Question
State a decision question that names the changed input and the outcomes to compare.
Interactive documentation lab
Build your evidence portfolio & claim register
Organize run data, claims, feedback, and revisions in one audit-ready structure for Google Classroom, Canvas, or portfolio defense.
Live Portfolio Summary Preview
Direct answer
What is a business simulation evidence portfolio?
A business simulation evidence portfolio is a short, ordered record of what a student or team tested, what the model reported, how calculations were checked, which claims the evidence supports, and how feedback changed the work. It prevents a polished final slide deck from hiding weak comparisons or undocumented decisions.
Use this portfolio for a multi-session investigation, capstone, or team project. For a single lesson, the shorter reflection journal may be enough. Neither resource should be graded on simulated profit alone; assess the quality of the question, evidence, reasoning, responsibility, and revision.
Build the portfolio around five proof points
Run record
Keep the scenario, time horizon, constants, input change, outputs, and contributor together.
Calculation
Show one worked difference, rate, margin, break-even, or other relevant check with units.
Claim
Link each conclusion to a run and note confidence, tradeoffs, and rival explanations.
Revision
Record feedback, the response, and what changed instead of silently replacing earlier work.
Standardized portfolio evidence
1-Click scenario codes for traceable portfolio baselines
To ensure capstone portfolios and project evidence registers anchor to reproducible operating conditions, initialize test runs with 1-click classroom scenario launch codes. Standardized starting parameters allow instructors and peers to re-run and audit claims across all 18 business simulators.
Use evidence codes students can apply themselves
| Code | Evidence is ready when... | Common repair |
|---|---|---|
| C — Comparable | The scenario, time period, and all non-tested settings match the baseline. | Repeat the run with only one intended input changed. |
| U — Units labeled | Every number states whether it is dollars, customers, minutes, hours, or percent. | Add units and confirm whether a figure is daily, monthly, or total. |
| M — Mechanism shown | The explanation traces how the decision produced the financial or operational change. | Identify the intermediate step (for example: wait time → walkaways → sales). |
| B — Boundary stated | The claim names at least one model limitation or condition under which the result would change. | Add a sensitivity condition (such as lower demand or higher supply costs). |
Three-checkpoint conference routine
1. Launch check (2 min)
Before heavy testing
- Is the decision question focused on one lever?
- Are the baseline settings and time horizon recorded?
- Does every team member have an assigned initial role?
2. Mid-point check (3 min)
After 2-3 comparison runs
- Are comparisons controlled (one input changed)?
- Has the team calculated absolute and percentage differences?
- Has each student written one claim in their own words?
3. Final audit (3 min)
Before presentation / submission
- Are all five proof points complete?
- Did the team document feedback and resulting revisions?
- Is there a clear recommendation with an operating stop rule?
Printable portfolio page 1
Project map and traceable run log
Student / Team:
Simulator / Date:
Decision question:
Run comparison log:
| Run # | Input changed | Settings constant | Key output 1 | Key output 2 | Profit / Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Starting settings | All | |||
| Run 2 | |||||
| Run 3 |
Calculation check (Show one worked difference or rate):
Printable portfolio page 2
Claim register, revisions, and final recommendation audit
Claim 1 (Tied to Run # ___):
Tradeoff & stakeholder affected:
Peer / Teacher feedback received & revision made:
Final recommendation & stop rule:
Keep the portfolio honest, private, and responsibly bounded
- Use fictional classroom scenarios. Never enter real customer, employee, child, health, location, financial, login, or confidential business data.
- Preserve failed runs and corrected claims when they explain learning. Do not fabricate results, alter screenshots, hide inconvenient measures, or backdate predictions.
- Identify the person responsible for each artifact and disclose permitted help. A generated explanation or calculator result must still be checked against the recorded inputs.
- Treat simulation output as a simplified learning model, not a forecast, legal conclusion, investment instruction, safety determination, or substitute for qualified professional review.
- Keep law, safety, consumer protection, worker welfare, privacy, accessibility, environmental duties, and fair treatment as constraints even when the score does not measure them.
Business simulation evidence portfolio FAQ
What belongs in a business simulation evidence portfolio?
Include the decision question, baseline, comparable run records, calculations, claims tied to evidence, feedback and revisions, source or assistance notes, model limitations, and a final recommendation audit.
How is an evidence portfolio different from a reflection journal?
A reflection journal captures individual thinking at key moments. An evidence portfolio organizes the artifacts that support a longer project, shows how claims changed, and gives teachers a compact record for progress conferences and assessment.
Can teams share one simulation portfolio?
Teams may share run data and a project map, but every artifact should name its contributor. Each student should also explain one claim, one calculation, one revision, and one limitation independently.
How often should teachers check the portfolio?
Use a two-minute launch check, a mid-project evidence conference, and a final audit. Frequent short checks catch incomparable runs and unsupported claims before students build a final presentation around them.
Should screenshots be required as evidence?
No. A labeled table or teacher-provided result record can be more accessible and easier to compare. If screenshots are used, students should add the scenario, run number, date, changed input, and a written explanation.
Put the portfolio into a complete classroom sequence
Use the assessment and feedback toolkit to choose the right checkpoints. Start with the copy-ready assignment or three-session team project, plan matched runs with the controlled experiment guide, interpret changes and tradeoffs with the results-analysis guide and printable record, assign responsibilities with the team role cards, use the teacher observation and evidence-conference toolkit while teams build this portfolio, collect individual thinking in the reflection journal, turn the evidence into a complete analysis with the printable report template, challenge draft claims with the peer review and revision protocol, discuss conclusions with the debrief guide, and score the finished reasoning with the 16-point rubric. Browse every activity in the complete resource index.