Teac Hing Sof Tware Projec T M Anagem Ent by Sim Ulation: the Sesam Projec T

Improving the software process is a very popular topic both for research, and for software managers in industry. The usual way is top down, starting from a general process model. Any low level decision in the project is somehow influenced, or even determined, from the process model. In SESAM (Software Engineering Simulation by Animated Models), we take the opposite approach: We model the components of a software project, the staff, the documents, and many of their attributes and relationships. The project leader is not simulated, this role is taken by the “player”. Then, the project is simulated, very much like an aeroplane is simulated by a flight simulator, which is used for teaching pilots. SESAM is intended to be used for teaching project leaders. The paper presents the basic ideas, problems, and achievements of SESAM, its current state, and the results we have.