Explainable, AI-supported, unsupervised game-based simulation for improving software engineering project management learningIn I. Luković, S. Bjeladinović, B. Delibašić, D. Barać, N. Iivari, E. Insfran, M. Lang, H. Linger, & C. Schneider (Eds.), Empowering the Interdisciplinary Role of ISD in Addressing Contemporary Issues in Digital Transformation: How Data Science and Generative AI Contributes to ISD (ISD2025 Proceedings). Belgrade, Serbia: University of Gdańsk, Department of Business Informatics & University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences. ISBN: 978-83-972632-1-5. https://doi.org/10.62036/ISD.2025.126