Debriefing is an important phase in using simulation games. Participants are invited to make a connection between experiences gained from playing the game and experiences in real-life situations. Thus, debriefing is the phase meant to encourage learning fromthe simulation game. Although design and practice of debriefing sessions should be aligned to this aim, it is necessary to distinguish different forms or modes of learning. The authors’central argument is that the shape of debriefing will have to meet the learning objectives being pursued in a concrete simulation game. They propose a general classification of learning objectives that allows a distinction to be made between types of use of simulation games. In each of the four types distinguished, the debriefing serves different purposes for which specific requirements can be formulated.

One way to deal with complex situations is the simulation approach: build a simplified model of this reality, learn from this simplified model, and, finally, translate the findings or knowledge back to the reality. Gaming is based on this idea. If we want to make inferences about reality based on experiences and knowledge acquired in a game, we have to be sure that the game model is a good, or valid, representation of the real situation. In this article, the concept of validity is explored in relation to games and simulations; four aspects of validity that apply to simulations and games are distinguished. These aspects are related to three applications of games. The article concludes with factors that may threaten validity during the process of the game design; a few suggestions are made to avert these threats.

New product development is usually teamwork. Product development teams are created that are cross-functional, representing different functional units, or multidisciplinary, involving several disciplines, or both. In any case, conceiving and developing new products is a joint effort, which means that the traditional view of creativity may not apply. This view, characterized by a focus on individuals as agents of creativity and by the assumption that creativity is a unilateral quality, not a reciprocal or interactive phenomenon, continues to be influential. As a result, much of the dynamics of 'newness-generation' and 'newness-reception' in organizations remains to be studied. This paper describes the organization of new product development in a number of medium-sized companies. It will discuss the theoretical issues of newness generation in multidisciplinary new product development teams and newness reception in the larger organization, and present the results of a series of exploratory interviews.

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