Online IT games challenge players to showcase their project and portfolio management skills and network management know-how. Can you compete?
By Denise Dubie
IT professionals aren’t all about business. Many enjoy some friendly competition in the form of online gaming. Two such free online games challenge players to put their IT-specific skills to work in winning them PPM Hero or Network Rockstar status.
PPM Hero, created by CA Technologies in association with The Burton Group, asks players to answer questions on three floors (or game levels) to eventually achieve the status of PPM hero. Using project and portfolio management expertise, players would advance through the levels dubbed Information Technology, Business Operations and The Executive Offices.
The game offers some bonus features as well as some potential pitfalls. For instance, answering questions marked “Q” will give players the opportunity to boost their budget. Yet every wrong response takes budget dollars away and the more time you take the more likely the cash reserves will continue to shrink. Red “Project Police” could cause issues completing tasks, but blue shields can protect against the potential danger the police present.
Successful players that reach PPM Hero status can then challenge friends and submit their own questions for future gamers. IT professionals looking to increase their skills for the game could check out CA Technologies’ PPM blog and the company’s IT governance blog.
And if you’d rather get down and dirty with network know-how, don’t forget to test your network management skills with a game created by NetQoS (acquired by CA Technologies). In the Network Rockstar Challenge players are asked tons of technical trivia only those proficient in network technology could know.
Network Rockstar players choose an online persona and fielding questions through several rounds. The more rounds completed, the higher the status of the character. The game quizzes players on their high-tech knowledge with questions ranging from what does the acronym ATM stand for to what is the speed of an OC-3 network line. Players nailing seven out of 10 questions successfully earn the right to go on tour. Those that fall short get bounced to the alley.
Know any online games that test IT skills? Please share them with me by leaving a comment here or e-mail me the information directly at Denise.Dubie@ca.com.
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