Grab@Pizza™ – Business IT Alignment in Action

• Creating Business Value through IT
• Developing an outside-in Customer focus
• Understanding how to practically apply best practice such as COBIT, BRM (Business Reslationship management) to realize a sustainable change in attitude, behavior and culture in both the business & IT
• Transforming ITSM and ITIL into a strategic capability 
• Aligning IT and business decision making
• Improving end-to-end collaboration and communication

Do you recognize this?

70% of the IT departments are unable to demonstrate value to their business. The business and IT relationship is under strain, both parties blaming the other. IT is under increasing pressure to improve. New, disruptive technologies such as Cloud and social media, are emerging rapidly and Businesses are demanding more and more IT.  IT continually struggles to align with the business to ensure investments in emerging technologies deliver value,  without negatively impacting existing services and capabilities? Business & IT alignment has been a top CIO concern for more than 10 years yet still we struggle. The latest Society of Information Management annual survey reveals ‘Business and IT-Alignment STILL as a number 1 issue. It has been in the top 3 issues for the last 14 years.

Why is this?

1. IT is still too internally focused and no always seen as a strategic business partner.
2. There is still too much focus on adopting the frameworks and not focusing on realizing a sustainable change in Attitude, behavior and Culture in both Business and IT.
3. The majority of IT organizations are still experiencing top ABC of ICT worst practices (as identified by more than 3000 IT organizations).
   1. Not understanding business impact and priority
   2. IT is too internal focused
   3. Too little Business involvement in requirements specification and testing

“During Grab@Pizza I was playing the Business Manager, I realized that I was making my decisions based on Business Value. This is something I don’t see in our organization.”

About this Grab@Pizza™ simulation

Scenario Grab@Pizza is a very successful company selling millions of Pizza’s every year. But after 6 months in the current year, the sales figures are far below expectations. The CEO urged the Business Manager to make a challenging recovery plan. This plan is based on a 6 month strategy to bring the sales and profit back on target. IT is a crucial enabler for reaching new markets, streamlining processes and reducing administrative overheads. The IT department must organize themselves to explore the business demands, translate them to IT strategy and organize IT Support, IT Operations and Change Management to ensure that the Business is successful at the end of the simulation.

Objectives: This simulation can be used for many different situations. For each of the scenario’s we can offer separate reflection and discussions during the improvement cycles.

COBIT

The game can be used in combination with COBIT foundation or implementation training, and can also be used during COBIT implementation initiatives to create awareness, buy-in and help capture improvements. When played in this context we can focus on aspects such as:

• Exploring business drivers and stakeholder needs;
• Using the goals cascade to align business and IT goals;
• Understanding RACI requirements for both Business AND IT;
• Balancing decision making and priority mechanisms around ‘Benefits Realization’, ‘Resource optimization’ & ‘Risk optimization’;
• Using Cobit to assess capabilities, agree and prioritize improvements between game rounds.

Business Relationship Management (BRM)

The game can be used in combination with the BRMP or CBRM training. It can also be used by BRM teams to promote BRM within their own organizations. Bringing Business and IT people together to explore and agree the role and importance of BRM and to capture improvements.

When played in this context we can focus on aspects such as:

• Moving BRM from an ‘order taker’ to a ‘strategic partner’;
• Understand the role of BRM as ‘Connector’,‘Orchestrator’, ‘Navigator’;
• Understanding sources of ‘Value Leakage’ and how to optimize ‘Value realization’;
• Explore the BRM role in Service Management and how frameworks such as COBIT and ITIL^®

ITIL^® practitioner

The game can be used in combination with ITIL^® training, particularly ITIL^® practitioner, as it provides ample opportunity to apply ITIL^® theory and experiment with ITIL^® practitioner TOOLKIT items in a case organization. It can also be played within organizations as a CSI instrument, and to support OCM (Organizational Change Management) initiatives to create-buy in and surface resistance. When played in this context we can focus on aspects such as:

• Using the Guiding principles ‘focus on value’ & ‘design for experience’ to align with business needs;
• How to effectively communicate and collaborate E2E;
• Using CSI between game rounds to populate a CSI register and prioritize improvements to ‘progress iteratively’;
• Using measurements and metrics that relate to business value and outcomes

Duration of the simulation       : 1 day

Number of participants            : 8 – 12

Basic expertise                        : Basic understanding of ITSM