# Supporting a digital transformation programme in three stages > In a major engineering programme, the team rolling out a new design platform was moving from concept to delivery, and things were rocking. We worked with them over a year, in three stages: a retrospective to become one team again, a day of demonstrations so the business could take ownership of the tools, then a half-day in a small group on posture. *Real case, anonymised: the company name is invented.* - Company (invented name) : Corvale - Sector : Energy, major industrial engineering programme - Size : Group of several tens of thousands of employees - Format : Three stages over a year - Audience : First the programme’s core team (the client, its integrators and its consultants), then around fifty key business users, then a small group around the sponsor. - URL : https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/cas-clients/programme-ingenierie-trois-temps ## Context - The team brings together three worlds: business, IT and project management, on both the client and supplier sides. - The programme is leaving the concept phase. Friction is growing over planning and priorities, and the team works as client and supplier rather than as one team. - Delivery milestones are tight and the business will soon have to adopt the new tools. ## The challenge Get a mixed team moving together again, then help it bring the business on board, without losing the trust built along the way. Each stage had to prepare the next. ## Design ideas - **Cross pairs for the diagnosis** : At the retrospective, each pair matches an insider with an outsider. Together they name the semester’s achievements and difficulties, and what would help them. The diagnosis belongs to neither side. - **“Pulse” moments on the relationship** : Between two workshops, short slots on the quality of exchanges, with an input on nonviolent communication illustrated by situations from the project. - **Demos that own their flaws** : For the wider day, every demo owner follows the same structure: a business scenario, the demo, a discussion. They also show what does not work yet. Each visitor chooses in advance what they want to see. - **The visit sheet as raw material** : During the demos, each visitor notes what they take away, what surprised them and what it changes for them. In the afternoon, these sheets feed the adoption workshops. - **A big picture revealed piece by piece** : For the small group, the programme map is uncovered piece by piece. No one can claim a territory before the whole is visible. The sponsor’s introduction is worked on with him to set the tone. ## Run of show ### Stage 1 · the retrospective - **Sponsor’s opening** : The frame set: authenticity, listening, timing signalled by music. - **Cross diagnoses** : Insider and outsider pairs: achievements, difficulties, what would help me. - **Pulse moment** : Quality of relationships, with an input on nonviolent communication. - **Focus workshops** : Planning, governance, ways of working: two rounds, with rotation. - **My brick in the wall** : An individual commitment, then a final round of words. ### Stage 2 · the demo day - Beforehand · **Choosing your demos** : Everyone ranks their preferences to visit two. - Morning · **Owners’ pitches** : Two minutes each to make people want to come. - **Demo kiosks** : Two rounds: scenario, demo, discussion, and a visit sheet. - Afternoon · **Adoption workshops** : In small groups, from the sheets: changes, gains, friction, support needed. ### Stage 3 · the small group - Beforehand · **Anonymous questionnaire** : Three sources of pride, three stones in the shoe, convictions and doubts. - **The sponsor’s introduction** : A few key messages, including a simple collective contract. - **The big picture** : Revealed piece by piece, then discussed. - **What comes next** : Say things openly, align, then change posture. ## Deliverables - After the retrospective, a structured report: a summary of the diagnoses, then for each focus the findings, tensions, decisions and actions. - Concrete decisions from the first stage: governance cut down to two levels and tested for a quarter, a dedicated team on a blocking issue, a single reference tool for tracking, systematic acceptance criteria. - A demo day equipped from start to finish (preference questionnaire, demo structure, visit sheets, debriefs for demos not seen), then a plan for the rest of the year. ## Key takeaways - In a mixed team, a diagnosis in cross pairs defuses “us and them” before the issues are even discussed. - A demo that owns its limits reassures more than a perfect one. The business then asks the real questions. - A multi-stage engagement lets you change format and audience without losing the thread: each stage prepares the next. Related expertise : [Collective intelligence](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/intelligence-collective), [Seminar design](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/design-de-seminaire), [Seminar facilitation](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/facilitation-de-seminaire), [Leadership offsites](https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/seminaire-de-direction) --- Source: Flow Design, https://www.getflowdesign.com Contact: victoire@getflowdesign.com, marie-violaine@getflowdesign.com, +33 6 72 15 94 77. Request a quote: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/nous-contacter. Draft a run of show online: https://www.getflowdesign.com/en/concevoir-mon-seminaire.