July 2023

6 reasons for manufacturers to get their ITIL® tool certified

A seal of approval directly from the ITIL rights holder: You can't beat that! Together with PeopleCert, we have developed the new ATV program (Accredited Tool Vendor). And it pays off sixfold for software vendors:

1. credibility and reputation:

With an accreditation, you prove that you meet PeopleCert's high quality standards. This strengthens the credibility of your company.

2. trust of the customers:

Customers are always looking for reliable and high-quality software solutions. An ATV seal confirms that your software has been tested for ITIL4 compliance. This creates trust and makes it easier for customers to make a purchase decision.

3. competitive advantage:

In the highly competitive service management market, accreditation gives you an extra bonus and sets you apart from your competitors.

4. quality assurance:

To obtain accreditation, you must meet certain ITIL quality standards. This requires a structured quality management system and regular reviews. Your entire organization will benefit from this!

5. access to new markets and customers:

Accreditation opens up new (sales) opportunities for you: It is a prerequisite for participating in certain projects or working with certain customers in the service management industry.

6. liability and risk minimization:

Accreditation helps reduce legal risks and liabilities associated with the ITIL brand - and builds your customers' confidence in security and privacy.

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BMPK 2024: Advance booking starts

We are still quite inspired by this year's BMPK and the positive feedback from our visitors. We are glad that you enjoyed it as much as we did! And because it was so nice, we'll continue right away: On 1.8. at 10 a.m. the presale for the BMPK 2024 starts. If you want to be part of it next year (again), you'd better mark this date right away to benefit from attractive blind-bird discounts.

By the way: In our event video we have summarized the best moments and highlights for you on film. Immerse yourself once again in the unique BMPK atmosphere!

Agile leadership? Of course!

User-centric, budget-friendly, innovation-driven: Agile approaches are the key to success for many modern companies! But what does agile culture mean and how do you lead agile teams and organizations? Well, it all depends! There are many agile leadership styles. What they have in common is that they are based on trust, collaboration and a love of learning, but they focus on different things. At the core is the idea that leaders are there to support and empower their employees to succeed. But what does that look like in concrete terms? We take a closer look at three leadership styles!

Supportive leadership, for example, is a leadership style that focuses on providing employees with the best possible support and resources to effectively complete their tasks. A supportive leader shows empathy and openness to employees' ideas and concerns. She provides coaching and mentoring to support employees' professional development - not only helping each individual achieve his or her goals, but encouraging independent approaches to problem solving at the same time. This leadership style creates a fear-free work atmosphere in which employees feel comfortable, belong and are free to make their own decisions. By networking employees' know-how, relevant knowledge is made widely accessible and used in the interests of common goals.

Servant leadership, on the other hand, is a leadership style in which the leader sees himself or herself as a servant to the employees. The main focus is on meeting the needs of employees and promoting their growth and well-being. Thus, instead of leading in an authoritarian manner, the Servant Leader prioritizes the interests and well-being of employees. He or she achieves this goal by listening, supporting and encouraging employee development, and building a culture of trust. Among other things, a good servant leader is characterized by active listening, recognition of unique abilities, reflection on one's own actions, mediation of disagreements within the team, persuasiveness, expertise, and acceptance of responsibility.

Then there is collegial leadership, where the focus is on equality among members of a team or organization. Here, decisions and responsibilities are largely shared. Collegial leaders create an environment where every employee has a voice and is actively involved in decision-making and problem solving. The focus is on sharing knowledge, fostering teamwork, and leveraging the different strengths and perspectives of each team member. This is achieved through a climate of open communication, maximum voice, and a culture of mutual respect. Collegial leaders do this by maximizing the participation of team members in all phases of success, which increases overall motivation and creates space for new ideas and experimentation. By focusing on shared responsibility and collaboration, the performance of the entire team is enhanced.

And these are only three ways to live agile leadership! In practice, there are probably as many different leadership styles as there are agile leaders. Which one suits you? You will find out in our intensive Agile Leader training. Here you will learn first-hand useful techniques and approaches for your agile leadership style of the future - to motivate, inspire and inspire your team to new heights of performance. Book your Agile Leader practical workshop now!

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Best Practice Basics: What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking originated in Germany in the 1920s. According to the definition of its founding agency, IDEO, design thinking is "a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolbox to integrate human needs, technology capabilities, and business success requirements."

In various phases, a prototype is developed and tested step by step under specified framework conditions. In the process, the context, the people, as well as innovation possibilities and different perspectives on the problem to be solved are taken into account. Design Thinking is therefore an iterative learning process that should be undertaken courageously and without shying away from risks. Due to its clearly defined boundaries and focus on the essentials, the method is very well suited to finding tangible and creative solutions. This makes it particularly suitable for developing long-term goals and extraordinary products.

Design thinking combines humanism with technology and economic efficiency. It thus brings together what is desirable from a human perspective with what is technologically feasible and economical.

A design thinking process runs iteratively in six steps:

• Understand context
• People watching
• Focus and define view
• Find ideas
• Develop prototype
• Test prototype

Understanding the context means first understanding the initial situation with the actual problem. On the one hand, there is a problem that needs to be solved from the customer's or the company's point of view. On the other hand, the framework conditions given by the customer or the organization must be known and transparent.

The second phase aims to understand the customer's needs. In doing so, we communicate openly with the customer and capture his goal, needs, and priorities. A particularly exciting question in this context is what possibly improvised solutions the customer is already using to deal with the problem. Observation, active listening and asking the right questions are relevant in this step. This puts the hypotheses from the first phase to the test: Which ones are confirmed, which ones are invalid? People are practically constantly looking for arguments to support their own point of view. It is therefore advisable to set yourself the goal in this phase of identifying precisely those hypotheses that turn out to be false.

Once this step is done, the third phase follows: focusing and defining the view. The goal here is to develop a framework based on the assumptions and observations gathered in the first two phases that opens up space for the solution. We capture a coherent overall picture and bring the previous findings back to the point. In addition, the ideal customer is defined: Who is particularly affected by the observed problem? Here we can work with personas, which help to answer the most important questions about the actual target group. This third step sets the direction for the next three phases.

Only in the subsequent phase four is it a matter of finding ideas. So far, the problem, the assumptions, the target group and a framework have been defined in which we can look for solutions. These solutions are considered in concrete terms in phase four: First, we collect ideas for implementation as a team. Here, quantity counts more than quality. There are no limits to creativity and we do not worry about the concrete implementation.

This step takes place only afterwards. Once a wealth of ideas has been collected, the individual proposals are evaluated. We examine them for feasibility and cost-effectiveness and prioritize them. Finally, we decide on a proposal. It should not be a summation of all possible proposals, but should focus on a few aspects to ensure feasibility and success in the next two phases.

Once an idea has been selected, the development of the prototype begins in phase five. In this step, creativity and craftsmanship are particularly in demand. The materials used and the procedure itself are freely selectable. Whether paper or wood, Lego or role-playing games, the team can give free rein to its creativity. The following also applies: "Done is better than perfect". Not too much time and energy should be spent on this phase, as it is only a prototype and therefore a throwaway product.

Finally, the prototype is presented to a customer in phase six. The point here is to test the idea that has been created. The most important thing in this phase is feedback - it is not a pitch, but about solving the customer's problem in the best possible way. If the prototype is not the solution, that should be accepted and considered part of the learning process.

If the customer asks questions, it is interesting to shed light on their background. Why is he interested in something in particular? Perhaps the entire prototype is not the solution to the problem - but a part of it that should be further developed? Testing closes the circle. From here, we can go back to any phase or directly to implementation.

If necessary, the team can go through each step of the process multiple times. For example, if it turns out that the end users are giving devastating feedback, it may be necessary to work on understanding the problem before starting the next iteration loop.

Design thinking can be used for a wide variety of products. As with all agile methods, the mindset is crucial here: design thinking is a learning process in which the team must be willing to research and learn. In doing so, it follows a clearly defined process that can evolve in many directions and thus becomes part of the discovery journey itself.

Are you curious how you can also apply Design Thinking to your challenges? Then visit one of our trainings!

To the trainings

How to become an ITIL 4 Master

Do you want to become a champion of the entire ITIL framework? Then strive for the newly established ITIL Master certification, which is made up of several building blocks. Along the way, you'll gain absolute expert knowledge to keep your organization's IT service management top-of-mind. What do you need to do? Find out from SERVIEW Managing Director Michael Kresse in a compact explanatory video. Take a look!

Service never stands still

When was the last time you called a company's support line to reset your password? It sounds unimaginable in 2023, but not so long ago, the availability of such a telephone service was still considered a mark of quality. If you forgot your password, you had to call a customer service hotline and have an employee set a new password for you. Here, help was provided quickly and personally - what a service experience! If a company had had the audacity to offer only self-service in those days, customers' anger would probably have been boundless. And today?

Today, the definition of good service has changed. With the advancement of technology and the increasing use of the Internet, customers expect more self-service options. Instead of having to call someone, most people want to be able to solve their problems or concerns on their own. So now it's the other way around: for "small" concerns, hardly anyone has a need to speak to an employee in person.

The introduction of self-service offerings is a direct response to these changing customer expectations. Companies now provide online platforms and apps where customers can reset their passwords, retrieve information, or perform other services on their own. This enables customers to access services anytime, anywhere, without relying on the availability of a customer service representative.

This change has many advantages for customers and companies. Customers have the ability to resolve their issues immediately without having to spend time on hold. They can handle their concerns at their own pace and often get a faster resolution because there are no communication loops between customer service representatives and customers.

For companies, on the other hand, the use of self-service offerings often means increased efficiency and cost savings. As fewer calls are received by the customer service hotline, resources can be saved and focused on other areas. In addition, self-service enables better scalability, as systems are automated and can serve a large number of customers simultaneously.

Of course, self-service is not the grail of all problem solving, and there are still complex or specialized concerns that require direct contact with a customer service representative. But overall, the shift from telephone support to self-service shows that customer service is a child of the times. So those who provide services must be aware that it is always necessary to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of customers. What used to be considered good service may no longer be enough today. Companies need to be flexible and invest in innovative solutions in order to offer their customers the best possible service and keep pace with current technological developments.

On the way to the ATV: We make you fit!

To be certified as an ITIL ATV, you need comprehensive ITIL4 expertise. The prerequisites for this - in addition to the ITIL Foundation and the Practice Manager - are these two new training courses, which we will be offering from October:

1. how to implement ITIL

Here you will learn the procedure for introducing service management with ITIL 4. You will experience the training with certified ITIL trainers who have also been successfully implementing service management in consulting for many years.

Learn more

2. ITIL® Sales Professional

In this one-day compact training course, you will increase the knowledge and skills of ITIL® in your sales and distribution teams. This enables you to advise customers even better and more individually.

Learn more

How to Implement Service Management: PLAN

In the last issue of our series of articles on implementing service management, we looked at assessments - so at this point, you know the status quo in your company. You know how mature your processes are, what tools you use to support them, what skills your employees have, and what leadership culture is currently practiced. Based on these insights and the service management vision, i.e. our target vision, we develop a holistic plan for your service management project. In other words: How do we get from here (current status) to there (vision for the future)?

Make the plan verifiable

In order to move forward in a focused manner, the leadership team works with the project teams to develop planning and design for the subsequent phases of the project. As in the assessment, the planning again considers the four essential areas:

• Processes
• Process-supporting tools
• Employee training
• Management

Clear and unambiguous goals are essential for the success of our major project. Likewise, we cannot do without continuously monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of our measures and reporting on progress. In order to continuously record success here, targets and a corresponding SMART key performance indicator system are the prerequisite.

SMART is an acronym and means concretely

• Specific- specific and unique
• Measurable- measurable
• Achievable- achievable and influenceable by the responsible person
• Relevant- it contributes to the achievement of the vision
• Time-related- provided with a clear target date

If the goals you set meet these criteria, they can be used for long-term monitoring of progress. We design this monitoring to be as transparent as possible, because visible benefits are crucial to the success of the project: Due to the expected long duration of the service management implementation, it is enormously important to include steps and measures in the planning that generate visible added value. After all, these short- and medium-term successes help motivate employees for further goals that can only be achieved in the long term. They also maintain management support - because a project in which small and medium milestones are repeatedly achieved heralds visible positive change. At the same time, quick wins help win over skeptics for your project and continuously increase the number of supporters among employees.

Quick wins must be experienced, communicated, and appropriately celebrated and rewarded. This increases motivation on all sides and makes everyone involved aware of what they have already achieved. However, quick small wins are not enough for the overall success of the project in the long term. That's why you need to ensure that after initial successes have been achieved, the momentum and enthusiasm are used to fight for more difficult goals.

Incidentally, your organization will go through the PLAN step described here several times during the service management implementation. It is followed by the DO, CHECK and ACT steps - in a phased project approach to gradually introduce all the processes in the project scope and anchor them in the organization. So keep this step well in mind when we also take a closer look at the following phases in the next MAG issues.

ITIL-TOOL MEETUP: Why you absolutely have to be there

The battle for the perfect ITIL4 tool goes into the next round: In autumn, our popular ITIL-TOOL MEETUP will take place in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. And you should definitely not miss it!

That's why you need to be there as a manufacturer:

1. The ITIL-TOOL MEETUP is THE place-to-be for leading tool vendors: This is where everyone who is anyone in the IT industry meets. Don't miss the opportunity to present your software to the right target group!
2. You benefit from the direct line to the end customers: You can provide detailed information and convince customers in personal discussions. Take advantage of this opportunity!

That's why you, the user, need to be there:

1. We only admit manufacturers of certified tools to the ITIL-TOOL MEETUP. This means that we have already pre-selected the industry champions for you from over 450 ITIL tool solutions worldwide. Only those who have been awarded the title of Accredited Tool Vendor are allowed to take one of the coveted tables at the MeetUp.
2. Here you will find what no website in the world can offer: a personal exchange about individual requirements. Ask the manufacturers your questions - at MeetUp, this is possible without barriers and at eye level. In this way, you can gain an authentic impression - after all, a tool solution must not only be a technical fit, but also a human fit. A real help in the decision-making process!

Register now for free