Help & How-To

You are the executive team of a company, reporting to its Board. The app is the Board/Chair: it issues briefs, you respond with analysis, and it scores your work.

1. Sign in with Google at the login screen.
2. Take your seat on a team. Depending on how your Board set it up, you either enter a join code your instructor gave you, or pick your pre-assigned team from a list on the Join screen.
3. For Case Analysis, Article Analysis and Team Games you also join a Case team — open the Case Analysis card (or go to Join your case team) and enter that code.
4. You land on the Boardroom dashboard, which shows your company and everything assigned to you.

💡 A simulation team and a case team are separate. You may be on one, the other, or both — the dashboard prompts you to join whatever you're missing.

After signing in you land on the Boardroom — your home page. It has a card for each part of the system, banners for anything live right now, your assignment list, and Release Notes.

• Module cards: Simulation, Case Analysis, Article Analysis, Quizzes, Team Games, References, and Leaderboard — plus a Schedule of your course and Lectures whenever your instructor shares them. A pulsing dot means something is live for you now.
• Schedule: a Schedule card shows your whole term at a glance — assignments (with assigned & due dates), 🚩 key events like finals or sim day, and a separate 'Course materials' list for general readings. Live items open straight to the case/article/lecture; upcoming ones show the day they unlock. Cases, articles & quizzes tick ✓ Completed automatically when you submit; tap 'Mark complete' on lectures and readings yourself.
• Live banners (top): a round that's open, quizzes waiting for answers, or a team game in progress — click to jump straight in.
• Your assignments: cases and articles assigned to your case team, each with its status (To do / Submitted / Graded / Reopened).
• Top navigation: Cases, Articles, References, Leaderboard, Help, and Sign out. The logo returns you to the Boardroom.
• Release Notes: a running list of what's new in the system.

Over ten rounds the Board issues a memo and you respond with a strategic analysis. Open it from the Simulation card or the round banner.

1. Read the Boardroom Memo, the quant pack (tables you must use), and the round's environment shift (a favorable or unfavorable change you must engage with).
2. Sign the round's honor statement — the submission form stays locked until you do.
3. Write your deliverable (about 1,200–1,800 words).
4. Pick the strategy frameworks you apply. Each framework can be used only a limited number of times across the whole game — the form shows how many uses remain.
5. For each framework, explain in your own words why it applies to THIS company. Generic textbook definitions score poorly.
6. Give a clear board recommendation, in your own words.
7. Fill the quant worksheet with your key numbers and calculations.

• Autosave: your draft saves every few seconds, so you can leave and resume.
• Live countdown: timed rounds show the time remaining; when it hits zero, your saved draft is submitted and graded automatically.
• Clarifying questions: you can ask the Board to clarify case facts. It will only clarify what the memo already says — it won't suggest frameworks, give examples, or tell you how to analyze.
• One editor at a time: on a shared round, one teammate holds the editing 'pen' at a time so you don't overwrite each other — take the pen when it's your turn.

Scoring: the Board returns a score out of 100 with strengths, gaps, and directives for next round. Round 10 is the Final Board Vote.

• Missing a required element (no quant, no recommendation) caps your score.
• Using a term you can't define in your own words, or misusing a concept, caps your score.
• Buzzwords with no grounding are penalized.
• If your prose reads as uncontextualized AI output, the Board flags it for faculty — you keep playing, but ground your reasoning in company specifics.

💡 The single best way to score well: original, company-specific reasoning backed by the round's numbers. The Board rewards judgment, not jargon.

Open Case Analysis (you must be on a case team). Pick an assigned case to open your team's canvas — a guided, multi-section worksheet you fill in together. It is NOT a chatbot and gives no answers; your reasoning is what's assessed.

• The canvas is paginated — one section per page. Move between sections with the pager; a typical case has around 9–11 sections.
• Framework worksheets: sections like Porter's Five Forces, PESTEL, and VRIO break the framework into a structured worksheet PLUS a synthesis box — fill both. You can edit, delete and add rows.
• Other sections: problem framing (protagonist, timeframe, the central decision, stakeholders), value chain, quantitative analysis, strategic options, scenario stress-test, recommendation & implementation, and risks & reflection.
• Evidence: most sections have an Evidence box — cite the case fact or exhibit behind each claim. Some sections allow a small image upload.
• Read the case: generated cases have a 'Read the full case' link; otherwise work from the PDF your instructor provided.
• Presentation slides: build a deck from your team's answers from the workspace.

Some cases use a CUSTOM canvas tailored by your instructor to that case's teaching focus — the sections you see may differ from case to case. The core (protagonist, timeframe, decision, recommendation) is always there.

1. Split the sections between teammates and fill them in — everything autosaves and merges.
2. Cite case evidence in the Evidence boxes.
3. Sign the honor statement, then Submit. Your instructor may reopen a submission for revision.
4. When the Board releases grades, your score and per-section feedback appear on the case.

On cases where your instructor enabled it, a collapsible Strategy Coach appears on the workspace. It guides your thinking but never does the analysis for you.

• It WILL: tell you whether a framework fits this case and why at a high level, suggest what concepts to review, point you to similar cases, and nudge you toward sections of your canvas you haven't started.
• It WON'T: apply a framework for you, hand you the recommendation, compute your numbers, or write any part of your submission. Ask it to and it will decline and hand the thinking back.
• Use it: tap a suggested prompt or type a question. Answers stream in; Stop halts a reply. It can see WHICH sections you've started (to steer you) but never reads your written content.
• It links to References so you can review the right concept.

Open Article Analysis (case team required) and pick an assigned article. The canvas has six sections: citation & source, thesis & core question, key concepts & frameworks, argument & evidence, an optional Critical Appraisal, and relevance & takeaways.

• The Critical Appraisal section is OPTIONAL and earns up to +20% extra credit — a genuine, balanced critique (strengths, weaknesses, counterarguments, how it has aged) scores best.
• Like the case canvas, it's collaborative and autosaves; cite the article in the Evidence boxes; sign and submit.

A Quick Case is a short teaching case with no quantitative section. You submit three things: the central challenge restated plus your decision, the frameworks you used, and the justification that ties your decision to the challenge.

💡 Don't add Five Forces / PESTEL worksheets or financials — this format intentionally has only the three sections, and you're graded on a clear, well-justified decision.

When your instructor launches a quiz, open Quizzes (or the live banner). You take all open quizzes self-paced with the login you already have.

• Question types vary: single-answer multiple choice, multiple-select (all-or-nothing), yes/no, and short text (ungraded, for reflection).
• Order may be shuffled per student, so compare reasoning, not answer letters, with classmates.
• You're scored on correct responses; results update on the instructor's live board as the class answers.

Open Team Games (case team required) when your instructor starts one. These are live, round-based games played simultaneously by the case teams in your batch.

• Each round, submit your team's move before the round closes. Some games keep moves secret until a reveal; others are public.
• Watch the scoreboard between rounds. Games range from negotiation and auctions to resource-allocation and coopetition — the on-screen rules explain each one.
• One move per team per round — agree as a team before you submit.

Open References from the nav or dashboard. It's a curated reference: a glossary, key concepts, strategy frameworks, formulas & quant, and a reading list.

• Formula calculators: many formulas (including NPV / IRR / Payback) are interactive — enter your numbers and see the result.
• In the case canvas, each section's 'Reference' drawer and glossary links bring the relevant entry to you while you work — e.g. the SWOT → TOWS section opens the SWOT Analysis framework.
• Use it to review a concept before applying it — the Strategy Coach often points here.

The live leaderboard shows cumulative scores, each round's winner, and the overall leader. Round 10 is the Final Board Vote.

• Simulation: each round returns a score out of 100 with strengths, gaps, and directives — visible after the Board scores the round.
• Cases & articles: your score and per-section feedback appear on the assignment once your instructor releases grades (they may hold them until everyone submits).
• Quizzes: scored on correct responses.
• Feedback coaches your reasoning — it deliberately won't hand you the 'right' answer or reveal any answer key.

💡 Grades show only once the Board releases them — a blank grade usually means it hasn't been released yet, not that you scored zero.

• You sign an honor statement before each simulation round and each case/article submission — it unlocks the submit step.
• Do your own team's work: don't copy another team or an answer key, and make sure every figure you cite comes from the case.
• The system flags writing that reads as generic, uncontextualized AI output for faculty review. This never auto-changes your score, but ground your reasoning in specifics.

• Everyone on your team can open the same canvas. Work autosaves and merges, so split the sections and move fast.
• Within a section, edits are protected so two people don't clobber the same box; on the simulation round, one teammate holds the editing pen at a time.
• If a save is ever rejected (e.g. a connection blip), you'll see a visible 'not saved' warning — don't ignore it; retry.
• Submitting is a team action — agree before you submit, since it locks the canvas (your instructor can reopen it).

I don't see any cases, articles, or team games.

You need to join your CASE team (separate from your simulation team). Open the Case Analysis card or 'Join your case team' and enter the code your instructor gave you.

The submission form is locked / I can't submit.

Sign the round's (or case's) honor statement first — that unlocks submit. For a case, also make sure the required field (your recommendation) is filled.

My edit didn't save.

Either a teammate holds the editing pen for that section/round (take it when it's free), or a save was rejected — look for a 'not saved' warning and retry. Normally everything autosaves within a few seconds.

A quiz isn't showing up.

The quiz must be open (launched by your instructor) and you must be signed in on a team in that batch. Check the Quizzes card or the live banner.

Where do I read the full case?

Generated cases have a 'Read the full case' link in the workspace. Other cases are read from the PDF your instructor provided — the canvas is where you write your analysis.

Where are my grades?

They appear once the Board releases them — on the round, or on the case/article assignment. A blank grade means not-yet-released.

The Strategy Coach won't answer my question.

It's designed to guide, not solve — it won't apply a framework, give the recommendation, or do your numbers. Ask it WHICH frameworks fit or WHAT to review instead, and it'll point you the right way.

Which team am I on?

Your simulation company shows on the Boardroom dashboard; your case team name shows in the case workspace header. You can be on both.