Digital Transformation Simulation

• Evaluate technology investments across AI, cloud, data, and automation

• Balance innovation budgets with core business needs

• Manage resistance from employees, managers, and boards

• Redesign customer experiences through digital channels

• Respond to competitive threats and disruptive entrants

• Communicate transformation progress to stakeholders through board updates or press releases

By the end of the simulation, participants will be able to:

• Design and execute digital transformation strategies

• Balance innovation investment with financial stability

• Navigate resistance and align organizational culture with digital goals

• Evaluate risks and compliance in digital adoption

• Apply data-driven approaches to decision-making

• Understand customer behavior and digital expectations

• Lead cross-functional collaboration in transformation projects

• Respond strategically to disruption and competition

• Communicate transformation strategies to diverse stakeholders

• Reflect on leadership challenges in digital change initiatives

The simulation’s flexible structure ensures that these objectives can be calibrated to match the depth, duration, and focus areas of each program, whether in higher education or corporate learning.

This simulation works in both academic and corporate contexts and can be run individually or in teams. Each round simulates a phase of transformation - vision, execution, and scaling.

1. Receive a Scenario or Brief: Participants are introduced to a company under digital disruption, along with performance challenges and technology options.

2. Analyse the Situation: They review financials, customer trends, cultural barriers, and competitive benchmarks.

3. Make Strategic Decisions: Participants allocate budgets, prioritize technologies, and set transformation goals.

4. Collaborate and Align: Teams role-play as executives (CIO, CMO, COO) to negotiate and align decisions.

5. Communicate Outcomes: They deliver transformation updates to boards, employees, or the market.

6. Review and Iterate: Feedback shows financial results, cultural shifts, and stakeholder responses. Each round introduces new complexities.

• Do participants need technical expertise? No. The focus is on leadership and strategy, not coding or technical skills.

• Can it be customized for industries? Yes. It can reflect banking, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, or other industries.

• Is it suitable for executive audiences? Absolutely. It’s widely used in executive programs to build digital leadership skills.

• Does it include cultural change elements? Yes. Internal resistance, team morale, and culture shifts are central to the gameplay.

• How long does it run? It can be a 2-hour exercise or a multi-day workshop.

• Can it be run online? Yes. The simulation is designed for online, hybrid, and in-person delivery.

• Does it include disruption scenarios? Yes. Competitor innovations, regulatory shocks, and customer shifts are built in.

• Is customer-centricity part of it? Yes. Participants must design digital solutions aligned with customer needs.

• Can universities integrate it into MBA programs? Yes. It fits well into MBA, executive education, and leadership development curricula.

• How is success measured? Through digital adoption, financial results, stakeholder trust, and cultural alignment.

• Quality of transformation roadmap and decisions

• Balancing financial and innovation priorities

• Handling resistance and stakeholder alignment

• Clarity in communication and storytelling

• Responsiveness to disruption and new technologies

You can also include memo writing and debrief presentations as part of the assessment structure. Additionally, you can also add a built-in peer and self-assessment tool to see how participants rate themselves. This flexibility allows the simulation to be easily integrated by professors as graded courses at universities and by HR at assessment centres at companies.