Apollo 13 - an ITSM case experience

‘HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM’

Fifty-five hours and fifty-five minutes into the mission. Imagine you are on board Apollo 13 when one of your crew members reports hearing a loud ‘bang’. The bang is the explosion of the liquid oxygen tank #2 in the Service Module, providing vital oxygen used by the fuel cells that are Apollo’s primary power source. The backup battery-powered electric supply in the Command and Service Module has a lifetime of up to 10 hours. Unfortunately, you are 87 hours from home. Your spacecraft is slowly dying! You have a serious problem, unless you and the ground support staff start working as a team to solve this problem. But remember, time is running out. Fast. Welcome to the ‘Apollo 13 – an ITSM case experience™’

Overview

There is no question that the adoption of ITIL^® Service Management Best Practice has brought many benefits to IT Service Operations. However, there are also, undoubtedly, a number of common obstacles to overcome in most organisations to ensure a successful implementation.Apollo 13 forms the backbone of this intensive one-day business simulation, where real-life situations are experienced first hand. Delegates must apply ITIL concepts and processes to the mission-critical situation, in order to be successful.

Experience the Thrilling Reality

Throughout the simulation you will work as part of a team, playing the roles of Mission Control in Houston. Your mission: bring the crippled spacecraft and its crew safely home. All of the problems that actually arose during the real Apollo 13 Mission also occur during this professional simulation. You will get to see and feel the consequences of people, process and technology upon the quality, cost, customer satisfaction and overall business result.

The mission is broken into four phases;

1. Build & launch
2. Earth orbit & lunar approach
3. Transearth coast
4. Re-entry and splashdown

During each phase, your team will:

• Design the process
• Run the simulation
• Reflect on the experience
• Report on the successes/failures

Failure is NOT an Option

If the service management principles being taught are correctly applied, it is possible to save the astronauts; but if not there are plenty of opportunities to make them to meet their demise! Teams will receive Balanced Scorecards representing their Service Level Agreements (SLA's) with NASA. At the end of each phase, teams will report on their compliance with the service levels and the actual Apollo 13 mission will also be reviewed and related to ITIL processes, showing how mission success was accomplished by using these processes.

Did you save Apollo 13?

After the mission, a post-mission briefing will discuss the successes and failures you experienced, identifying if there was any room for improvement in the way you and your mission control colleagues co-operated. During the discussion the following areas will be considered:

• Determining the root cause of failure (Problem Management)
• Recommending a service improvement plan (Service Level Management/CSI)
• Working proactively to prevent future accidents (Problem and Change Management)
• Adopted approach to the simulation
• Reflection on the team process & solving process errors
• Transferring the learning experience to daily practice

Mission Objectives

After experiencing Apollo 13 – an ITSM case experience™ you will have:

• a first hand understanding of the ITIL theory
• learnt how ITIL processes are used in other environments
• understood the interdependency of processes & their impact on business continuity
• learnt how good designs can improve the performance of the service department
• grasped how processes can be improved by designing and implementing as a team

Throughout the mission you and your colleagues will also learn, experience and understand some of the common pitfalls organisations face during ITIL implementation:

• Overcoming resistance to change in your organisation
• Running a successful awareness campaign
• Obtaining organisational commitment/buy-in

Benefits from using our Apollo 13 simulation

Many IT organisations face similar challenges. Do you need to:

• Align IT investments to business needs
• Deliver operational excellence
• Lower and manage costs
• Manage risks and show compliancy

Get more added value from your training investment and benefit from:

• Learning how to apply Best Practice theory
• Increased ROI on training
• Improved capability for realising IT organisational performance gains
• A shared insight into improvement needs within your organisation
• Better align IT management to business needs and business value
• Speeding up the buy-in and commitment for applying process based, best practicewithin your organisation

DURING THE APOLLO 13 MISSION GENE KRANZ & HIS TEAM DELIVERED OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE...

COULD YOU PERFORM AS WELL?

DO YOU DARE TO TRY?

CAN YOU AFFORD TO FAIL?

What others think of Apollo 13

"Apollo 13 is engaging and innovative with a serious message and a genuine learning curve and should be seriously considered by anyone wanting to improve awareness and understanding of ITIL in their organisation.  The simulation covers all the key ITIL processes, making a relatively dry subject very interesting and enjoyable.  It illustrates the need for good team working and communication."
Paul Melling
Crown Agents
Technical Services Manager