This is an example sketch of a Simulation Assignment.

Fields: Transit; Public Administration; Consulting; Communications

Roles: Communications / Outreach Specialist; Utilization and Public Rideship Researcher; Equity and Social Services Specialist; Director of Finance and Budget

Overview: You are a communications and outreach specialist working for the MTA. The organization is attempting to phase out Metrocards and replace them with OMNY, a new system in which public transit fares are paid by scanning a plastic chip-based card rather than by swiping a paper card. You and your team have been tasked with making the rollout a success. 

1. Problem statement: Each member of the team will compose a brief memo in which you lay out the issues associated with the OMNY rollout. Discuss what you believe to be some of the key hurdles to successfully replacing the Metrocard system with OMNY and barriers to the public understanding, approving of and participating in the replacement. Your memo should take the form of 1-2 discussion posts or an informal essay.

2. Pitch: Once you’ve read each team member’s memos and discussed them in a team meeting, you will author an individual pitch to the rest of the team presenting your analysis of the problem and proposing an investigation that will ultimately assist the rollout. 

3. Team Charter: After reviewing each individual team member’s pitch, the team should meet as a group to discuss the pitches and create a team charter, which should contain the following: 

• Team name
• Goals and values
• Potential obstacles to working well together
• Ground rules and expectations
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Procedures and schedule for team meetings
• Team roles

4. Research Proposal: Together, your team will collaborate to submit a detailed proposal for researching the problem that you feel is most important in understanding in order for the OMNY rollout to be successful. The proposal should include:
   1. Summary of the problem
   2. Purpose of the research
   3. Review of media coverage and other literature relevant to the problem
   4. Proposed plan of work
   5. Qualifications of team members
   6. Schedule
   7. References

5. Present findings and recommendations to the class: This could either take the form of a pre-recorded video or a live presentation during class, with slide deck. In the presentation, team members enumerate research activities they did, discuss their findings, describe any problems or further questions they have become aware of in doing the research, and issue recommendations for how the MTA should proceed with the rollout given the work their team has done. 

6. Reflection and evaluation: After the project concludes, each team member will write a memo in which they
   1. Reflect upon and evaluate their individual work and the role they played in the simulation project
   2. Evaluate the team effort
   3. Discuss what skills they were challenged to develop: what was hard, what was second nature, what they accomplished, what do they now know how to do or feel more comfortable doing
   4. Discuss what they individually would have done differently or how they think the team might have approached the project differently
   5. Make connections between the simulation project and the course organizing concept
   6. Reflect upon how the project may have advanced their thinking about possible professional pathways and helped them understand more about the work of communications, outreach, public education and public administration