News in the Spotlight

This is how heroes shine: The SERVIEW family has grown!

They combine extraordinary strategies with fireworks of creativity, make colors pop, words glow and brands shine: That's UnitedCreation, the marketing agency we trust. Together we have already set up countless courageous projects, inspired each other and driven each other to peak performance. The team around managing director Andreas Lehnert was enthusiastic from the very beginning and surprised us again and again with new unusual ideas as well as irrepressible strength of implementation.

For years, we have been connected by a great partnership - and now it's time for the next step. We are no longer "just" companions, close partners and friends. We are family, because UnitedCreation is now officially a part of SERVIEW!

Thus, numerous unique personalities enrich our very special SERVIEW corporate sound. In the closest cooperation we will share explosive ideas, implement never imagined projects and reach for the stars for you and your company's success!

Discover UnitedCreation

Press release: SERVIEW and UnitedCreation

So now SERVIEW and UnitedCreation are one. I am incredibly happy that we have decided to take this step. It is the logical consequence of the first-class partnership and close cooperation we have enjoyed for years. And as is so often the case, it's not just the impressive results that make the crucial difference, but the people.

As Managing Director of UnitedCreation, you will certainly know Andreas Lehnert from the SERVIEW webinar on archetypal brand positioning. Here and also in the podcast, we looked beyond the IT horizon together with you. Anyone who has experienced him knows exactly: When this man talks about marketing, passion sparks from every single word. And his team is in no way inferior to him!

We were always looked after personally, in a spirit of partnership and, above all, holistically. We were confronted with uncomfortable truths through honest analysis, overwhelmed with creative ideas and surprised with the implementation of effective solutions. The passion and wealth of experience in the UnitedCreation community are clearly noticeable. There's heart and soul in it - just like us. We are similar and yet different. That's why our meetings have always been a celebration for me. The fact that this insanely creative team is now part of SERVIEW is like a family reunion. I'm excited to see how we'll develop together in the years to come. Are you too?

Yours Michael Kresse
Managing Director and Owner SERVIEW GmbH

We are an official Atlassian partner!

We are very excited about this news: SERVIEW is an official partner of Atlassian! From now on, we will be working closely with the renowned software provider - and will be able to anchor its powerful ITSM solutions independently in companies. 

This is the final step towards holistic, implementation-strong consulting: In addition to competent consulting, we now also offer our customers the implementation of the corresponding software. And Atlassian is just the beginning: In the future, other tools will complement our portfolio ...

Rocket launch from studies to career

Do you already know serview4students.com? Here we make young people fit for the start of their professional life - with Scrum, PRINCE2® or ITIL® 4 certifications at fair student prices. Such an extra qualification is a great way to score points with future employers. Interesting for junior staff or young colleagues in dual studies who want to be one step ahead of others!

About SERVIEW4STUDENTS

A prize for innovative IT ideas

We think: Creative and bold thought leaders need to be rewarded more often for their ideas. That's why we honor the best "Business IT Alignment" innovation from a company or individual with the SERVIEW BESTEXPERT Award. Who wins the coveted trophy is decided by an independent jury of experts before the award is presented as one of the highlights at the Best Management Practice Congress in May.

You think you deserve the SERVIEW BESTEXPERT Award? Then contact us and present your project - maybe you will soon be one of the nominees!

Contact

Agile and project management

What does an agile coach actually do?

Lean, Kanban, Design Thinking: Of course, an agile coach must be familiar with them. But more importantly, he must be able to convince and inspire others of the benefits of agile methods! "We humans are creatures of habit, we don't like change," says our expert Artur Stock. In the video, he explains what makes a good agile coach - and what the role has in common with a soccer coach. Take a look!

Scrum books and e-learning to win

To everyone who would like to get started in Scrum: Take a look at our Instagram channel! There we are currently giving away 15 copies of our brand new digital Scrum book. As the grand prize, we're giving you a "Scrum Kompakt" training course on top - consisting of the two e-learning courses Scrum Master & Product Owner, including both exams. Total value: 735 Euro! So take your chance and enter the competition, we'll keep our fingers crossed for you!

To the raffle

Food for thought: Are we agile? Or are we just pretending?

Business as usual was yesterday, nowadays many companies want to work agile - or believe that they have been doing so for a long time. Just because there are Scrum teams and maybe even an Agile coach, you are far from being agile - but hopefully on the best way there. But why not just any organization should call itself agile, you will learn in this thought-provoking article.

Agile is a way of thinking

Those who really live agility have different ways of thinking and thus working. Consider, for example, the first value of the Agile Manifesto. It says: "We value individuals and interactions more than processes and tools."

Take an organization where a classic "no ticket, no work" approach prevails. Companies of this type don't even allow a mindset that values interactions over processes to emerge. In the worst case, they even effectively discourage employees from communicating directly. They think in terms of processes, and tools are used by the book.

This leaves a lot of potential for synergies unused - because even if it would be more effective to call the colleague from the specialist department and agree on the tricky new task, this exchange rarely takes place. After all, there is a process for this that takes care of it. So a ticket or work package is created and thrown over the proverbial fence. This kind of behavior is alien to teams that live the agile mindset. They are used to thinking in terms of interactions. Here, instead of the ticket (or in addition), a meeting is organized to solve the task together.

An agile organization not only creates the framework for agile action, but also supports agile thinking. The best way to promote the new way of thinking is with suitable training courses, so that everyone can actively get to grips with the agile rules and ideas. Anyone who is interested in this should definitely drop by our agile training courses, which are each concluded with an official certification.

Agility is not a synonym for flexible working

Let's look at another fallacy that causes some organizations to think they are agile when in fact they are far from it: Agile working does enable great flexibility. But acting flexibly does not automatically mean acting agilely.

So how do agility and flexibility differ? We can view flexibility as the result of utilized potential: We create scope for change in the organization, which we then use when we need it. This leeway can take many forms. The use of agile methods is just one of them.

There is even flexibility that is not really flexibility at all, since it is detrimental to the company in the long run. Take, for example, an organization in which rapid changes are made out of a pressure situation in order to keep up with the market. Seen from the outside (and perhaps also from the top), the company acts flexibly - and management therefore mistakenly considers it to be agile.

Internally, however, the favorable conditions for agility are missing. Rapid change requires a leeway that does not exist within the established structures - and then comes at the expense of employees, for example, who accumulate overtime in order to cope with the change. The overload damages the organization in the long term, because every company draws its strength from the people who are part of it. And if a manager now confronts the team with slogans like "It has to be this way, we are agile after all," the debacle is perfect. Because if a real agile transformation is to take place later, the inner resistance to "this agile" will be all the greater.

Incidentally, the misconception that agile and fast are one and the same is similar. Agile teams work more efficiently - but not necessarily faster.

You see: There are many misconceptions surrounding the trendy term "agile working". We have now corrected two of them. So it should be clear: You don't become agile overnight. Rather, it is a transformation process that takes time - because it needs to be anchored not only in the work structures, but above all in the minds and the corporate culture.

Service Management

Designing Service Management Agilely: Certified Agile Service Manager

Consistently introducing agile methods into service management can be a challenge. Particularly when your own IT service management system is still under development, you need discipline and a good knowledge of agile procedures to avoid losing your way. This is where further training to become a Certified Agile Service Manager can help.

The two-day training focuses primarily on the application of agile principles and methods for process design and process improvement. Participants will learn how to inspire all stakeholders to think agilely and at the same time focus on the customer in order to deliver services successfully. Dovetailing service management with agile concepts such as Kanban, DevOps and Lean as well as Agile Process Design and Improvement ensures that IT can continuously deliver added value even when requirements change.

Do you also want to make your service management agile? Then it's worth taking a look at the training officially accredited by the DevOps Institute!

To the training program

Best Practice Basics: What is ITIL®?

ITIL and service management are almost synonyms - but what is ITIL actually and where did it come from? In today's Best Practice Basics, we take a look at the origins of the legendary service management framework.

Since its inception, ITIL has become the world's leading approach to the governance, coordination and management of services. It is an internationally recognized, vendor-independent collection of best practices. ITIL can significantly increase the efficiency and quality of services and service organizations. As a result, customers benefit from consistent or even better services.

This is made possible by a process-based approach that encompasses numerous stations, from the service provider's strategy and the recording of customer requirements to operation and continuous improvement. ITIL, especially in its latest version ITIL 4, focuses on the entire value chain. Here, all elements are to interlock optimally in order to generate value.

ITIL was developed in Great Britain in the 1980s. Here, Prime Minister Thatcher reorganized the outdated British industry with a hard hand by rigorously shrinking it back to health. In the course of this, the IT efficiency of government agencies was also to be increased in order to reduce costs. So Skinner and Stewart of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) developed a workable set of best practices as standard operating procedures for IT operations. The resulting framework was later called the "IT Infrastructure Library," or ITIL for short. Today, ITIL is considered the global industry standard for any service organization, whether in IT, marketing, HR, after-sales, field or facility management. Extensive updates ensure that the collected best practices always fit the challenges of the current service world.

The latest update lifted ITIL from version v3 to version 4. If you are still ITIL v3 certified, you only have a short time left to quickly and cheaply upgrade your qualification to the next level. Find out how in the following article.

To the blog post 

Compact learning at your own pace

Imagine finding a treasure. A digital treasure trove of knowledge consisting of the most important aspects of IT service management, presented with clear images and practical examples. This treasure will soon sparkle within reach - because the ITSM Video Library is waiting in the wings!

Presenter Louisa Neubauer guides you through the world of service management with SERVIEW's ITSM experts. The result is a structured basic course for anyone who wants to get to grips with the fundamentals of ITSM and internalize the most important aspects at their own pace. Preparations are in their final stages - stay tuned!

 

Webinar: Service Management with Jira

You want to get an idea of service management with Jira yourself? Then be sure to register for our webinar and let our expert Philip Scherer present this powerful tool to you in person! The exciting tour starts live on February 24. If you can't be there on that day, you'll have the opportunity to catch up on the missed webinar as a recording at an extra date in March - however, it's especially worth attending in February to clarify individual questions.

To the registration

Consulting and
SERVIEW Certifiedtool

Podcast: How to implement Service Management

Every overarching change presents organizations with a mammoth task. In the absence of established standards, countless questions arise: How do we go about implementing new frameworks? How do we make sure that everything has been thought of? How do we ensure that no one is left behind in the old process world? And many, many more. What to do?

Our consulting expert Michael Heyn knows this. In the SERVIEW Podcast, he talks about his proven model for implementing service management and other far-reaching changes. Listen in!

Listen to podcast

 

 

"The more focused you are on the customer's needs, the happier the customer will be."



Michael Heyn
Head of Consulting, SERVIEW

How to implement ITSM: It starts with persuasion

Conviction moves mountains - service management is no exception. In this issue of our new series of articles "How to Implement ITSM", you will find out why the initial work of persuasion is so important and how you can start a service management project in a goal-oriented manner.

Buying an expensive tool will not change the way an organization works. Why then is it easier to gain gigantic funds for a technology project than a moderate budget for a service management project?

The answer is brutal and ruthless: Because the service management project goes to the core of the organization! It is about really changing something. The transformation from technology provider to service provider takes a lot of time and effort. It requires perseverance and persuasion. Familiar habits and ways of working, personal spheres of power and established structures are called into question and - where necessary - reorganized. At the same time, successes only become visible slowly, because making service management successful is a marathon; not a sprint. What you need is a business justification to run this marathon - and an influential sponsor to support you.

In practice, unfortunately, half of all service management initiatives fail at this point before they are properly started: Too few managers and employees see a real need for change or give it a chance. Without this support, your project crumbles before it has even started.

To convince all stakeholders, the question "What will happen if we do nothing?" must lead to a real sense of urgency. And it needs to happen at all levels of the organization. This is where your sponsor, as a member of top management, can help drive the project forward. He or she is convinced of the need for change, represents the initiative to top management, and ensures that the necessary resources and budgets are in place.

It is important that the sponsor actively supports the project on a strategic level throughout the entire term. Therefore, the better and more convincingly you can communicate the feeling of necessity and back it up with hard facts, the easier it will be for you to find a real sponsor.

SERVIEW Solutions: A new era begins

You already heard about the big news in the last SERVIEW MAG: In our new Solutions division, we will in future be responsible for, manage and lead to success the implementation of renowned ITSM software. In this way, we will also close the last gap in our consulting process. This means that we can support our customers in successfully setting up their service management, from needs analysis to ongoing operation.

Atlassian is the first provider whose software we can embed in the organizations as needed, ServiceNow will soon follow. In perspective, other tools will be added in the future to cover as broad a spectrum of solutions as possible.

Are you interested in Solution Consulting and do you have the drive to tackle a new challenge? Then contact us and strengthen our team!

Become part of the team

 

Events

A stand among the best: only a few places left for exhibitors

The most successful software and service providers for IT best practices in one place - that's only at BMPK, the largest industry gathering of its kind! Over 40 leading companies are already on board as exhibitors in May. Do you also want to use this stage for your company? Then hurry up, there are only a few places left.

Become exhibitor

 

Ticket plus training: your all-round carefree package

Get to know companies, meet like-minded people and additionally complete further training? BMPK has it all: Here, in addition to the large trade exhibition, there are also plenty of training sessions - from Scrum and ITIL to PRINCE2 and DevOps. The Performance Packages 4 and 5 include two to two and a half days of training of your choice. Knowledge input with event character, it doesn't get more practical than this! 

To the packages

 

The app for the BMPK23

Digital program book, personal calendar, news source, exhibitor overview and hall plan in one: In the BMPK app, you have all the highlights at your fingertips on your cell phone. Download it now for free!

Recorded for you: What lies ahead for the IT industry in 2023

The other day, our two SERVIEW managing directors Michael Kresse and Marco Bichel dared to take a look into the crystal ball: In the webinar "ITSM of tomorrow: What's in store for the IT industry in 2023", they revealed which topics will occupy us this year. If you couldn't be there, don't be sad: We recorded the webinar so you can watch it (again) at any time.

Speeddating for the best ITSM tool

When it comes to ITSM tools, one thing is clear: Not just any candidate will do! The ideal software must fit your company not only technically, but also on a human level - like a life partner. That's why our ITSM-TOOL MEETUP is like speed dating: the world's leading vendors present their ITSM solutions to you, describe their advantages and special features, and answer your questions in person.

In each of six time slots, you sit down at the round table with the manufacturer of your choice. Within 45 minutes, you will gain a compact overview of the respective IT or enterprise service management tool. Above all, you get answers to individual questions that are burning on your mind. Personally, up close and without compromise. 

The ITSM-TOOL MEETUP 2023 will take place on September 28 in Frankfurt, on October 5 in Hamburg and on October 17 in Munich. Are you participating?

Register now for free

The next issue will be published on

09 March 2023