STEP BY STEP
to a complex product.

Agile project management and product development in a digital context

Portrait von Alex Thies (Scrum Master)

Alexander Thies

// Project Manager // Scrum Master
// Concept Developer // Design Sprint Master

// Project Manager
// Scrum Master
// Concept Developer
// Design Sprint Master

Portrait von Alex Thies (Scrum Master)

I have been working as a freelance project manager scrum master and concept developer for 10 years. My main competence lies in the areas of agile project management, agile product development and process development and strategic advice.

Most recently I was significantly involved in the design and development of the Miles & More app for Lufthansa for almost 5 years and had the opportunity to lead an international team and manage complex digital projects.

Thanks to my career progression from art director to concept developer, scrum master and agile project manager, I also have extensive knowledge of the media industry and the workings of agencies and am happy to provide advice and counselling when it comes to setting up digital departments or establishing agile processes.

I have been working as a freelance project manager scrum master and concept developer for 10 years. My main competence lies in the areas of agile project management, agile product development and process development and strategic advice. Most recently I was significantly involved in the design and development of the Miles & More app for Lufthansa for almost 5 years and had the opportunity to lead an international team and manage complex digital projects.

Thanks to my career progression from art director to concept developer, scrum master and agile project manager, I also have extensive knowledge of the media industry and the workings of agencies and am happy to provide advice and counselling when it comes to setting up digital departments or establishing agile processes.

Let’s get in touch
and talk about your project!

What I do

Strategy & Consulting

agile product development & processing

more...
  • digital product development
  • implementaion of agile project management and agile processes in companies
  • setup of agile & digital product departments
  • marketing for digital products
  • managing of communication between IT and marketing
  • governance of remote project teams

Scrum Master

agile working & coaching

more...
  • accompanying agile projects as a Scrum Master
  • product development by applying the Design Sprint Framework
  • set up of agile processing and project frameworks
  • applying an iterative and incremental approach within digital project management
  • governance of ticket-based IT workflows
  • scrum coaching for employees and teams
Projektmanagement

Project Management

agile & classic

more...
  • project initialization and project gouvernance
  • product ownership & backlog management
  • stakeholder management
  • development of digital products - initialization & further development
  • requirements engineering
  • governance of IT, test management and marketing

Concept Development

smart ideas & excellent execution

more...
  • applying the Design Sprint Framework
  • from brainstorming to implementation
  • wireframing & rapid prototyping
  • product implementation and further development in cooperation with IT and marketing

How I work

  • the user is always king
  • focus on the essentials
  • quality, time and cost goals must be achieved
  • exploration and goals are not in conflict but are integrative components of the project process
  • interdisciplinary project teams - has to be on the same page
  • no prejudice
  • permanent exchange between all departments involved
  • early evaluation of all factors influencing the project
  • application of collaborative tools for knowledge and process management
  • transparency in project governance through digital tools
  • independence of location & remote project governance if needed
  • exploratory and analyzing - always close to the user
  • story mapping to identify the MVP (Minimum Valuable Product)
  • impact mapping for requirements analysis
  • applying agile frameworks such as Scrum and Design Sprint
  • user stories as basis of any requirement
  • one for all, all for one – you achieve the best results as a team
  • independent & self-organized teams are the basis of up to date project work
  • motivation through freedom in the execution of the given sprint tasks (sprint backlog)
  • integrative way of working
  • open to other cultures
  • use of internationally acknowlegded project frameworks
  • english as the project language
  • lightweight, contructive & value-adding
  • iterative approach: development in controllable development cycles
  • incremental approach: successive and constructive stages of product increments are put together gradually with each release to a comprehensive product
  • MVP identification – "Minimum Viable Product" is were it all starts
  • "Test & adapt" - results are permanently verified on prototypes and acceptance tests

Why agile?

Agile work has a number of advantages over "classic" approaches. For me, the main benefits are on making projects more realizable, more manageable and therefore faster. This not only increases team motivation immensely. Due to the much better transparency and the continuous delivery of verifiable product increments, the acceptance and satisfaction among customers and clients also increases significantly. This results in projects that are not only finished in time, but also meet the financial framework. An absolute win-win situation for everyone involved!

Overview advantages

  • higher acceptance among users
  • continuous innovation through regular product updates
  • higher quality results through "test & adapt" approach
  • Fast results through sprint iterations
  • more efficient project management
  • better transparency through ticket-controlled work
  • flexible requirements and error management
  • focus on customer centricity
  • continuous improvement of the project team through personal responsibility and ongoing team retrospectives
  • continuous product improvement through iterative development
  • light weight working
  • satisfied stakeholders

... to name just a few advantages.

Certificates

Scrum_Master_PSM

Scrum Master

Professional Scrum Master

PSM
SAFe_for_Teams

SAFe for Teams

Certified SAFe® 5 Practitioner

SAFe
Ipma_Level_D

Project Manager

certified project manager

IPMA Level D
DS_Log

Design Sprint Master

certified

DSM
200525_CARS

Agile Requirement Specialist

 
certified

CARS
IREB_klein

Requirement Engineer

Certified Professional Requirement Engineer

IREB CPRE – FL

Credentials

What customers and colleagues say

Dedication to excellence

"Alex is a compassionate individual who consistently prioritises the well-being of others. His positivity is infectious, and he approaches challenges with optimism and resilience, always seeing the silver lining.
His dedication to excellence, combined with his genuine care for those around him, makes him a valuable asset to the right team. I have no doubt that he will continue to excel and inspire in all his future endeavours."

System Architect
diconium digital solutions GmbH

Fabio Barreiros

The winning card

„I worked with Alex for over two years in the field of e-commerce, where he was supporting a big international team in the role of SAFe Scrum Master. I admire his impressive ability to look at the product from technical, business and agile perspectives: his extensive knowledge of product management in all is forms makes him a unique professional. I have found him to be always on point in challenging the status-quo and at the same prone to offer well-informed, solid alternatives. During our work together, we needed to face several organizational challenges, which impacted the project on many levels. Even in those extreme situations, Alex´s talent to stay cool and focused is the winning card you want to use to keep the team on track and the business up and running.

His long professional experience is supported by a true passion for what he does, which makes him a trustworthy, proactive, lively and empathic colleague, on which you can always count. I wish him all the best, in the hope to collaborate again in the future.“

Scrum Master
diconium digital solutions GmbH

Beatrice Falleni

The conductor

"As an experienced conductor of the digital world, Alex realizes digital projects at the highest level together with an ensemble of marketers, project managers, creatives, developers and testers - thanks to his technical understanding and his fine feeling for people and situations - always fair, reliable and efficient. He keeps an eye on his audience at all times - and it's delighted.

I was a member of one of his ensembles for an app project as a developer for 5 years and can only say:

Da Capo!“

Developer
Plan.Net Technology GmbH & Co. KG (Serviceplan Agenturgruppe)

Tobias Ripperger

One of the best UX and agile experts

"I have already implemented several digital projects with Alex Thies.
For me he is one of the best UX and agile experts:
always there with heart and mind, constructive, determined and an enrichment for every team!"

Chief Excutive Officer, CEO
heartbeats – The Agility Agency

Matthias Held

A true agile servant leader

"I've been working with Alex for over a year developing a complex white label e-commerce platform.

Alex worked for us as a Scrum Master and also as a Product Owner and showed his strengths in both roles.
Thanks to his commitment, his organizational skills and his goal-oriented communication, we were able to significantly improve the cooperation within our team and between various other teams in our Agile Release Train (SAFe). In addition, we built and led a completely new team together.
Alex is a real servant leader! It conveys agile values, promotes collaboration and maximizes knowledge sharing.
I really enjoyed working with him on concepts and developing workshops. Looking back,
I can say that our cooperation was very focused and successful. We are a big step closer to our
product goals today."

Project Manager
diconium digital solutions GmbH

Elena Borgogno

Working with professionals


"He is a textbook technical director and he has internalized knowledge that only a happy team can be a successful team.
With him, a wild roller coaster ride through hell becomes a family outing with a happy ending."

Senior Manager
Open Reply Germany
a Reply AG company

Hans Hamm

High interdisciplinarity

"I have worked with Alex Thies in various set-ups in the course of several projects in the past years and have always known him as a very reliable, friendly, resilient colleague. He has a very proactive way of working, is solution-oriented and has a sure feeling of where he is most urgently needed.

In difficult project situations, his strong professional competence and high interdisciplinarity allows him to quickly find and implement satisfactory solutions. Despite the high workload it was always fun to work with Alex and I would very much like to rock the next project with him.“

Director Consulting Services Aviation & Retail
CGI Germany

Marc Hornung

Agile working - up to date

“Alex Thies particularly impressed me with his comprehensive understanding of agile development processes.
He has extensive knowledge of the latest methodologies and is also a very good consultant with regard to postgraduate trainings for our employees."

Manager IT
Customer Centric Applications
Miles & More GmbH

Verena Heise

Getting the team to its destination

„I have been working with Alex for 3 years. Alex worked for us as a Scrum Master. He has deep knowledge in agile methodologies. He is very approachable, drives the team in the right direction, and is very supportive to the team . He always keeps the team well-collaborated.
He also brings in Product Owner knowledge, which is an added advantage in terms of planning things. He is very focused, team-oriented, and drives the team to achieve the goal. We have had many hiccups in the team to frame the vision, feature planning and refinements etc but under all these circumstances, Alex did the right suggestion/changes and delivered things on time. I can say that with his extensive knowledge in the Agile world, will be a great asset to any team. I really enjoyed working with Alex.“

Lead Test Management
diconium digital solutions GmbH

Lavanya Sampath

Understanding cultural differences

„Alex Thies is a great IT professional, and it’s been a great pleasure for me to have worked with him since 2015. He is a well-organized person who drives the project in a structured manner. With his great management skills he leaves no stone unturned to solve the impediments of the project by bridging across teams. He accelerates the project at tough times without losing his cool. He handles all the escalation in a constructive way such that he makes others to understand the problem and rectify it. In global work environment, he understands the cultural differences and makes people feel comfort to work with. He is such a jovial, lively person to work along.

Wishing him all great success for his future endeavors!“

Testmanager TATA Consultancy Services

Geethappriya Jaganathan

Pragmatic, structured and absolutely goal-oriented

"What sets Alex Thies apart - aside from his broad know-how on digitization, transformation and marketing - is the ability to find, evaluate, and accompany their successful implementation in a pragmatic, structured and absolutely goal-oriented manner for projects even in critical situations."

Teamlead IT Project Management
Plan.Net Technology GmbH & Co. KG (Serviceplan Agenturgruppe)

Mario Wimmer

Rocking projects

"I would be delighted to rock the next project with Alex.“

Product Manager
diconium digital solutions GmbH

Stefan Hayn

Knoledge hub

"I could learn a lot from working with Alex because he has a high level of expertise. He passes on his knowledge patiently and kindly. ”

Manager IT
Customer Centric Applications
Miles & More GmbH

Lisa Riedel

Experienced and able navigator

"Alex is an experienced team leader who navigates your project safely through the digtal seven seas even in the toughest swell. Without ever losing sight of his crew, even the highest waves would'nt knock over the project vessel. Once he set sail, it is important to him that everyone reaches the destination safe and sound.

Aye, aye!“

User Interface Designer
Vergleich.de Gesellschaft für Verbraucherinformation mbH

Stefan Holzheu

Master complex projects together

"We have worked with Alex Thies on complex projects for several years and have always been able to rely on his content expertise as well as his very good communication and organization skills."

Chief Excutive Officer, CEO
Open Reply Germany

Niels Verhaag

The captain of turbulent projects

"Alex was a captain in our project. In both calm and turbulent times, he reliably guided our ship. From joint team vision workshops to continuous improvements, structured stakeholder communication in a complex multi-project environment and achieving a sense of unity in the team, he has helped us move forward for several years. Together with the team, he works tenaciously on the identified challenges, takes responsibility and proactively pursues new solutions.

At the same time, he is flexible in his role as Scrum Master and Product Owner. This means he can reliably step in wherever he is needed most. Very practical."

Product Owner
diconium digital solutions GmbH

Keno Schesna

Agility and focus

"Agility, focus on the essentials for the user as well as the business and at the same time complete transparency - that was what characterized the collaboration with Alex, which I greatly appreciated in joint projects!"

UX Consultant
Open Reply Germany

Nils-Christoph Högemann

Mentor and companion

“Translating highly complex content into digital concepts requests a clear understanding of requirements, empathy towards stakeholders, passion and creative competence. This is exactly what characterizes the collaboration with Alexander Thies (Thies online marketing). For me personally, Alex was a mentor and companion in an intensive, structured induction phase as a channel manager. "

 

Manager Digital Marketing
Miles & More GmbH

Christoph Klee

Strong professional competence

"I have got to know Alex Thies during the development of the Miles & More app. His expertise and his technical understanding in particular contributed a lot to the development of our app. He was a valuable source of knowledge and support for the team. I was particularly impressed by his by his ongoing professional development in parallel to his job.”

Head of Digital Marketing
Miles & More GmbH

Jennifer Streidt-Hilgart

Entrepreneurial thinking and one of us

“Quick as a whip, unswerving , absolutely sturdy and entrepreneurial thinking. Alex Thies not only built our online unit with us, he is still one of us.“

Geschäftsführende Gesellschafterin
GROSSE LIEBE Kommunikationsagentur GmbH

Ursula Ulrike Schneider

Happy clients & supervised brands

  • Development of the Miles & More app and "from scratch"
  • Testing and operation
  • further development
  • Siemens
  • Pitches
  • BMW
  • MINI
  • O2
  • Hermes
  • Weleda
  • Pitches
  • Olympus
  • Philips
  • Tesa
  • TUI Cruises
  • Hapag Lloyd
  • Hermes
  • HEM
  • Pitches

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