Reflections on the Phoenix Project DevOps Simulation Game

The author, who follows a WeChat public account that translates DevOps articles, attended a Phoenix Project‑based simulation game in Beijing, experiencing DevOps principles and lean culture firsthand.

Simulation games, also called sand‑table training, originate from military war‑game simulations and involve participants forming mock companies to practice business management and decision‑making.

The Phoenix Project simulation uses the novel’s storyline, where participants assume roles such as CTO, CISO, Test team, or IT Support to apply DevOps practices and rescue a near‑bankrupt parts‑manufacturing company.

After a month of reflection, the author summarizes key takeaways from the three‑round exercise.

1. Role responsibilities, correct understanding – The author chose the Test team without clear duties, leading to inaction and a sharp drop in the simulated company’s stock price during the first round.

2. Using tools to improve efficiency – In the second round, a large visual board (Kanban) was introduced, helping visualize work and focus on important tasks, but tools alone could not fully turn the tide without clear management strategies.

3. Goal‑oriented value improvement – The third round emphasized allocating effort between urgent incidents and high‑value work, slowing the stock decline but highlighting the need to prioritize profit‑driving activities.

4. One‑piece flow – The author discusses bottlenecks, using the Lean Engineer as an example of a constrained resource, and suggests training, knowledge transfer, and standardised processes to alleviate bottlenecks.

5. Reducing handoffs, improving efficiency – Emphasises minimizing unnecessary transfers and fostering direct communication, citing the “communication funnel” effect where messages lose fidelity through multiple layers.

The simulation is especially suitable for three groups: companies seeking to raise DevOps awareness across all staff, IT operations personnel unfamiliar with DevOps, and managers who already practice DevOps but need to elevate their theoretical understanding.

All images are sourced from the internet.