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Cross-cutting case · educational simulation

An emerging technology. Several signals. A hard decision.

Follow the fictional Company A case from the first news to a set of strategic scenarios. Some signals are relevant; others, ambiguous. Your job is to understand what we know, what is missing and what you would do next.

Educational simulation: fictional information and organisations. No company, figure or result represents a real customer case or external evidence.

Cross-cutting case

The decision

Company A's committee must decide: “Should we devote resources to exploring industrial thermal storage”. The alternatives are to explore internally, contact partners or postpone. None is presented as the automatic answer.

  1. 1Signal

    Announcements, patents, pilots and regulatory consultations appear.

  2. 2Question

    Is the technology moving from technical development to commercial adoption?

  3. 3Evidence

    Each record is weighed by its source, its independence and its reliability.

  4. 4Analysis

    Rival hypotheses and scenarios, not a single narrative.

  5. 5Decision

    Explore internally, contact partners or postpone.

Case sheet

Company A, an industrial company. Industrial thermal storage (heat accumulation for industrial processes). 12 months (model KIQ from lesson 1.3).

ActorRole in the case
Company AThe organisation that decides. Management committee, innovation, R&D, purchasing and sales.
Supplier BCompany that develops the technology and is the main subject of records S01–S16.
Competitor CCompetitor of Company A that is exploring the same technology; file C01–C04.
Industrial Efficiency ConsortiumFictional collaborative programme (S10).
Simulated regulatory authorityPublic consultation and postponement of a future requirement (S06, S15).
Fictional clientPilot interest with no firm order (S14).
OptionWhat it means
Explore internallyLimited technical assessment with a budget, an owner and a stopping criterion (e.g., the four-week exploration in 5.2).
Contact partnersEquivalent to O2 · limited pilot with a partner and exit milestones (5.4).
PostponeEquivalent to O3 · observation with targeted monitoring and structured review (5.4).
O1 · Invest now in an in-house lineIrreversible option that the case uses as a contrast; it is not considered robust given the available evidence.
Codes that appear in the lessons
  • S01–S16: Main register of signals in the case (dates 2026-02-04 to 2026-09-07). (learning paths 01 and 03 · L04)
  • F01–F08: Mini bank of publications for testing filters. (2.3 · L03)
  • A01–A05: Claims in a simulated AI response that are audited. (3.2 · L05)
  • H1–H3 (3.4): Hypotheses about the technology: growing experimentation, commercial transition, demand influenced by regulation. (3.4)
  • C01–C04 and H1–H3 (5.1): File on the actor Competitor C and hypotheses about its strategy (product, exploration, defensive protection). (5.1 · L06)
  • N1–N3: Pilot observations for designing products by recipient. (6.1)
  • P-NOR-004: Memory sheet with versions v1 and v2. (6.2)
  • A · B · C · D: Scenarios: coordinated expansion, blocked demand, open optionality, stagnation. (5.4 · R13 · L08)
  • O1 · O2 · O3: Strategic options: in-house line, pilot with a partner, structured observation. (5.4 · L08)
Models shared by lessons, templates and Lab
  • Maturity: Decisions, Coverage, Responsibilities, Products and use, Improvement · scale 0–3 · no average (4.5 · R16 · L01)
  • Technology radar: Technical performance, Industrial maturity, Adoption, Ecosystem and supply, Strategic fit · solid/partial/insufficient/not assessable · cross-cutting field: environment, regulation and constraints (5.2 · R12 · L07)
  • Scenarios: Axes: industrial adoption (early/slow) × integration and supply (accessible/restrictive) · scenarios A–D · options O1–O3 (5.4 · R13 · L08)

Interactive · Timeline

Company A’s 16 signals over time

Click each point to read the signal and what it lets you conclude. Filter by indicative reliability.

Timeline of the 16 signals of the Company A case.

Case study

The 16 records of the case

Fictional signals in date order. Reliability is indicative and part of the exercise.

16 records

IDDateSource typeRecordSignal typeReliability
S012026-02-04Corporate press releasecorporate primarySupplier B announces industrial storage researchThe fictional company Supplier B announces that it will explore thermal storage systems. It does not report any sales or production.announced researchHigh
S022026-02-13Industry blogweak secondaryA new technology will replace all batteries by 2027Grandiose claim with no data and no identifiable source.rumor/hyperboleLow
S032026-03-02Simulated patent registerfictional registerApplication published for a heat exchangerFictional document P-1001 published; it does not prove a grant or a product.patent filedHigh
S042026-03-09Regional presssecondarySupplier B presents a laboratory demonstratorMentions a laboratory test, with no independent industrial validation.pilotMedium
S052026-03-11News aggregatorduplicateSupplier B presents a laboratory demonstratorPartial reproduction of S04, with no independent evidence.duplicateLow
S062026-03-20Simulated regulatory portalfictional officialPublic consultation on energy efficiencyFictional consultation open until April; it is not equivalent to regulation in force.public consultationHigh
S072026-04-04Job postingcorporate primaryMaterials engineering and thermal simulationThe posting suggests a need for capabilities; it does not show headcount growth.hiringMedium
S082026-04-18Unsourced conversationrumorSupplier B will open a plant in EuropeUnverified rumor; location, date and budget unknown.unconfirmed expansionLow
S092026-05-02Fictional technical reporttechnicalSafety limitations of thermal storagePoints to potential safety requirements, based on a reduced-scale test.technical limitationMedium
S102026-05-12Consortium press releasecorporate primaryCollaborative industrial efficiency programmeThree companies announce cooperation to evaluate prototypes, with no product available.allianceHigh
S112026-06-01Simulated project databasefictional registerGrant awarded for prototype testingFictional funding granted; it does not show that milestones have been met.fundingHigh
S122026-06-23Opinion magazineopinionThermal technology will become the standardArgumentative article that extrapolates from pilots to the whole sector.unproven forecastLow
S132026-07-08Simulated test resulttechnicalEfficiency varies with ambient temperatureFictional set of results that raises an unresolved technical barrier.test resultMedium
S142026-07-29Fictional client newsletterfictional direct sourcePilot interest with no firm orderAn industrial user shows interest, with conditions pending validation.client interestMedium
S152026-08-19Simulated regulatory notefictional officialDecision on future requirement postponedThe regulation remains under review and must not be treated as approved.schedule changeHigh
S162026-09-07Corporate interviewcorporate primaryManagement confirms exploratory phaseThe company does not announce commercialisation or deployment timelines.project statusHigh

Learning paths

Where Company A appears in the lessons