Information Problem Solving in Vocational Contexts: Designing a Simulation Game for Dutch Municipal Enforcement Officials

Workers in many vocations rely on a wide range of information to solve problems, including Dutch municipal enforcement officials (MEOs) who require this skill when planning surveillance routes. The present study focused on the development of a digital simulation game intended for assessing domain-specific information problem solving (IPS) in aspiring MEOs. Using a think-aloud method with five final-year MEO students, this study explored how well the IPS model—typically used in academic contexts—applied to planning surveillance routes. The findings suggest that the IPS model's constituent skills align with the process of planning a surveillance route, although differences were found in the underlying activities. The insights resulted in an adjusted IPS model for solving information problems in this vocational context. The adjusted IPS model could extend the simulation game to additional vocational contexts or even a generic game-based assessment of vocational IPS. Further investigation is needed to assess its generalisability.