Applied games that develop ITIL understanding and insight
Exploring ITIL through our ITSM training games
Each of our IT service management games has been designed to allow participants to experience key ITIL practices in a business context.
As such, each game can be used to illustrate and discuss several ITIL practices in context within standard IT business scenarios.
The original focus of our games was the ITIL v3 Capacity management process and SAM process from which the games were born. Over the years, the games have extended and expanded in their coverage, smoothly transitioned into ITIL v4.
The games continue to be adapted and extended, incorporating specific ITIL practices. Thus, the games can be used to experientially gain an understanding of the scope of these practices and what it means to an IT organisation.
Focus on the Business layer
Based on the scenario of a small production facility with a need to improve its IT services, UPGRADE! incorporates the service value chain (SVC) activities of Plan, Improve and Engage. It is designed to explore strategy, relationship, and service financial management.
Focus on the Service layer
Centring around the SVC activities of Plan, Improve and Deliver & Support, STABILITY (shown below) and DELIVER! are designed to explore incident, problem, change, and knowledge management.
Our server room management game, DEPLOY! homes in on the SVC activities of Obtain/build and Design & transition. It is designed to explore capacity and performance management in tandem with further elements of deployment management, infrastructure & platform management as well as Workforce & talent management.
Focus on the Infrastructure layer
...bringing you the IT Business layer focusing on strategic planning and IT demand management
ITIL practices covered in UPGRADE!
General management practices: Project management (high focus)
In-keeping with the definition of project management you will be deciding how best to use your available time and money to achieve the stated mission. This will include both tactical and strategic decisions over the course of the simulation.
General management practices: Relationship management (medium focus)
Your main stakeholders are the users of the solutions and the solution sponsors, the managers in your facility responsible for the departments impacted by the solutions. You working to train additional users in the solution areas to make them more effective. This will bring you influence which you can use to secure additional funding from the area sponsor. It is important that you pay close attention to the sponsors over the course of the simulation in order that you can maximize the business value you deliver to the company.
General management practices: Service financial management (medium focus)
The goals of the company are ambitious and demand much of your financial management. You have limited financial resources available to you and you must use your investments to their maximum at each step of the way.
Service management practices: Incident management (high focus)
After receiving incidents through the service desk practice, incident management sets out to minimize the disruption caused to the service in line with the agreed service level. Incidents are classified as major or standard with major incidents requiring immediate action. The number of standard incidents permitted on a service is in line with the requirements specified by availability management. Once this number is exceeded, the standard incidents must be addressed to reduce the number back down to an acceptable level.
To secure a more reliable performance from your service you may choose to investigate in depth, one of the areas in which you have previously had an incident. This takes a concerted effort but results in a more stable and better understood service.
Service management practices: Problem management (high focus)
General management practices: Knowledge management (medium focus)
Over the course of the simulation, you will be developing the knowledge within the company and leveraging that knowledge to be more effective in your activities. Knowledge management is also featured in the use of guilds within the simulation to highlight the need to further share knowledge with your peers.
You are tasked with creating two new releases of your service, taking a number of development steps. You also have the opportunity to validate and test your new release. It is strongly recommended that you pursue this course of action in order that you don't create disruption into service operations.
Service management practices: Release management (medium focus)
ITIL practices covered in STABILITY
...bringing you the IT Service layer focusing on service management and agile thinking
...bringing you the IT Business layer focusing on strategic planning and IT demand management
ITIL practices covered in DEPLOY!
Service management practices: Capacity and performance management (high focus)
This business simulation relies on effective capacity management of your infrastructure platforms with careful planning of life-cycling activities and balancing of existing and future workloads to maximise utilization and minimize operational costs.
Over the course of the simulation you will ensure that you are able to efficiently deploy the projects needed by the company. This is a central theme to the simulation and it is through managing and automating the deployments that you are able to create income and business value.
Technical management practices: Deployment management (high focus)
Whilst it is possible to deploy most projects to a public cloud, you still need to maintain sufficient resources in your server room to provide a cost effective alternative. Your server room can support three platforms across its pools and your ability to provide capacity in the platforms directly translates to the your ability to support workloads that need those platforms.
Technical management practices: Infrastructure and platform management (medium focus)
The team you manage can be increased, developed and augmented with technical solutions. Careful development of your team, both in size and capability, is crucial to your success.
General management practices: Workforce and talent (medium focus)
