1. Simulation Overview
In the PLAY-IT simulation teams of participants become the leadership teams of a Global IT function of a multi-national corporation for a one-year period made up of 4 quarters. Before they start the simulation, the participants are given information about potential technology projects which Global IT could conduct for the benefit of its 150,000 internal users distributed across the world. The participants also receive new and updated information about these projects at the start of each quarter of the simulation.
The goal is to select and execute projects which provide the maximum return and satisfaction for the enterprises internal customers and to manage these projects with professionalism and commercial awareness.
Each quarter teams must make the following decisions for each project they choose:
- Whether and Why to start the project
- The best way to execute the project in terms of different options (technical/geographical/commercial)
- How much to recover in project costs from internal customers through internal charges
- When and How to schedule, resource and manage the project through its full life
The Global IT department in the simulation is a small but highly tooled specialist function starting with just 6 multi-skilled staff but acquiring 1 new staff member each quarter taking headcount up to 9 staff by the final quarter. Teams playing the simulation must work within strict resourcing constraints and are NOT permitted to hire or buy in more resources.
2. Target Audience
PLAY-IT was played by experienced staff, in a major bluechip global company, who needed to further develop their business acumen and advanced project management skills. The simulation was integrated into a full 3-day leadership development programme which was run for approximately 1000 participants across the US, UK, Europe, India, Singapore and China.
3. Learning Objectives
To enable participants to enhance their skills experientially and socially in key areas by engaging in an intensive team business simulation played competitively under time pressure:
- Optimize use of scarce resources
- Risk Management
- Agility when unexpected happens
- Customer/Business perspective on technology
- Leadership in technology
- Exemplify great teamwork and individual style
4. Simulation Targets
Hard Measures
KPIs - For each Project and Overall Project Portfolio:
- Projected RoI levels (>= 100%) – benefits greater than twice the investment
- Projected Chargeback levels (>= 100%) – full recovery of Global IT external costs
- User Adoption >= 130,000
- Customer Satisfaction and Resource Optimisation >= 90%
Financials - For the Overall Project Portfolio
- Total Net Benefits >= $5.0M
Soft Measures
- To work well as a team in all its different aspects
- To demonstrate in debriefs/presentations genuine insight and learning (relative to the simulation learning objectives)
5. Simulation Feedback
Participant feedback was very strong - very few of the participants had experienced such a targeted, group learning simulation where care had been clearly taken to bring highly relevant scenarios to life. The simulation scored an average of 4.5 across all delegate feedback responses on a scale of 1-5 where 5 represents excellent.
Typical participant quotes:
"The simulation gave me a chance to practice being a project manager of the entire team to see how well I do in a leadership role and things I can improve on for future use."
"The simulation was really a great experience. Collaboration with the team was beneficial and resulted in the best outcome."
"The simulation was a great exercise for what customers might likely go through to get approvals for my deals. Great to experience 'the other side'."
"I think it would bring a lot of value to have a video recording of the teams during the simulation and then have the teams review themselves. It could reveal a lot around behaviours, body language and so on."
6. For More Information
See the PLAY-IT Simulation Factsheet.
