Practical benefits

For you as a practitioner, the topics are primarily provided Line an overview. From this you can choose which of the subject areas Could have relevance for your company. It is clear that not everyone Topic can be relevant in every company.

Benefit for students

As a student, you are certainly still looking for a topic for your thesis. I recommend defining a broad topic area in my article at the beginning. This should be one of the 6 mentioned fields. You can then use this Start a literature analysis in the field .

Extensive scientific study

This article is based on the scientific study by Lindner and Leyh (2019) . In order to identify the topic clusters in the course of the digitization of companies, current publications on the digitization of companies were searched for in academic databases, categorized and equivalent content was summarized.

The hits were subsequently reduced and the contents summarized in thematic clusters. These Clusters are then evaluated and displayed. Of course there is still other fields, but I didn’t want this analysis to be too big either to let.

Topics of digitization

In this section I briefly explain the subject areas that I was able to derive from the study. I only treat the fields very generally and roughly. For specific research questions and recommendations for action, please refer to the original study. I’ll be happy to send you the link: just write me a short email.

Industry 4.0 and automation

Digitization offers numerous new opportunities, as well examined in the context of production systems and machines (Lindner and Leyh 2019). According to the study, Industry 4.0 is a marketing term that so-called fourth industrial revolution describes and this with the influence digital technologies in production. This also increases with it intelligent digitization the possibilities of complex tasks, especially in to fully or at least partially automate knowledge work.

Possible questions are the scenarios for the design of Industry 4.0 and the effects of increasing automation.

Reading tip: Industry 4.0

Big data

The term “big data” describes the handling of large amounts of data in the context of companies (Niebler and Lindner 2019). Be there various topics around the identification, evaluation and use of very large amounts of data discussed. These Data can be sent from sensors, mobile phones, machines, customer cards, vehicles, come from social media and many other sources and must be due to the large quantities are stored, processed and evaluated using special procedures become (Lindner 2019). This data offers companies potential for new ones Business models, markets, job profiles and many other advantages.

Possible questions are the potential of data in companies and the influence on companies as well as questions about data protection and new job profiles.

Reading tip: big data

Work, leadership and organization

The digitization of the world of work is under the catchphrase Work 4.0 predominantly in German and under Smart Working in international Literature discussed (Lindner 2019). The content of the term is according to the Study new work models, agile methods and office concepts with a focus on Implementation in large corporations. The central question is the granting of a higher one Autonomy in terms of selection and use of IT as well as in terms of location and Allow time for work to be done (Lindner and Leyh 2019). It is there also a challenge for executives working with complex and dynamic project tasks that conveyed through modern information and Communication technologies are processed to ensure.

Possible questions are the effects of digitization on employees and the increasing challenges for managers.

Reading tips :

• Work 4.0
• Digital leadership
• Agility in organization

Innovation / business models

Current technological developments offer numerous new opportunities for innovations and business models in companies (Lindner and Leyh 2019). According to the study, this discussion has been continued for many years on the basis of constantly changing technologies such as cloud computing, 3D printing and intelligent systems. The challenge lies in the procurement of suitable IT and its exploratory testing in day-to-day business, since not every new business model or innovation is automatically a guarantee for new markets and increased sales (Lindner and Leyh 2019).

Particular questions are the new possibilities for business models through digital technologies as well as exploratory testing.

Reading tip: Business models

globalization

The study understands globalization in the context of companies von Lindner and Leyh (2019) cross-border or worldwide activities that lead to competitive advantages by exploiting location advantages should. Establishment is a key point in the current discussion sufficient ICT technology for global cooperation.

Special questions are the new possibilities to work together independent of time and place.

Reading tip: Virtual teams

Cloud computing

Under the cloud Computing will take advantage of Technologies for making resources available dynamically, understood (Lindner and Leyh 2019). Meanwhile far more companies are trying out cloud computing internally than a few years ago (Lindner and Leyh 2019). The results of the Topic clusters indicate greater flexibility in scaling IT as well also towards increasing agility. For this reason, many studies investigate use cases for use and Integration of cloud computing in companies as well as data protection.

Particular questions are the new possibilities offered by cloud computing.

Reading tip: Cloud computing

Relevance of the subject areas

The following figure shows the distribution of SMEs in Germany. This stands somewhat symbolically for the distribution of the companies. It is important to research each division separately. It is clear that not every topic is relevant for every area. For example, I have knowledge-intensive skills Services explored.

So, as a practitioner, you should get the issues out of the box Consider your company and as a student also a meaningful one Make a separation according to research object or practice partner.

In a nutshell, manufacturing companies are, for example, automotive suppliers, iron manufacturers, mechanical engineering and traditional handicrafts. Knowledge-intensive services are, for example. IT consulting, software development, insurance, recruitment or financial consultancy and the construction industry should be self-explanatory. All three groups have different requirements and framework conditions. It is important to present this in the strategy development or the thesis, e.g. The networking of machines is more important in production and software support for complex tasks or virtual teamwork is relevant in knowledge work. In the following, I will evaluate the subject areas for relevance. This is my personal assessment and serves as a guide.

For example, with this method I found the topic of my doctoral thesis. To this end, I made a roundtable and invited managers from knowledge-intensive SMEs and asked them: Which of these topics should I research? The 12 managers have agreed on work, leadership and organization. For me, on the one hand, the practical relevance and the fact that enough literature was available was ensured.

Reading tip: Find a topic for doctoral thesis

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Original sources

Lindner, D. (2019). SMEs in digital change – results empirical studies on work, leadership and organization . Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.

Lindner, D. & Leyh C. (2019). Digitization of SMEs – questions and recommendations for action as well as implications for IT organization and IT service management. HMD – Practice of Business Informatics , (4), 19.

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You can write an infinite number of lines on these questions, but I believe that it is often not the environment, but the people themselves. I have the following master tip:

Successful people stand on the shoulders of giants! So you need to find those shoulders.

By the way, this is an academic farmer’s wisdom and can also be found on Google Scholar. Incidentally, this means that great researchers have built on the results of other experts. This is what entrepreneurs also do in practice, which for example Build on the successful products and services of other companies. The philosophy of science says: “A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant can see further than the giant himself” ( Source TUHH) . So in science, scientists build on other findings.

My story: How I found the shoulders of giants

In the following I will tell you my story. When I started my doctorate, I wanted to find a topic. So I looked for studies on agility in the literature (I had agility as a topic firmly in my head). Then I searched until I found 5 studies that I absolutely liked and actually did exactly what I wanted. I printed it out and I think I read it day and night. It was exactly what I wanted to research and these authors had already made their first insights.

Now I have looked at: Where did these authors publish and what other studies do they have? I also analyzed the bibliography: Which other authors have the authors cited. It struck me that everyone even quoted each other and also mostly published in the same newspaper: HMD – Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik.

So I had found my giants. Now I had to stand on your shoulders. I contacted all 5 of them and carried out a total of 6 studies with 4 of them. All of my studies have built on the studies of the authors. As you now suspect, the majority of my studies are also in the HMD. So I did it: I stood on the shoulders of giants and had strong mentors for my doctorate.

Reading tip: How I found my topic for my doctoral thesis

Practical tip: On the shoulders of giants!

You can do the same with your thesis or the establishment of a professional network in practical literature. Take a look: Which specialist articles from practice magazines do you like and where can the authors be found (e.g. important trade fairs or conferences). Go there specifically and read the magazines which articles by the authors are reprinting. Publishing houses are also exciting, as they are increasingly printing topics from the authors. For me, it’s Springer and Haufe, for example.

Now you need to get the writers’ attention. So contact them and suggest a collaboration. Afterwards you can also give lectures and write technical articles together with the authors. My tip for getting in touch is that you shouldn’t just write to the author, but rather, for example. to offer: I wrote a professional article. Would you like to give me feedback and appear as a co-author? The article builds on your article. It is also possible to ask whether you would like to give a lecture on agility at conference XY. You can send the slides to the authors and offer co-authorship. The important thing is: Deliver something to the experts. These are often very busy and have little time.

Through the contact you have a personal mentor who has a lot of specialist knowledge and contacts. So a giant! In summary, I recommend the following:

Find your giants!

1. Are you looking for exciting specialist articles or studies
2. Analyze the authors
3. Read the authors’ newspapers
4. Contact these writers, work with them, and stand on the shoulders of giants!

What’s next?

Now you have the first insights and also a specialist article on the topic. You can now find exciting user groups and conferences that the experts are also at. Get to know them and build a network. Make presentations out of your specialist articles and present them at the conferences. Tip: At the end, give the PDF for download and distribute the technical article at the conference. This is how you build your visibility and network. You are now on your way to becoming an influencer.

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• Link Amazon: LINK
• Link to Springer: LINK
• Reading sample: LINK

My advice: Read that too Interview about the book on Saatkorn .

If you want a compact overview of my studies and practical articles, then click here.

PS: My current book: The way to the cloud – a guide for companies and decision-makers has also been available at Springer for a few days!

PPS: You can also download my book “ Decision-making based on data – a manual for entrepreneurs and decision-makers ” look at.

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What is Working out Loud about?

The term “working out loud” has actually been around for almost a decade. The term first appeared in 2010 in a blog article by IT consultant Bryce Williams. Williams dealt in his text with the idea of publicly sharing work and knowledge so that added value is created for everyone. To do this, he created the term “Working out Loud” (WOL) from the previously known concepts of social collaboration and collaborative learning.
After WOL was discussed in more detail by John Stepper in his book 5 years later, it quickly found acceptance in many large companies. Stepper also made the concept available free of charge in the form of circle guides on its website. Users then translate it from English into other languages, so that WOL is now particularly widespread in the USA, Europe, but also Brazil and China.

How is Working out Loud structured?

In 2015, Stepper described in his book that WOL is based on 5 principles that follow the guiding principle of achieving individually set goals by reflecting on their own approaches.
Relationships

• Build lasting relationships
• Incl. own contribution to strengthening these relationships

Generosity

• Sharing knowledge of one’s own free will
• Strengthening your own network

Visible work

• Make your own work visible
• Added value for the network instead of self-presentation

Purposeful Discovery

• resource-oriented work
• strategic pursuit of goals with a learning curve

Growth mindset

• Openness and curiosity for new things
• use all possibilities to achieve set goals

How does Working Out Loud work?

To implement these principles, Stepper provides for teams of 3 to 5 people to be formed, so-called circles. They meet for one hour a week in a work phase of 3 months to work together on the respective goals of the individual team members.

First of all, each participant has to formulate their own goal. It does not matter whether this is private or personal in nature. It is only important that it is meaningful for the team member and can be reached within 12 weeks. This ensures that there is constant motivation over the period of the concept.

The team members are supported by a circle guide who is available to everyone free of charge. In this, suggestions and exercises are presented every week, which are related to the 5 principles of WOL and should help in realizing the goals. The main thing is to create added value not only for yourself, but also for the network by presenting the path to the goal as transparently as possible. In this way, the individual team members should also internalize the concept to the extent that WOL’s way of working eventually becomes a habit.

The Circle Guide is formulated very openly. The group size and concept period should not be exceeded for better quality. However, the team is still very free in many decisions. For example, it can freely determine the exact length of the meeting, the time at which the exercises are carried out or the choice of location. Even digitally networked teams at different locations can use WOL together.

For whom is it suitable?

But WOL is not only an interesting concept for large companies. Because theoretically every company can use WOL. However, it is particularly suitable for heavily digitized companies. Ultimately, this calls for a more open and self-organized way of working. This not only requires the right attitude, but also new working models and structures. Free thinking, the opportunity to exchange knowledge and well-organized networks as well as strong partners provide space for innovations and are the basis for successful development in the digital age.

Companies increasingly see their employees as their most important resource. WOL can be an approach to promote the expertise of one’s own workforce. There is the necessary space for exchange, support and inspiration. This creates not only flexible forms of work but also sustainable networks.

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What is agile marketing and what is it?

In this context, agile means first of all that advertising strategies are much more flexible and unbound. Oreo did not develop a planning-intensive strategy in advance, but instead reacted spontaneously to an unpredictable situation. So agile marketing is first and foremost a very dynamic concept and not as run-in as the traditional marketing processes . In order to be able to use this adaptability correctly, small, strongly networked teams are usually put together, which are able to create quick drafts thanks to flat hierarchies and to finalize the projects promptly after the feedback.
Nevertheless, many German companies are still reluctant to break away from rigid hierarchies . In order to be able to use agile marketing in a promising way, such well-established structures are rather unsuitable.

Who is agile marketing worthwhile for?

This reluctance is mainly due to the fact that many are not familiar with the area of application for agile marketing. Which companies should follow this trend and which should stay true to traditional advertising measures?
Since agile marketing is primarily carried out on the Internet, it is particularly suitable for companies that are strongly represented there. Especially when the target group is younger and mainly communicates on social media platforms. Because then agile marketing meets all the requirements for a successful advertising concept. The right content is always delivered at the right time and place.
Nevertheless, this does not rule out that companies with an even lower internet presence can also benefit from this. In today’s competitive environment in particular, the marketing department of a company can no longer manage with traditional measures alone. Agile marketing can therefore be used as a way to draw attention to your own company online. The way to more modern structures can slowly be found.

Agile marketing in the marketing mix

However, many entrepreneurs face the problem that they do not know how to embed agile marketing into the marketing mix. Because even the sole use of agile marketing does not automatically lead to success. It therefore makes much more sense to see agile marketing as a further supporting pillar in the marketing mix and to integrate it into the marketing strategy. If the corporate culture is changed in this way, agile marketing is not only viewed as a trend, but as a further development in order to do justice to one’s own target group, this can lead to long-term success. This is the only way that employees understand that the advantages of classic marketing can be linked with those of the digital world and thus achieve a much greater effect.
Tip: I’ll be happy to help you Marketing for your company
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Awarded the German Study Prize

The master’s thesis behind the whitepaper was awarded the GPM German Study Prize for the best master’s thesis 2016 on project management. Attached you will find Participant brochure and the Certificate .

Agile in the Waterfallworld

The whitepaper was created from my master’s thesis, which I wrote in 2015. The whitepaper is a summary of the results of the master’s thesis. For example, SCRUM and Kanban have been established as successful models in software development for a number of years. However, incorrect synchronization with other methods often results in decisive change management, unclear roles and tasks, a significant loss of cooperation in the course of the project, errors in project estimates and a lack of reactions to changes. Based on specific best practices, this whitepaper is intended to present a model with which agile methods can be successfully established in waterfall-typical organizations without changing the positive properties of existing structures. Through interlocking coordination across the entire project, massive change requests and errors are significantly reduced.
See also for more information Information page too agile in the Waterfallworld! Here I have prepared the content graphically and put it online as Powerpoint.

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