Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) · HCM & Payroll Migration · PepsiCo
HCM & Payroll Migration Project Manager Simulation — PepsiCo
Lead an $8.5M migration from Oracle PeopleSoft to Workday HCM & Payroll for PepsiCo North America. What was sold as a straightforward platform swap turns out to be a full HR transformation — every department's workflows change, the payroll team revolts, your executive sponsor leaves mid-project, and nobody budgeted for change management. Discover why the most dangerous scope creep isn't features — it's organizational impact nobody accounted for. Gain hands-on project management experience over 27 days of real decisions, stakeholders, and PMO deliverables — no prior experience required.
The scenario
PepsiCo's North America organization — spanning PepsiCo Beverages (PBNA), Frito-Lay, Quaker Foods, and corporate functions — has operated Oracle PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 and PeopleSoft Payroll for 14 years. The system is deeply customized: 200+ custom reports, 47 custom workflows, and bolt-on integrations with Benefitfocus (benefits), ADP SmartCompliance (tax filing), and Kronos (time & attendance). Oracle announced extended support ends in 18 months. Annual maintenance costs have risen to $2.1M. The CHRO, Becky Schmitt, sponsored the migration to Workday HCM and Workday Payroll as a 'platform modernization' — a technology swap, not a business transformation. This framing was deliberate: a transformation program would require executive committee approval, a formal change management budget, and 18 months of organizational readiness work. A platform migration could be approved at the CHRO level with IT co-sponsorship. You have been hired as the IT Project Manager to lead this migration. Amanda Liu, the previous PM, left after 6 weeks. Her handover notes are suspiciously thin — 2 pages for a 6-week engagement. Deloitte is the systems integration partner. Dell Boomi is the integration middleware. The project has budget approval, a defined timeline, and what appears to be clear scope. Your job is to deliver the migration. What you'll discover is that you're actually delivering a transformation.
What you'll do as the project manager
- →Migrate all North America employee records (~30,000 active employees, ~45,000 including terminated/retired with payroll history) from PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 to Workday HCM
- →Migrate payroll processing for 30,000 employees across 47 states from PeopleSoft Payroll to Workday Payroll, including all tax jurisdictions and garnishment handling
- →Establish integration layer via Dell Boomi connecting Workday to downstream systems: Benefitfocus (benefits), ADP SmartCompliance (tax filing), Kronos (time & attendance), SAP S/4HANA (finance GL postings)
- →Complete 3 successful parallel payroll runs with variance under 0.1% before cutover
- →Achieve SOX-compliant payroll controls in Workday configuration before go-live
- →Decommission PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 and Payroll within 90 days of go-live
Project management skills you'll build
The challenges you'll navigate
- •PeopleSoft customization depth — 200+ custom reports and 47 custom workflows may not have Workday equivalents, requiring process redesign that is not in scope
- •Data quality — employee records have not been audited in 6+ years; duplicates, missing fields, and inconsistent org hierarchies are likely
- •Payroll complexity — multi-state tax handling, garnishments, union shift differentials, and retroactive pay adjustments may exceed Workday standard configuration
- •Previous PM departure — Amanda Liu left after 6 weeks with minimal handover; root cause unknown but suggests undisclosed project issues
- •Change management gap — no change management budget or resources allocated; project framed as 'platform swap' with no organizational readiness plan
Technology & stakeholders
You'll manage 7 stakeholders, including Becky Schmitt (EVP & Chief Human Resources Officer), Mark Sankarsingh (VP, Global People Solutions), Jennifer Okafor (Director, Payroll Operations — North America), and more.
What you'll walk away with
A verified, shareable record of a completed enterprise project — plus the PMO deliverables you produced along the way (charter, project plan, SteerCo deck, closure document). It's real, demonstrable project management experience you can put on your resume and speak to in interviews.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need project management experience to start?
No. This simulation is built for aspiring and practicing project managers alike — you learn by doing. You make real decisions and get feedback, with no PMP or prior PM job required.
How long does this simulation take?
It runs over 27 days, roughly 27 minutes per day, covering the full project lifecycle from initiation to closure.
What will I learn?
You practice the core of project management — stakeholder management, budget and schedule control, risk, scope, and PMO governance — in the context of hcm & payroll migration in consumer packaged goods (cpg).
Is this based on the real PepsiCo?
It's a realistic scenario inspired by PepsiCo and the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector. Details and names are fictionalized for training — it's a simulation, not a record of any actual project.
What do I get at the end?
A verified project completion plus the PMO deliverables you produced (charter, plan, SteerCo deck, closure) — proof of hands-on experience you can show employers.
Related simulations
Ready to gain real PM experience?
Run PepsiCo's hcm & payroll migration and 48+ more enterprise simulations.
See plans & start