Play It Again, Sim
One company that specializes in training simulations says the approach brings ITSM concepts to life for a larger number of individuals in the IT organization.With the increased emphasis on business-technology alignment in ITIL V3, for example, some vendors are saying that more companies need to expand exposure to the discipline beyond the individual evangelists and subject matter experts who will go through the ITIL Foundations course to gain certification.
Whether its ITIL, other ITSM frameworks, SOA or other practices, these days the name of the game is bringing services to market more quickly, and becoming more competitive, says Sutherland, and to do that an organization needs all the players on the team ready to play in the most effective way.
Understanding the ecosystem
Application developers, for instance, cant afford to be out of the office for days to sit for traditional ITIL ITSM instruction nor are they likely to come away from the experience with much, if any, understanding on how their work ultimately impacts colleagues in operations engaged in service management initiatives.
It wont bring to life the importance of what they do and where they need to consider their impact in the lifecycle, and on the companys performance, says Sutherland. This is an ecosystem now and people need to understand what part they play.
In so doing, Sutherland envisions benefits including projects delivering on their goals which today doesnt happen in about 80% of the cases and a better understanding of the role they play in driving the business forward.
Traditional learning tools have their place, he says, but for a wide swath of users simulations make the dynamics real in a way that helps break down the barriers that typically separate IT silos.