PAINLESS COMPUTER SIMULATION Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 12, 1985 157 PAINLESS COMPUTER SIMULATION Terry L. Dennis, Rochester Institute of Technology ABSTRACT Using a computer simulation in class does not have to be a painful experience. This paper discusses recent approaches to simulation programming which: make student data entry interactive; automatically check for and even supply missing data; and use command files to combine numerous files and run the simulation with minimal administrative effort. INTRODUCTION Painless Computer Simulation In the past, using a computer simulation as a pedagogical tool frequently turned into a painful experience for the faculty member. New versions of computer languages, time sharing capabilities, and greater sensitivity on the part of the simulation programmer can change that experience to a more positive one. Historical Perspective The “simulation administrator” (also known as the professor) has just finished key punching the last of the administrator’s cards, being careful to right justify each entry in the exact location specified. He then collects the student decision cards from each student and carefully sorts them into the proper order. Then the control cards, administrator cards, decision cards and history cards are assembled together and this deck is carried to the computer center and submitted. Anywhere from several hours to several days later, the administrator returns to collect his input deck, output deck, and computer printout. At this time, he discovers one of the following outcomes: (1) a mispunched card caused an error and the program aborted -- find the mistake and try again. (2) a card out of order caused an error and the program aborted. (3) the program ran properly -- but a mispunched card caused the output to be meaningless for one or more participants, meaning either a rerun of the program for the entire class or the only learning experience for those students was in key punching. (4) the program ran properly and students could relate the course material to their simulation results. Hopefully, the result was the latter one and the administrator could begin again for the next period of play. If the above scenario brought back vivid memories (nightmares) you are not alone. Many instructors gave up on simulations because of the hours of extra time required and the headaches involved. Fortunately, those problems are becoming things of the past for most faculty. Time sharing terminal input and data files have solved the problem of handling large decks of cards. (although some thought the boxes and stacks of cards piled around the office were impressive to visitors). More compassionate versions of FORTRAN1 allow unformatted entry of data and opportunities to catch mistakes which once would have terminated programs prematurely. 1 For example, American National Standard FORTRAN 77 (ANSI X3.9 - 1978). And the authors of simulations are beginning to take advantage of these features to further ease the burden on both administrators and students. A recent article2 summarizes a number of desirable points for simulations which would make them easier to administer. This discussion paper is meant to encourage simulation authors to be responsive to those points whenever possible. By creating “user friendly” input programs which can be used on time sharing systems in conjunction with command programs, authors can make their simulations easier to use and, therefore, better learning experiences for students. A data entry program and command program created for the microeconomic simulation MICROSIM3 will be used as examples Data Entry Since many problems occur with data input by students, a separate time-sharing program named ENTER was created to insure correct, or at least reasonably correct, student input. Once students make their decisions, they go to a terminal or CRT and run the ENTER program (e.g., RUN ENTER). The program begins with a brief set of instructions and a prompt for the firm number. When the student enters the firm number, a four digit identification number is requested for security purposes (this prevents unauthorized users or unscrupulous competitors from entering erroneous or bad decisions). If the student enters the correct ID number, the program proceeds with prompts for the remaining decisions as shown in FIGURE 1. 2 Robert H. Dunikoski and Richard F. Barton, “Super Service for Computer Game Administrators, ABSEL News & Views, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 6, 3 Steven C. Gold, Thomas F. Pray, and Terry L. Dennis, MICROSIM: A Microeconomic Simulation, Macmillan Publishing Company, c. 1983. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 12, 1985 158 If the wrong ID is entered, the student is given another chance. If the correct ID is not entered after three times, the program terminates itself (FIGURE 2). But what happens when the student makes an entry error anyway and falls to correct it when given the opportunity? Further protections are built into the program. If the student enters a decision which is blatantly in error, e.g., the number 500 entered with the digit five followed by two letter 018, the program reprompts for the same decision. If the student enters 9’s for economic information despite being prompted to enter a number between 0 and 7, the entry Is not accepted and the prompt is repeated. Since students occasionally enter commas in large numbers despite being warned not to (a comma is interpreted as the end of an entry,’ thus 50000 is read as fifty-thousand while 50,000 is read as fifty), the program cannot distinguish between a correct entry of fifty and an incorrect entry of 50,000. While it must allow a real decision of 50, if the decision is an unlikely one, the program Issues a caution (see FIGURE 4) and reprompts for verification. If a 50 is entered a second time, it is accepted and the program proceeds. What happens if the student forgets a decimal? One is added to the end of the figure entered, e.g., 6000 becomes 6000. While this program is not fool-proof -- It cannot tell if the student meant to enter 7000 instead of 6000 and didn’t catch the mistake in the summary, nor will it correct plain bad judgement, e.g., a price set below cost -- ft has eliminated the most frequent errors made by students, especially those which cause unexpected termination of the simulation. Two additional problems sometimes encountered, decisions out of order and missing decisions, are handled by the simulation program itself. If decisions for a particular firm are missing, the program automatically supplies them. The decisions supplied are not particularly good ones, but neither are they so bad as to make later recovery in an ongoing simulation impossible, which could reduce involvement and motivation. Decisions not in order by firm number cause no problems; the simulation orders all decisions internally. The period number is also indexed automatically, making it unnecessary for the administrator to change a value each period (beyond period 1). Running The Simulation Once the administrator has established the necessary industry and environment parameters, he may use a special command file to run the simulation for additional periods, by issuing one instruction to the computer via a remote terminal, e.g., RUN MS, the administrator allows the computer to process a set of pre-established commands which merge the administrative file, the student decisions, and any history into one input file, run the simulation, create a new history file, and send output to the printer. At this point, there are two options: (1) send all output to a printer where someone must pick it up and distribute it to the class; or (2) have each firm’s output sent to a file in the students’ individual accounts so they can access them, as they desire. Currently the first option is being used because it guarantees that all firms will have their output for reference during class discussions. Table of Contents Volume 12, 1985 One Step Beyond Naiveté: Laboratory Simulation of Strategic Management Predicting Performance Over the Course of the Simulation Congruency of Critical Performance Factors in Simulated and Real World Environments: An Exploratory Study Stimulating Learning and Creating Course Involvement Through the Use of Debates A Novel Approach to Writing Texts ABSEL Revisited: In-Class Student Involvement Increases Learning Bus-Sim Micro: An Introductory Business Simulation Demonstration Solutions Diversified: And Experiential Introduction to Management Information Systems Simulating Rigorous Analysis in Stimulation Gaming The Use of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) Techniques to Enhance the Learning Experience of Students Participating in Computerized Simulation Problems Associated with the Administrative Use of Student Ratings Enthusiasm Awareness in the Experiential Classroom Participation Expectations of Students in Experiential Settings Using the Computer as a Planning Aid in an Applied Marketing Course Integrating Microcomputers in the Marketing Curriculum Through the Use of Marketing COMPUPROBS Giving Students Experience in Team Report Writing Description and Results of an Experiential Approach in the Teaching of Business Policy Using Real World Experiences as an Experiential Activity: the Page Technique A Guide to Writing Microcomputer Simulations The Development of a Microcomputer Distributed Processing Business Game A Monte-Carlo Approach to Interactive Gaming Single Case Experimental Design as an Alternative to the Conventional Approach Learning Theory and Research Design: How Has ABSEL Fared? Criticisms of the Use of Simulations in Economics: A Rebuttal Using the General Management Game in the Business Policy Course General Management Policy Simulations: Which Games are Popular, and Why do Professors Stop Using Games? Business Policy Content and Teaching Methods: Comparisons of the Hegarty and Summers and Boyd Findings Let's Talk to the Experiential Authors A Computerized Logistics Game for Micros Effects of Contextual Factors on Bargaining Decisions of Experiential Group Representatives The Linking of a Collective Bargaining Simulation and a Business Simulation Game - A Case Study Students are Surrogates in Arbitration Studies AIRWAYS: A Microcomputer Simulation of a Service Industry A Proposed Interactive Inventory Control Simulation Microcomputer Demonstration Exercises for a Course on Creativity and Problem Solving Processing Skills for Teachers, Trainers and Managers Developing the Competencies of Resistance to Stress and Accurate Self-Assessment Raising Elizabeth: Socializing Girls to Aspire to Careers as Managers, Secretaries or Corporate Wives Factors Influencing Perception: Gaining Understanding Through Experience Painless Computer Simulation The Effects of Differential Grade Weights on Business Game Learning levels An Investigation of the Validity of a Recommendation for Experiential Exercise Debriefing Simulation and Experiential Practices of Faculty: A Data-Based Workshop The Live Case Study: Filling the Gap Between the Case Study and the Experiential Exercise A Reactive Microcase Pedagogy Advantages of a Multigame Simulation Course Using the Logistic Function to Score Computer-Supported Games A Simulation Model to Calculate Session Time for Running Simulation Models in a Shared Resource Environment On the Core Size of Small Task Groups and the Cause for the Core Size to Emerge