Practice That Changes What People Do: A Conversation with Rob Buelow on Scenario Simulator

Vector Solutions is turning static, multiple-choice training scenarios into AI-driven conversations. We sat down with Rob Buelow, VP of Digital Learning Transformation, to talk about Scenario Simulator: what it is, why we built it, and what it means for the future of training at Vector.

In plain terms, what is Scenario Simulator?

Scenario Simulator delivers hands-on skill-building experiences with tailored coaching along the way. My first car was a manual transmission, and I remember my dad teaching me about the clutch and shifting gears. I got it conceptually, but it was frustrating, because what I really needed was the chance to practice. That’s what Scenario Simulator delivers. Instead of a multiple-choice scenario where you pick A, B, C, or D, you actually voice your response and watch the scenario evolve based on what you said. It’s built right into the high-priority courses learners are already taking. No separate app, no new login. A coach joins you, reads you a situation, asks questions, probes, challenges you, and at the end recaps where you did well and where you can keep building.

We’ve offered training for over 25 years. What problem does this solve that our current scenarios don’t?

An employee can pick the right move in a multiple-choice safety scenario and still freeze when that situation happens live in the workplace. That’s the gap we’re closing. Recall is a different skill than judgment, and our industry has always been better at testing the former. Judgment runs through social pressure, competing motivations, emotion, and uncertainty, and you can’t pressure-test that with four options. Scenario Simulator lets you play it out and practice the moment before it becomes reality.

Why is now the right time to build this?

Technology capabilities have shifted drastically, and learner expectations have moved right along with them. People ask AI a question and get an answer all day, so the bar is now on solutions that are as impactful as they are engaging. That requires the chance to get your hands dirty in real-world situations and try things out before they become reality.

How is this different from a generic AI chatbot or role-play tool?

When you’re interacting with a chatbot, you’re usually asking questions. We’re providing an AI-powered coach, and a coach isn’t there to answer questions. A coach builds skills. A coach asks the questions. Underneath ours is 25 years of expert-authored, purpose-built, compliance-aligned training, structured around a validated science of behavior change. Our experience only draws on that content. Nothing is synthesized from the open internet and nothing is invented in the moment. That’s the difference between something anyone can stand up as a practice tool and something running on the secret sauce that our customers have come to trust.

Walk us through what a learner actually experiences.

You’re presented with a relatable, real-world situation, something you could reasonably expect to encounter in your role, whether you’re a student, a teacher, a commercial worker, or a public sector employee. It asks what you would say or do. No multiple choice. You’re the author of your response, and it plays out what your actions set in motion, coaching you on where you’re strong and where you have room to grow. In one scenario, you’re watching a colleague get quietly managed down and have to work through whether it’s harassment, the human impact on her and the team, and then what you actually do about it when the moment shows up in the break room.

Why did we start with courses like Hazard Communication, Harassment Prevention, and AlcoholEdu?

We wanted to start on high-impact topics that require human judgment and action, where knowing a policy isn’t the same as doing the right thing: bystander intervention, disclosure, de-escalation, recognizing challenges under ambiguity. Those are moments that turn on empathy and judgment, not just recall, and where one person making one better decision at one critical moment carries real weight.

What feedback have alpha testers given so far?

We had over 20 reviewers across five scenarios, including subject matter experts, customers, and internal testers. Far and away, people were caught off guard, in a good way. No one expects that kind of experience in compliance training. Reviewers ran the same scenario multiple times trying to break it with apathetic or off-the-wall responses, and it stayed consistent every time. The line that keeps coming back to us is: you’ve got to come up with the words, not just recognize the right answer. It made people uncomfortable, but in a way they actually liked.

What guardrails are in place to keep learners safe and the experience trustworthy?

Nothing gets invented in the moment. Every response draws on the course’s own expert-authored content and the guidance we’ve given the AI for how to respond, no matter how someone engages with it. Everything has been human-reviewed and stress-tested against a range of responses. If someone discloses something that represents a real risk of harm to themselves or someone else, that gets flagged, and we’re transparent with learners that this can happen. And there’s choice built in on both ends: administrators decide whether to deploy the Scenario Simulator version of a course, and learners have the option to continue with that experience or take the standard version instead.

How does Scenario Simulator connect to Vector’s bigger learning transformation vision?

It’s a two-pronged strategy from the start. We wanted to start with something real and powerful, using hands-on scenarios to make training more engaging and impactful. Longer term, our vision is for every part of the training experience to be tailored to the learner without compromising the rigor of the content, whether that means testing someone out of a component they’ve already mastered, adding complexity for someone who needs to be challenged more, or delivering the same course as an article or a podcast for someone who learns differently. Scenario Simulator is where that journey starts.

What should customers expect when Scenario Simulator launches?

Five courses, all three sectors, this fall: Hazard Communication, Harassment Prevention, Responding to Bullying, AlcoholEdu, and Workplace Violence. Collectively they represent about 1.5 million annual completions. If you license any of those courses, you get access to the Scenario Simulator version automatically, no purchase, no migration, and admins stay in control of whether the AI experience is offered.

What’s the one thing you want every Vector employee to understand about this?

I once waved a $100 bill in front of a room and said I’d give it to anyone who could name a Vector course that isn’t about changing behavior. Nobody could. We aren’t a content company. We’re a training company, and by extension, a behavior change company. Changing behavior on issues like harassment prevention or workplace violence has real ripple effects on culture, satisfaction, and organizational outcomes. This is a release where our customers can really see that in the product.

What are you personally most excited about?

I’ve spent 15 years applying behavioral science to online training, and the limiting factor has always been technology. You could measure what people know and how they feel, but it was hard to see what they could actually do. Now you can watch someone type their own answer into a course and get coaching on what happens next, specific to them, not a generic response for whoever also clicked C. That’s the recipe that drives behavior change.

Sum up in one sentence: why does this matter?

Practice that changes what people do.