VeriSM™ – What is it all about and who is it for?

The past 6 months have been a very exciting time at EXIN as we have been working on VeriSM™ – a new approach to Service Management. While working on this project as a Product Owner I was lucky enough to receive the book as one of the first ones to read it and it immediately captured my interest as something really exciting.

It is clear that the ethos around the publication and subsequently the approach adopted by VeriSM™ is the focus on the consumer and how using service management flexibly would deliver the best outcomes from employee to the customer resulting in an all-round successful experience for all stakeholders. There is already a worldwide buzz around the project with over 30 countries already boasting foundation certifications.

Who is the VeriSM™ Target audience?

The central point of the VeriSM™ focus is about how to provide a good product and/or service in the Digital Age. Fundamentally this is paramount to any organizations success in business. Without a happy end user, you will soon have no consumers.

With this in mind I would say that :

“Every single person that deals with customers at any level should consider themselves to be part of the target audience for learning more about VeriSM™.”

Service management is not confined to IT departments anymore. Technology runs through every part of a modern digital business and the consumer expects the very best service and product.

The audience demographic is broad for VeriSM™ due to its flexible nature and benefit to all types of organizations. To allow for this, the authors and examination institutes have carefully divided the learning and certifications into 3 groups:

• VeriSM™ Foundation: For those professionals that are new to the Service Management field and needs to understand the basis of that, and how to better use the main practices, frameworks and emerging technologies to deliver business benefits and required outcomes. It is a benefit to be familiar with the IT industry but not a prerequisite.
• VeriSM™ Plus: You are already “in” the Service Management field, but you want to increase/improve your knowledge to apply it more flexibly to allow for the constant changes that come as part of the digital era. It will teach to use what you already know whilst aligning with emerging technologies and progressive practices (eg: Agile, DevOps, Shift Left, etc). You must be already certified in IT Service Management.
• VeriSM™ Essentials: You are from parts of the business not necessarily with an IT background. You need to focus on how to implement or improve the service culture through the organization, zooming in the behaviors, mindset, business outcomes and benefits by determining a single language and common understanding.  The success of your operation hinges on your customer’s experience and you recognize this is the key to survival in a competitive marketplace. No IT here!

There is VeriSM™ content which is useful for every part of an organization and the individuals within it whilst putting the focus purely on delivering the best outcome for the customer.

Case studies and business cases are including across a wide range of industry perspectives giving it a real-world feel.

IT and the tech part of your company are not separate but positioned as just one of your capabilities.

Why is VeriSM™ Relevant?

Every organization is a service provider. In an online world of easy access to reviews, social media and opinions now more than ever customer experience is everything.

The principles of a solid service management structure ensures that employees have clear guidelines of what “good” looks like from a consumers perspective and organizations can train, influence and inspire them to adopt a service culture which will ultimately deliver success.

To use a real-world analogy: When you go to Starbucks and you receive your cup of coffee, if it is not exactly how you want it to taste, you are able to order a new one.  This is part of their customer mission and is a good example of a service culture. In fact, on their website, they are open about their corporate governance as their mission statements are actively available online.

Starbucks is definitely not an IT company but they operate within service management principles that we recognize!

How does VeriSM™ fit with other familiar IT frameworks?

If you are expecting to see VeriSM™ connected with other familiar IT frameworks, practices and standards then you are right. VeriSM™ is positioned so that organizations will have first determined their own Service Management Principles based on their own governance requirements and the parameters they put in place. They can then decide which frameworks, practices, technologies, etc make sense to be used in the scenarios they encounter.

Management Mesh, What does that mean?

The Management Mesh is based on: Environment, Resources, Management Practices and Technologies.

Again, it’s not only IT organizations that needs to use and understand the organization environment, resources, practices and technologies in order to offer products and services to their customers. Organizations that are able to link it with a Service Culture will have more chance to be successful in the market and achieve more customers (and also increase the loyalty of the current ones).

VeriSM™ links to all organizational capabilities (Marketing, IT, HR, Finance, Sales, etc) and resources in order to make business environments leaner and more agile by using what makes sense to them.

What’s on the exam?

The exam content is tailored depending on what level as described above that you are being certified at.

I did the complete Foundation exam, which meant I could test all VeriSM™ content on this certification level (including the Essentials and Plus). The questions I answered proved to me you needed to really understand the concept of VeriSM™, especially around service culture and modern organizations.

I feel that it provides a really useful addition for professionals to help them see and understand the big picture of a business and provides a unique insight into just how much service management best practice exists and is beneficial in the workplace.

Without any hesitation, I can say that VeriSM™ certified professionals will have developed a new vision of how to go further with Digital Transformation and how to increase/improve user experiences.

My Opinion: Do not hesitate! Go for your VeriSM™ training, buy the book, take the exam or whatever you prefer! I don’t think you will regret spending that time in improving your own skills and understanding and your customers will thank you for it.

Find out more.

This blog is reproduced from an original blog by Ademar Albertin.

Ademar Albertin is part of the Portfolio & Program Team at EXIN. As Program Manager at EXIN he specializes in VeriSM™, Agile Scrum, DevOps and SIAM. On working at EXIN: ‘I am passionate about working at EXIN – we have the opportunity to influence positively IT and business professionals in different parts of the world. With the support we offer we give them new and better chances in their professional careers and, as a result, the opportunity to improve their lives.’ Before joining EXIN in 2016 he founded the HSI Institute in Brazil. Ademar has over 10 years of experience in IT Service Management, IT Governance and Sales Management. Aside from IT, Ademar is passionate about fitness, travel and food culture.