Game Theory as a Tool of Project Management
Game theory is a formal study that looks into conflict and cooperation and has applications spanning all over the world of academia and beyond. It is a mathematical field that was initially introduced by John von Neumann, a Hungarian mathematician. It is unique in the fact that it creates an intersection between mathematics/engineering and the social sciences, allowing for an entirely new lens to observe the mechanics of society through. The research paper linked below looks into the ways that game theory can be used in project management within economic and business settings. It particularly observes how to do this in the post-crisis Czech Republic, but mostly considers all facets of application.
Project management is a practice that aims to disperse responsibilities and allocate resources amongst a group working to achieve a common goal. Since game theory is a mathematical model that analyzes and considers circumstances in relation to the choices of others, it is extremely applicable because it creates a much more thorough analysis of how to manage a team. It fixates heavily on considering all included team members since an algorithm is involved. The best summary is “the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers.”
The best way to visualize the use of game theory in project management is to think about a project as a game. In a game, a major goal is to optimize all aspects of it by maximizing the gains, while minimizing the losses. The ultimate goal of any project is to do just this, so applying game theory to project management is ideal.
Aside from being immensely fascinating, it is hyper-applicable to INFO 2040: Networks, not only because we discuss game theory, but also because a major topic in the course is mathematically observing and modeling how people interact with each other. A project within a company with all its respective employees is a network in itself and using game theory to optimize productivity and success connects heavily to this class’ content.
This academic paper is a fascinating read and I highly recommend checking it out to gain a deeper understanding and application of networks.
https://tinyurl.com/gametheoryinprojectmanagement
Alex Holland