Business transformation at Bletchley

Rooms full of old mainframes and early computers, reel to reel tape drives, the Bombe and of course the Enigma machine make up just a few of the amazing attractions at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing and his team cracked the enemy code which helped win the Second World War.  

As a member of itSMF UK I was able to book (for free) on the recent Business Simulation event at the venue. I have to admit I was as excited to attend the event as I was to explore the world famous and once secret headquarters, which was home to many of Britain’s greatest minds and – in some respects – the birthplace of the modern computer.

It’s the 20th March 2024, the sun is shining, and I walk through the gates of Bletchley (which is near to Milton Keynes) feeling very nostalgic and proud of our nation’s heritage. There is a visitor centre to the right and the security guard instructs me to follow the road to the last building – Block H.  As I walk up the path, I look to my right and see all the old blocks, typical Civil Service ‘huts’ reminiscent of the 1960s and 70s. Looking through the windows I wondered what great breakthroughs and eureka moments happened within their walls, and I felt a little sad that the buildings were slowly rotting, dilapidated, and the whole of what I think was G block area cordoned off to the public.

Dilapidated Block G

Yet, the entire site was still captivating and beautiful. To the left are all the new college buildings and the park is now dedicated to all things cryptographic. I walked to the top of the hill and was greeted by the itSMF UK banner and the wonderful team who were hosting the event. I received my pass and entered the building. In a room to my left I can see the Bombe (or a replica of it), the machine Alan Turing and his team invented to crack the Enigma code, and down the corridor to the right a room full of 60’s and 70’s IT memorabilia.

IT when I were a lad!!

I grabbed a coffee and started networking; there was around eight of us from DWP Digital and the other delegates were from other member organisations, everyone seemingly interested in their surroundings and the history that came with it.  Oh yes, I nearly forgot: I went on a workshop as well. 🙂

The Business Simulation

Now I can’t give too much away about this, because it would spoil it for you if you decide to join a future event (we certainly hope to do more), but what I can do is share the outline which itSMF gave us and tell you about the significance this event had to DWP Digital. Because, like many organisations, DWP Digital is always looking at ways to refine its operating model.

I have never been on a business simulation event before, so this was a total unknown. We entered the room, which (for 40 people) was, shall we say, cosy. Tables were already arranged and, wherever you sat, you weren’t far from the front so there was no escaping or hiding in the background. There were three screens and a presenter. Enter Jaro Tomik [yAr-oh toh-meek]!

Jaro Tomik – Presenter Extraordinaire

Jaro asked everyone in the room to do a quick intro and explain why they were there before explaining the rules. Basically (as per the brief) we were about to deliver a two-year digital transformation in one day. We were going to represent different teams and record and discuss results. That is about as much as I’m going to give away – no spoilers!

What I will say though is that I saw so many similarities to the teams and processes in the simulation to our own Digital organisation. I saw similar challenges, and in the course of the day I saw the room untangle and make the entire end-to-end process work efficiently. We did this in three rounds and, at the end of each round, we analysed our findings and then made changes.

One of the best parts was the discussion between rounds where everyone shared their thoughts, and I learned a lot about business areas I know very little of.  My one recommendation for the event is to join a team with which you are not familiar, to gain an appreciation of the challenges other teams face and how you might be able to help them.

I feel like I’ve given too much away already, however I have only spoken about what is already in the brief. So if you do go on one of these events, I’m pretty sure I haven’t spoiled it, and wherever you work in Digital this will be relevant. There is a similar free event, open to all members, in July and that one is at Alton Towers (which is also steeped in British heritage going back to the 1860s), and I wholly encourage you to register quickly as there won’t be many places left.

Following the event, we were all privileged to be able to join a tour around the Museum where our guide took us through the history of computing, showing us all how the computers we know and love today – from our laptops to our phones – were developed and created. The guides were amazingly knowledgeable and clearly love what they do.

It was great to get a feel for the reality of the development of the Bombe (the machine which cracked the Enigma code) and to gain such an insight into the steps taken to create a solution that changed the course of world history. The perfect place to deliver a business transformation in a day.