Using Business Simulations to Streamline DevOps Collaboration
Business simulations can help your organization to build strategic alignment and develop capabilities. Military officers, surgeons, pilots, and emergency response teams go through rigorous simulations before taking on their responsibilities. Consequently, it better equips them with the skills to handle crises.
Businesses can also use simulations to their advantage. Simulations allow learners to interact with real-life situations in their work environments. Simulation games mix elements of decision-making, work prioritization, and cooperation with repetition and feedback.
The challenges facing many IT organizations today -- scarce resources, budget constraints, all while working remotely – demand effective communication and collaboration skills. Many organizations recognize the need to transform to new agile ways of working, such as Agile, DevOps, and ITIL.
Why Your Organization Needs Business Simulation
- Fast-Tracking Performance Through Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is one of the most effective ways to train teams.
- Building Key Skills in A Realistic Environment
Participants build skills by taking part in real-world simulations. These skills include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and understanding value, to name a few.
- Deepen Learning Through Collaboration
Communication, cooperation, and collaboration with colleagues are some of the best ways to achieve results. Understanding how the workflow impacts the different divisions within the company is a key takeaway from the business simulation games.
- Foster Unprecedented Engagement
Research shows that simulations increase engagement in the learning process. If you combine interactions, teamwork, and game elements in one package, it will help create an environment that learners want to experience.
DevOps and Business Simulation – a Match Made in Heaven
There has to be a transformational approach to culture and core business processes. Implementing proper DevOps takes time, dedication, and a well-trained team. This is where business simulation comes in to help you and your team no matter where you are in your DevOps journey.
The Phoenix Project DevOps Simulation Game
Parts Unlimited is facing financial turmoil. To save the business and make it profitable and competitive again, the business owner must implement an IT-led business transformation. The VP of IT’s task is to lead the IT department to make sure the Phoenix Project is a success. But he is facing a lot of challenges with a backlog of issues, projects, and features.
In the simulation, the team must take up various roles within Parts Unlimited. These roles include Retail Operations, Chief Financial Officer, and Human Resources.
The game brings together a team of five to seven remote participants. The team members must suggest improvements, address issues, develop applications, and manage operations. The challenge is to use DevOps principles and apply them in this business simulation.
The game has four rounds where team members work on IT projects to complete the Phoenix Project on time. Team members need to shift their mindsets and culture and develop new behaviors in both operations and development to achieve this goal.
The Mars Lander Simulation Game
In this simulation, participants work on the digital service team of SPACE-Y. This is a company that sells data it has collected from its space missions. SPACE-Y’s customers include research centers and universities. The mission is to launch a rocket with Mars Lander, deploy it on Mars, and collect valuable data.
The Mars Lander simulation is an interactive ITIL 4 simulation game. Participants can experience and explore how the ITIL 4, Lean, Agile, and DevOps ways of working improve service delivery. The game is perfect for groups of seven participants. Teams receive responsibilities and roles. The simulation requires them to communicate and collaborate using online communication and other collaboration tools.
The goal of the game is to create self-motivation and ingrain the need for agility in ITSM. Through the Mars Lander simulation, organizations can understand how teams interact and work together while responding rapidly to changing circumstances in this experiential and exciting environment.
Objectives of the Simulation
The specific needs and learning objectives of the team determine the objectives of the simulation. But, generally, learners are able to:
- Experience the use of tools to work remotely.
- Understand how visible workflow improves throughput
- Apply DevOps principles in real business situations
- Find that delicate balance between delivering IT projects, Business Objectives, and Corporate Goals
- Experience how DevOps brings serious value to an organization
- Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the entire company
- Create a better work flow within teams
- Develop people skills to work within the DevOps environment
In summary, a team learns how to visualize work, communicate effectively, keep track of progress and status, and collaborate remotely. The team also learns how to make effective decisions.
Who Is the Target Audience?
All roles and employees within IT, Engineering, Operations, and the business are members of the simulations’ target audiences. This is especially true for those employees who want to apply DevOps principles to improve the performance of their company throughput overall.
These simulations are for those organizations that want to develop their culture to achieve better collaboration. As a result, organizations can achieve faster and error-free deployment of solutions. When a Cultural shift is required, it is a great team building exercise to bring in people from every level of the company – especially your executives!