War Games, Competitive Simulations & Scenario Planning

Don’t just play the game. Play to win. Learn how to use War Games.

Aurora GPS helps organizations see into their possible futures using a sophisticated set of war games and competitive simulation methodologies and in-person activities. Organizations who actively plan for multiple possible scenarios have a distinct advantage over those who simply react to market conditions as they arise. We work with you to create a realistic model of marketplace forces, players and factors that form the foundation of the simulation experience. We guide a broad team from your organization to fully engage their unique and valuable points of view, limiting the traditional barriers of organizational silos and politics.

Understand the impacts of multiple possible futures for your organization – not just one

Prepare your organization to succeed no matter the event scenarios that actually comes to pass

Engage your entire organization, building buy-in and endorsement that will maximize the strategy’s chance of success

Business Outcomes You Can Expect from War Games and Competitive Simulations

Explore and discover the impacts of multiple possible futures
Align varying stakeholders in your organization with a shared vision for the future
Understand the future as it relates to your organization specifically, not just “the market”
Enjoy the energy and interaction of a live simulation, building team cohesion and culture
Be confident in your organization’s chances to succeed no matter what happens tomorrow
Pressure test the market response to your strategic plans and assumptions
Identify Key Intelligence Questions (KIQs) and Key Intelligence Topics (KITs) for future monitoring and study
Reduce forecasting and planning uncertainty

War Games Mission Portfolio: The Future of Healthcare

Situation:
An established healthcare company approached Aurora GPS to help understand the future of their industry as social media, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things changed the landscape of what “healthcare” meant. Their organization also was embroiled in its own internal upheaval. The timing was perfect to get everyone in the same room to develop a shared vision for the future.

Method:
Aurora GPS conducted a multi-day war game simulation involving all relevant stakeholders in their organization. Leveraging weeks of preparation work from both Aurora GPS analysts as well as the organization’s staff, Aurora GPS facilitators executed a war game that generated an intense series of activities from mixed teams from across their organization.

Results:
Using the insights generated from the war game, the healthcare organization developed strategic plans for at least three unique scenarios. But more than the specific results, the organization now has a tighter cohesion from stakeholders who rarely interacted before the war game took place.

Three ways to engage with Aurora GPS for War Games services:

Engagement Level 1: Partial-Day War Games or Competitive Simulation

Ideally offered in-person, but available virtually for some attendees if schedules conflict, partial-day war games and competitive simulations offer organizations a way to quickly understand a limited set of scenarios – or simply learn the war game process before rolling it out to a larger audience.

Approximate timeline: 30 days

Engagement Level 2: Multi-Day War Games or Competitive Simulation

Aurora GPS will provide as much up-front research as necessary to ensure a smooth operation of the war game process for your organization. We will work with you to develop a full agenda and participant instructions, conduct the full experience, and deliver a complete report of the findings and recommended next steps.

Approximate timeline: 6-12 weeks

Engagement Level 3: Ongoing War Games and Competitive Simulations

For fast-moving fields, Aurora GPS can help you integrate war gaming and competitive simulations into the monthly, quarterly or annual planning processes. This also may involve “train the trainer” exercises that allow your team to deploy these events on your own.

Approximate timeline: Ongoing