Process-oriented interactive simulation of software acquisition projects

The software acquisition process model GARP [3], developed at DaimlerChrysler, is a tool for process improvement and assessment. It comprises many, temporally, concurrently, and non-deterministically linked process steps and a huge amount of best practice information associated with them. GARP is mainly designed for experts. We argue why it is essential in the process improvement environment to also have a facility which explains process dynamics and why an interactive simulation is suitable for this. The paper describes the design of an interactive simulation framework, which allows to map CARP (and with it any other similar process model) straightforwardly to a project simulation game.