Turn-Based Triage: Evidence & Gameplay

Unveiling the Power of Progressive Analysis in Triage

Hey guys, let's dive into something super cool: a turn-based game mode designed to amp up your triage skills! This isn't just about speed; it's about mastering progressive analysis. Imagine a scenario where you're faced with an incident, but the full picture isn't immediately clear. That's real life, right? This mode mimics that, revealing evidence step-by-step, turn by turn. This new feature will transform the way you approach incident triage, allowing you to refine your decisions as new information surfaces. You'll start with an initial assessment, then adjust your strategy as more data becomes available. This is all about teaching you to think on your feet, adapt to changing circumstances, and make informed decisions under pressure. We're talking about a more realistic, engaging, and educational experience. Are you excited?

This game mode isn't just a gimmick; it's a strategic tool. It lets us see how your decisions evolve as new evidence rolls in. We're talking about a deeper understanding of the triage process, from initial assessment to refined judgment. With this, instructors gain the ability to create dynamic and engaging scenarios that test your ability to adapt and think critically under pressure. It's a game changer for learning and honing triage skills!

Why Turn-Based? Unpacking the Motivation

Why this turn-based approach, you ask? Well, it's all about making the learning process as effective and realistic as possible. The current single-phase activity has some limitations, and we aim to address them. The primary reason is that it teaches progressive analysis. First, it helps you grasp the importance of making initial assessments, and then the need to refine those decisions when new data comes in. The turn-based format mirrors real-world incident triage, where new information isn't always available instantly. You'll learn to handle the information overload and make effective decisions over time. The main goal is to improve the learning experience.

Another key benefit is the ability to compare team decisions before and after new evidence is available. This lets us see how new information influences your judgment and how well you adapt. And, of course, the mode allows for more sophisticated scoring, as we can grade your decisions at each stage of the evidence reveal. This feedback is critical for improving your decision-making abilities. Finally, we can vary the difficulty by controlling information availability and time pressure. This makes the game mode adaptable to different skill levels, and it keeps things exciting.

Instructor's Toolkit: Configuring Your Turn-Based Game

Alright, let's talk about how this all works from an instructor's perspective. You're in control! You can set up the game as turn-based with multiple rounds, controlling how much evidence is shown from the very beginning. Maybe you want to start with a minimal set of data, and then add more as the turns progress. You will have full control over the pace, advancing turns manually, with a simple button press. Or, if you prefer, you can set an automatic timer for each turn, keeping everyone on their toes.

Want to make things extra challenging or give teams more time to think? You can configure different durations for each turn. Perhaps a longer time for the first turn, when teams are getting their bearings, and then shorter turns as the pressure mounts. And to top it off, you'll have access to scoring metrics at each turn. You can see how well your teams are doing, and provide feedback that leads to improvement. This is all about giving you the tools you need to create the perfect learning experience. You're going to love it!

Player Experience: Navigating Turns and Evidence

Now, let's look at it from the team's point of view. As a team member, you'll see the current turn number clearly displayed, like "TURN 2 of 3." You will always know where you are in the game. Alongside that, you'll see a timer counting down the time remaining in the current turn. This adds a sense of urgency and encourages decisive action. The interface will highlight the available evidence for the current turn, with clear labels indicating which evidence is new. This eliminates any confusion about what you should be focusing on at any given moment.

Also, you'll be able to review and revise your submissions from previous turns. This encourages learning from mistakes and adapting your strategy as new evidence comes to light. And don't worry, the game will automatically submit your decisions when time expires, but not before giving you a visual warning. This ensures that you always submit something, even if time is running out. This is all designed to make the experience engaging, informative, and fun!

Behind the Scenes: Implementation Details

Let's get into the nitty-gritty of how this all works. First up, the data model changes. We're adding a TurnConfig class to the Session model. This allows instructors to enable or disable the turn-based mode. We'll also have a TurnDefinition class, which holds all the per-turn settings, such as duration and initial evidence level. We're also extending the Submission model to include the turn number, prioritization, and timestamp information.

Next, let's talk about the backend changes. We'll be using the scenario_loader.py to parse markdown evidence headers and extract turn numbers and durations. The session_manager.py file will manage turn advancement, including automatically advancing turns based on the set durations. We're also developing a scoring service to evaluate submissions and provide feedback to the teams. Finally, we're adding new API endpoints to handle turn management, submission handling, and the instructor dashboard.

For the frontend changes, we're focusing on creating a user-friendly interface for teams, with clear turn indicators, countdown timers, and evidence displays. The instructor dashboard will provide a comprehensive overview of the game, with turn controls, team performance analysis, and detailed scoring information.

Acceptance Criteria and Testing Strategy: Ensuring Quality

To make sure everything runs smoothly, we've set a comprehensive set of acceptance criteria. We're covering everything from enabling turn-based mode to ensuring that scoring works correctly and that the instructor dashboard provides the necessary information. To make sure all the features are working as designed, we're planning a rigorous testing strategy. We will be using unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests to ensure that everything is working as intended. We're looking at various scenarios, including different turn configurations, and edge cases, such as scenarios with zero or mismatched evidence counts. The primary goal is to ensure a smooth, bug-free experience for both instructors and teams!

Performance and Migration: Ensuring Scalability and Compatibility

We're also keeping performance considerations in mind. We'll be caching parsed scenario evidence, using efficient turn filtering, and leveraging WebSockets for real-time turn advancement notifications. To ensure compatibility, existing single-phase sessions will continue to work, and we'll provide a migration path for converting single-phase sessions to the new turn-based format.

Related Features: Enhancing the Experience

This feature opens the door for several related enhancements. We're exploring the idea of customizable priority budgets, which can vary by turn. This will add another layer of strategic decision-making. We're also considering questionnaire support, which could change per turn, to gather more in-depth insights. And finally, we plan to allow exporting results to CSV/PDF formats, including turn data and submission timing.