A state-of-the-art review of Digital Twins from the perspective of practitioners

Digital Twins (DT) emerged as a key enabler of Industry 4.0, bridging the gap between physical and digital realms. DTs are widely recognized for optimizing operations and enabling predictive maintenance. However, existing studies predominantly focus on theoretical advancements and applications, often over-looking the empirical challenges practitioners face. In this paper, we address this gap by presenting a survey study targeting developers, researchers, and industry leaders. The study explores three key research questions: (1) What challenges do practitioners face when developing and deploying digital twins? (2) What are the technological and organizational requirements of the industry in regard to DTs? (3) What strategies can be conducted in the future to enhance the quality when adopting DTs in practice?Our findings highlight key barriers such as data integration, interoperability, and cost constraints, while also identifying technological advancements in IoT and Artificial Intelligence as drivers of adoption. This study provides insights and recommendations aimed at equipping researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for leveraging DTs more effectively.