Houston, we have a problem !

Almost everyone knows the story of Apollo 13. Indeed it was made into a highly successful film starring Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell the mission commander. 

It illustrates how human ingenuity and carefully thought-out processes can be used in even the most challenging of circumstances to deliver success. We have built on this to create “Apollo 13 – an ITSM case experience™" - a simulation game that enables ITIL ® theory to be put in to practice.

In this one day event participants will recognise and appreciate the benefits of adapting “best practice”. Game players will experience, for themselves, the results of inadequately applying a process and the exhilaration of seeing the difference that good processes and team-work can make.

 

Turning Good Practice into Best Practice

Apollo 13 is a simulation game deployed as a learning instrument. It has a number of key objectives:

• To understand team roles and team behaviour and how these influence results
• To understand why and how “best practice” improves performance.
• To experience conflict and the resolution that creates a powerful team.
• To experience what it means to really work as a team.

The game consists of four rounds:

1. building the Apollo 13 rocket,
2. the outbound route of the mission
3. the flight around the moon
4. the return flight to earth.

In each of these rounds participants will:

• develop their skills to design appropriate processes
• experience these processes in practice
• experience the consequences of inappropriate process design
• learn how a team culture improves performance
• reflect and learn how processes can be improved (CSI)

Service Improvement Plan

At the end of the “flight” the Sysop consultants who facilitated the event will prepare a feedback action plan / report that is intended to form an essential part of your service improvement plan. The recommendations are those identified and agreed by your team during the mission. They will be focused, they will be welcomed and they will be successful.

'Houston, we have a problem'

Just Imagine . . . You are the Mission Controller. The first fifty five hours and fifty-five minutes of the mission have gone like clockwork. . . . . then the crew commander reports he has a problem.

There has been an explosion.

The liquid oxygen tank in the Service Module that provides vital oxygen is badly damaged. No oxygen is available for the fuel cells that are Apollo's primary power source.
The backup battery-powered electric supply in the Command and Service Module (CSM) has a lifetime of less than ten hours. Unfortunately, the crew are 87 hours from home ! 

You have a serious problem, the spacecraft is dying.

You need your ground support team to work as one to solve this problem—and time is a luxury you just don’t have..

• Can you motivate and manage a team to solve the problem?
• Can you eliminate blame culture and find a solution?
• Can you break down communication barriers and listen, really listen, to what’s going on?
• Can you bring these brave astronauts home?

Ask us to contact you

 

View the Apollo 13 video (5Mb Quicktime) 

This video has a soundtrack and takes a minute or two to load.