Project Report

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Application of Project Leadership Principles...............................................................3
1. Tuckman’s Model of Team Development............................................................3
2. Choices in the Presence of Uncertainty...............................................................4
3 Situational Leadership (Hersey and Blanchard)...................................................4
4. Goal Clarity and Communication.........................................................................4
5. Principles of Risk Management............................................................................5
Project Experience...................................................................................................... 5
Personal Growth and Development............................................................................ 6
Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 6
Introduction
Path Twist 60 was a project of board game development, which was inspired by
collaborative leadership. The project required each six-member team to design,
develop and present a novel board game that effectively conveyed leadership
principles. The theme was the application of decision-making in leadership. In the
game, players had to contend with sudden events called “Twist,” “Boom,” “Halt,”
and “Swap,” which necessitated the adoption of corresponding strategies.
The report reflects on my personal learning journey as the Mechanism Designer of
the team, specifically focusing on how I applied relevant leadership and project
management theories from the module to ensure gameplay balance, fairness and
thematic consistency. The study incorporates five key leadership concepts and
critically evaluates how the project manager applied them during the project.
Moreover, the analysis also assessed how these concepts influenced the project’s
development and my personal growth as an emerging project leader.

Application of Project Leadership Principles

I found that the following project leadership principles were most used when
conducting the project:

1. Tuckman’s Model of Team Development

Bruce Tuckman’s model identified five stages of group development: forming,
storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Forsyth, 2021). In the “forming”
stage, we were still finding our feet concerning roles and responsibilities. I am the
Mechanism Designer volunteer because I like a structured approach to solving
problems and enjoy improving the systems to make them fairer. The process
required me to listen keenly and take notes on the members’ strengths.
In the “storming” stage, we discussed the game’s mechanics. For instance, how to
ensure that one player’s luck does not ruin the experience for others. There was an
ongoing debate on whether events such as “Boom” needed to be harsher or lighter
for the show’s level of drama and engagement. I employed the conflict resolution
techniques proposed by Manning and Curtis (2022), which emphasise active
listening and transforming disagreements into mutual objectives (Rahim, 2020).
After the initial “Boom” was changed from global to individual, the players stopped
getting too frustrated. Because the tool was already performing, I could focus on
what would enhance my students’ learning experiences.
2. Choices in the Presence of Uncertainty
The theme of our study, decision-making, effortlessly correlated with such theories
as bounded rationality (Gigerenzer, 2021; Kahneman, 2011) and intuitive decision-
making. In game design, every mechanic is essentially a decision-making challenge
– not only for players but also for designers. As the Mechanism Designer, I had to
decide how many “risk” spaces there would be, as well as how much they would set
the players back.
The “Swap” mechanic, for instance, allows a player to switch places with an
opponent, but this needs to be done at the right moment. When employed
prematurely, it loses its edge, whereas postponed application results in forfeited
opportunities. In the real world, a leader must decide whether to risk scarce
resources or conserve them for future challenges (Blettner & Husain, 2022). The
“Say My Name” rule on space 60 emphasizes the need for effective communication
between a client and a project manager. Inadequate communication leads to poor
project deliverables, which can affect other processes.
Notably, they incorporated decision-making theories into the gameplay, requiring
players to constantly weigh options and assess risks.

3 Situational Leadership (Hersey and Blanchard)

The situational leadership model indicates that a leader should adopt a leadership
style that matches the level of competence and commitment of his subordinates
(Huang et al., 2021). The degree of participation and the level of expertise during
project implementation varied.
For instance, if the balance of fun and educational content was considered, one of
the team members was highly creative but unfamiliar with decision-making theory. I
employed a coaching style of leadership (high directive, high supportive) to explain
the theory’s significance. I also incorporated their creative ideas on the event
names such as “One Last Ride.” In contrast, when I collaborated with our Prototype
Developer, I mainly used a delegating leadership style because he was highly
competent in his technical work.
This, in turn, enhanced our capacity to collaborate by utilizing the respective input
of each member. As a result, I learned to appreciate leadership as a dynamic rather
than static process.

4. Goal Clarity and Communication

The project’s success and the game design heavily relied on effective
communication. The leadership principle states that a leader should set clear goals
and targets and communicate them to the employees (Schunk & DiBenedetto,
2020). To pass the challenge, players had to state the game’s name aloud, which
means that the project is not complete until its goals are fully and explicitly
accomplished.
I need to clearly communicate the design intent to other team members at the
beginning of a project. In the initial ruleset, “Boom” penalties were interpreted in
various ways by playtesters. The way the rules are worded and documented also
matters because precise wording enables employees to understand what is
expected of them, which allows them to comply (Men, 2022). This would be the
case in the workplace, where vague project communication would result in costly
rework.

5. Principles of Risk Management

Game designers must balance the risks, as excessive penalties can irritate players
while meager ones make the game boring. I incorporated a balance between
threats (“Oops” and “Boom”) and opportunities (“Bump” and “Lifeline”), based on
project risk management models (Williams & Smith, 2021).
A major concern, namely, the possibility of a trailing player to suddenly jump to the
front and win with the aid of “Swap,” emerged during playtesting. To address this, I
suggested allowing the swaps only when the marker is already on the board. The
team agreed and implemented it, thus improving the system’s fairness.
Likewise, I foresaw potential time wastage in the gameplay due to the “start on a 1”
rule. While this danger could not be eliminated without compromising our design
philosophy, I made sure to balance it by adding positive momentum mechanics like
“Bump” and “Lifeline” to prevent stagnation (Davies & Harrison, 2021).
Thus, risk management is not only about preventing risks but also about the ability
to take advantage of opportunities.

Project Experience
As a Mechanism Designer, my task was to ensure that the rules of the game were
fair, balanced, and aligned with our theme. In order to achieve this, I collaborated
with the Prototype Developer to ensure that the visual composition aligned with the
mechanical design. Regular virtual meetings and instant messaging were employed
to ensure seamless communication and resolve any misunderstandings regarding
the game mechanics. One of the issues I faced was balancing the learning and fun
aspects of the game. The study emphasized that the game’s mechanics need to
incorporate leadership learning instead of focusing solely on the reflection stage.
The issue often was on the same page in attributing the degree to which students
would find potential penalties prohibitive for eliminating the practice. Therefore, I
had to exercise much patience by encouraging the members to freely exchange
ideas until they could reach a consensus that struck a balance between fun and
overly challenging.
The team members were not cohesive and interactive. Initially, we were not on the
same page concerning how “Boom” would operate. Some people argued that the
punishment should be stricter, while others feared that it might put off casual
gamers. According to Tuckman’s model, the team was at the “storming” stage.
Therefore, I suggested that the team employ a systematic approach of
brainstorming to test both options before adopting one. In regard to the latter, it
was evident that moving from the forming stage required the building of trust and
psychological safety, which enhanced cooperation in the subsequent norming phase
(Forsyth 2021). Another problem was the so-called “continent selection,” that is,
making sure that all the paths are equally challenging. The balance of the game
board – which is at the core of gameplay – is achieved with the help of statistical
analysis. I used statistical analysis to evaluate player progression data from several
playtests and adjusted the placement of risk spaces to ensure that all paths are
equally fair and difficult.
Time management was essential during prototype development, particularly in
balancing the need for creativity and meeting project deadlines within constrained
resources. The feedback that I received from the playtesters in terms of surveys
and observations enabled me to refine the game rules and mechanisms (Davies and
Harrison 2021). In this regard, conflict resolution proved useful in facilitating the
design team’s debates. For example, the application of active listening and
reframing skills enabled the transformation of disagreements into constructive
problem-solving sessions (Rahim 2020). To overcome these challenges, I utilized
leadership theories. As a result, the final product incorporates unpredictability and
precise player actions. Initial assumptions regarding game balance needed to be
adjusted based on player experience and feedback (Blettner and Husain, 2022).

Personal Growth and Development

Consequently, I identified that leadership development is a situational and dynamic
process (Day et al., 2020). Before I started this course, I thought leadership was all
about giving orders and instructions from the top. As a mechanism designer, I
learned that power sometimes means empowering others to do their part rather
than just issuing directives. The project enhanced my capacity to empower people
by appreciating the input of others and encouraging them to work together to solve
problems. I also collaborated well with my colleagues to come up with efficient
ideas when the mechanics called for both critical and creative thinking. For
example, the balancing of the “Swap” feature was informed not only by theoretical
knowledge on fairness but also by inputs from testers and visual designers.
It also highlighted the need for iterative practice, which is only possible through
reflection. Playtesting revealed that some ideas, which were thought to be great,
were actually not. Initially, I believed that the mechanical limitations were
something personally wrong with me. Nevertheless, with the passage of time and
continued exposure, I became accustomed to them and incorporated them into my
learning system. Acceptance of the possibility and willingness to embrace it is
similar to efficient project management. Because of that, I became more at ease
with risk-taking and decision-making based on incomplete data (Williams and Smith
2021). Moreover, I came to respect the level of risk that leaders take in their
organizations. For instance, the “Say My Name” mechanic can be perceived as
gimmicky. The look related closely to the learning objective of communication.
Notably, my colleagues asserted that I could confidently present and articulate
ideas to the audience (Men, 2022). A company’s objectives and the level of risk it is
willing to take must always correlate for it to remain unique. It helped me redefine
leadership from the ability to control to the ability to facilitate and support others in
achieving their goals. To reinforce these skills, I will continue to seek leadership
opportunities and engage in reflective practice. Game design is an iterative process,
which means that one has to embrace the fact that failure is a part of the learning
curve (Schunk and DiBenedetto 2020).

Conclusion
Path Twist 60 Project allowed the students to apply and integrate leadership
theories in a creative environment. As a Mechanism Designer, I immersed myself in
the concepts of Tuckman’s team stages, decision-making under uncertainty,
situational leadership, clarity in communication, and risk management. In this
regard, the project’s working team borrowed and applied the theories to address
various challenges and issues pertaining to the balancing of gameplay.
The lesson reminded me that the application of academic theory to practice in the
real world is not merely an intellectual exercise but a practical tool for navigating
and managing complex and collaborative projects. It demonstrated the significance
of three things in the work of leaders and designers. These are adaptability, clarity
of communication, and continuous refinement.
As a result, I feel confident in applying leadership principles in real-life projects
because I have the right mindset and necessary skills to apply when leading or
contributing to a project.
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