October 2012, Issue 3, Volume 14
More in this issue:
TOPdesk on your diplomaTOPdesk 5: The LUMC’s experiences so farAdvanced Search: get the best results
Professional but still personalTOPdesk for HR at DSM
EDITOrIAL
Busy times
After the hectic months leading up to the release of TOPdesk 5, you
would think that we would have a well-earned rest afterwards.
However, nothing could be further from the truth. Since the
release of TOPdesk 5, our offi ces have been about as restful as a
child with ADHD.
Those of you who attended our customer events were able to
see how enthusiastically TOPdesk employees presented the
latest version of our software. The spectacular premiere and new
possibilities provided both employees and customers with fresh
inspiration and energy.
The TOPdesk offi ces are buzzing with energy as we busily search
for the next step forward. That is what such a spectacular product
launch does to an offi ce: the expectations for future versions have
never been higher, so no one wants to sit still.
Will all this productivity result in amazing new features? It is too
early to tell. However, I cannot help but feel optimistic knowing
that Newton, Picasso, Columbus and Ford all had ADHD.
Enjoy your read!
Nienke Deuss, Editor-in-Chief
25
10
24
4 NEWS
6 PROFESSIONAL BUT STILL PERSONAL TOPdesk for HR at DSM
10 ADVANCED SEARCH: GET THE BEST RESULTS
12 TOPDESK 5 AT THE LUMC The health care provider’s experiences so far
14 TRENDS Module specialists: connecting customer,
knowledge & tool
16 NETHERLANDS CANCER INSTITUTE Putting patients fi rst with TOPdesk and ISM
19 TOPDESK ON YOUR DIPLOMA
23 TOPDESK PARTNER SOLUTIONS
24 WORK SMARTER Information screen displaying news & reservations
28 TIPS + TRICKS
CONTENTS October ’12
19
on tHe CoVer:
Jacqueline Hendriks and Fons Manders from
DSM explain how TOPdesk has improved
the effi ciency of the Business Support
Centre HR (BSC HR) and also created room
for personal contact.
THE NEW GRAPHICAL STYLE IS VERY INTUITIVE
Willem van Duyvenvoorde - LUMC
14
Continue reading on page 12
ISM at NKI-AVL
4
Want to stay up to date?
To stay on top of the latest TOPdesk news
and service management developments,
follow us on Twitter via @TOPdesk and
@TOPdesk_UK.
@TOPdeskA selection of our recent tweets:
@mvromman: @TOPdesk Is it
possible to create detailed logs
of changes on the Person Card?
(who, what and when?)
@jurgenkoster: @TOPdesk
@mvromman Yes it is, at
predefi ned times, using the Event
Management module and log
fi les. #Pro #Enterprise
@TOPdesk_UK: We’re literally on
board for the IT Directors’ Forum
10-13 October on the Aurora!
#itdf #itsm #TOPdesk
@keesjanmulder: It’s starting
to become a tradition: a lovely
cake from @TOPdesk to celebrate
#sysadminday
pic.twitter.com/5604sqXw
TOPdesk organizes ISM ExperienceIn Spant!, Bussum on 13 September, the
Belgian BHVB organized the ISM Experience in
cooperation with TOPdesk and several other
partners. The event focused on the Integrated
Service Management (ISM) method. This
method condenses the complex ITIL theory
into six primary processes. During the ISM
Experience, visitors could attend a range of
presentations and see ISM in practice at a live
simulated service desk. TOPdesk organized
two presentations introducing the TOPdesk
ISM module.
After last year’s success, the second edition
of the itSMF Tooling Event took place on 20
September in De Montil in Affl igem. TOPdesk
was present with a stand in the exhibition
hall, and also provided a free workshop.
The itSMF Tooling Event focuses on the
latest developments in the fi eld of IT service
Management tools.
More information
To fi nd out more about the itSMF Tooling
Event, please visit www.itsmftoolingevent.be.
itSMF Tooling in Belgium
TOPdesk 4.4 service pack 3 available
Service pack 3 for TOPdesk 4.4 was released
on 2 August. You can download this service
pack from the TOPdesk Extranet. We
discovered several bugs shortly after we
released service pack 2, so we decided to
release service pack 3 early. Service pack
2 enhances several existing features. For
instance, it is now possible to view and
upload documents to Change Management
authorization activities in the Self Service
Desk (Enterprise). In all TOPdesk versions,
you can now display the Department fi eld in
object overviews.
Service pack 3 solves bugs related primarily
to the Change Management and Reservations
Management modules. Solutions that
were planned for service pack 3 will now
be included in service pack 4, which will be
released on service pack 3’s original release
date for service pack 3. No solutions have
been delayed as a result of this; we have
simply adjusted the version number.
You can fi nd the release notes for service
packs 2 and 3 on the TOPdesk Extranet. If you
have any further questions, please contact
your local TOPdesk offi ce/TOPdesk Support on
+31(0)15 270 09 11 or at [email protected].
WE’VE NOTICED STRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS AT OUR CUSTOMERS WHO MANAGE THEIR IT DEPARTMENT WITH ISM
Ramon van LeeuwenTOPdesk commercial director
TOPdesk partner develops APM model
TOPdesk and software and service provider
Mavim have further extended their
partnership. In addition to Integrated Service
Management (ISM) and quality control in
the healthcare sector, the partners have
now developed the Application Portfolio
Management model (APM). APM provides a
link to your TOPdesk CMDB.
APM helps organizations to develop quickly
and easily. This flexibility lets them capitalize
on changes, such as customer wishes
or changes to the products and services
catalogue. APM lets organizations determine
the impact changing organizational processes
will have on IT and vice versa. This is achieved
by linking company-specific process diagrams
to (IT) services and determining the level of
involvement of configuration items.
The benefits of APM:
• Attuning applications and IT infrastructure
to the specific needs of the organization
(business).
• Aligning IT services with high-impact or
critical organizational processes.
• Prioritizing assets, attuned to the needs of
the business.
• Implementing APM provides the IT
manager an excellent tool when meeting
with the directors. Both parties benefit
from added insight into the organization’s
IT supply and demand.
NEWS
Calendar
InfoBex Baja, Hungary
NOV20
Service Desk ForumRheingoldhalle, Mainz
OCT10
IT Directors’ ForumAurora Cruise Ship
OCT16
London Graduate FairBusiness Design Centre, London
OCT10
NOV05
ITSMF Annual ConferenceNovotel, London
OCT11 Belgium
TOPdesk 5 Demo DayCongrescentrum Ter Elst, Edegem
SDI eventThe ICC, Birmingham
OCT03
Higher Education Demo DaysTOPdesk office, London
OCT25
Hungary
GermanyNOV21
UK
OCT11
OCT12
OCT13
OCT26
NOV06
NOV27
FM Demo DayTOPdesk office, Antwerp
OCT30 Denmark
CAFM FairBorgergade, Copenhagen
TOPdesk boards Aurora for IT Directors’ Forum
On 10 October, TOPdesk will board the cruise
ship Aurora for two and a half days to attend
the IT Directors' Forum. This event offers
senior IT professionals the opportunity to
meet potential new product and service
providers, listen to industry thought leaders in
conferences and workshops and develop their
personal network amongst industry peers.
TOPdesk Account Manager Rob Goldsworth
has also been invited to give a presentation
and share his thoughts on the latest service
management developments.
© James Crossland
6 CusTOmer iN fOCus Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn
Professional but still
Personal
“DSM has grown rapidly over the past few
years,” says Fons Manders, head of DSM’s Busi-
ness Support Centre HR (BSC HR). “Takeovers
have resulted in an even broader base of exper-
tise in our company. At the moment, DSM has
over 22,000 employees worldwide. The BSC HR
supports 6,000 employees across 16 locations
in the Netherlands, from factory operators to
site directors. The location we are at right now
houses a number of central services.”
Seven collective labour agreementsWhen we ask Manders what role the BSC HR
plays in within DSM, he draws us a diagram.
“The BSC HR department functions as the HR
service desk, which means we primarily work
with two groups. First of all there’s HR Neth-
erlands, an advisory body that defi nes our HR
policy and ensures we apply this policy in our
operations. We also have a lot of contact with
the HR offi cials from the Dutch plants. These
business partners are intermediaries for col-
leagues at their location. When an employee
leaves or joins the company, or if there are any
questions or changes for us to process, they
send us the required information.”
The BSC HR employees are part of a so-
called skilled service desk. Manders explains
why this is necessary. “Most branches have
a unique collective labour agreement. This
means that when you answer a question
about certain terms of employment, you
need to know which of the seven agreements
applies. This is why we divided the front offi ce
into two teams, each specializing in a num-
ber of collective labour agreements. Thanks
to their knowledge and experience, the front
offi ce can answer eighty per cent of all incom-
ing questions. The rest of the queries are sent
to the back offi ce.”
Shared service centresDSM has been working on improving its effi -
ciency for a while now, as Manders explains.
“Shared service centres have been on the rise
over the past few years. With the current eco-
nomic climate, we thought that this would be
the best way to improve our effi ciency and
cut costs. I frequently attend HR congresses,
and noticed that a lot of organizations have
only just started looking into shared service
centres. HR is often behind the times, possibly
due to the nature of the fi eld. Personal con-
tact is very important: people like being able
to quickly visit the HR employee down the
hall. However, this means often having to deal
with resistance when trying to automate HR
processes. We set up a shared service centre
fi ve years ago, and often received comments
that things were done differently before. We
had to apply a lot of change management
before everyone was used to the tool and
standardization.”
Tools for HRDSM has a separate department dedicated to
automating HR processes: Global HR Informa-
tion Solutions. This team is concerned with
optimizing processes, supporting HR systems
and safeguarding the quality of data for DSM
worldwide. Global HR IS’ activities ensure
that HR managers and employees can focus
on their personal development. “We support
six systems, including recruitment and career
management,” says Jacqueline Hendriks,
Global HR IS expert and TOPdesk functional
manager. “We look for tools to support HR
processes and determine whether these sys-
tems should be implemented locally or glob-
ally.” Hendriks had previous experience imple-
menting TOPdesk as a case management tool
for a Finance Shared Service Centre. “When
the BSC HR started looking for a new tool,
CusTOmer iN fOCus 7 Text: Nienke Deuss
In the past, it was not uncommon for employees to stay at life science and materials science company DSM until they retired. DSM would take care of them for their entire lives. Even now, with hundreds of branches worldwide, DSM values a personal approach to HRM. But how do they combine that with standardization and new tools?
TOPdesk for hr at DSM
YOU OFTEN DEAL WITH RESISTANCE WHEN TRYING TO AUTOMATE HR PROCESSES
Fons Manders - DSM
Fons Manders (l) and Jacqueline Hendriks - DSM
8 CusTOmer iN fOCus Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn
Fons and I looked into TOPdesk to see if it could
provide a solution,” says Hendriks. Manders
adds, “We already used SAP Solution Manager,
but it was not effi cient enough. We had to
manually copy incoming emails into SAP. That
was a full-time job for one of our colleagues.”
Fewer obstaclesManders explains that TOPdesk was a logi-
cal choice. “The most important factors were
how quickly the tool could be implemented,
the price and the user-friendliness.” “The
implementation was completed in ten days,”
says Hendriks.
An essential part of the implementation
was training the HR staff, says Hendriks. “Our
employees were already used to working
with a tool, but there was still some resist-
ance. Everyone had to get used to the new
system. This is why I trained a number of ‘key
users’ after the system went live, who in turn
trained their colleagues. These key users are
also ambassadors: they are their department’s
contact person for questions about TOPdesk.”
“Such things always take getting used to,”
says Manders, “but in a matter of weeks we
were hearing that staff never wanted to go
back to the old system. When you get such
positive feedback so quickly, you know you’ve
made the right choice. We really notice the
difference in user-friendliness. For instance,
it’s easy for us to create reports about our
customer services because we have defi ned
SLAs for categories and subcategories. We
also keep an eye on trends: which topic and
which category are most common among
incoming questions? We reserve room in
our newsletter to provide extra information
about these diffi cult subjects.”
TOPDESK GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAINTAIN OUR PERSONAL APPROACH
Fons Manders - DSM
The DSM offi ce in Sittard
One tool for the Netherlands and the USThe implementation went smoothly, even
though there were many things that DSM
had to take into consideration, as Hendriks
explains. “We didn’t set up TOPdesk just for
the Dutch HR employees: we also kept our
American colleagues in mind. This meant
that we had to carefully consider how we
could have these groups work together in a
single TOPdesk environment, without them
having to deal with the other team’s ques-
tions. To do this, we set up a branch fi lter on
a national level. Now users only see informa-
tion relevant to them.”
“Using a single tool for branches in differ-
ent countries has both advantages and draw-
backs,” says Manders. “If you need to restart
the system, you have to fi nd a moment that
works for both time zones. However, sharing
a tool lets you share an investment and limit
costs, and you can learn from one another’s
processes, approach and experience.”
Room for personal contactThe BSC HR team receives questions via tel-
ephone, email and the online Employee Self
Service (ESS). The ESS forms are automatically
registered in TOPdesk. “But it’s hard to quan-
tify whether TOPdesk has made us more effi -
cient,” says Manders. “After all, the number of
cases you have processed doesn’t really say
anything, as each case is different.” However,
TOPdesk’s automatic mail registration and
notifi cations have saved between 1 and 1.5
FTE. “The colleague who had to manually copy
emails can now focus on something we have
wanted to do for a long time: visiting custom-
ers. We already did this, but wanted to make it
a structural part of our tasks. Using TOPdesk
meant we had the opportunity to maintain
our personal approach. We currently visit the
HR directors and business partners several
times a year to discuss and improve services.”
Improved customer satisfactionManders explains that the BSC HR team’s
customers have also noticed a difference.
“We conduct a yearly survey to gauge how
customers experience our services. We only
just scored a pass mark in 2010 (5.6/10),
but that grade has already gone up to a 6.8.
I believe the main reason is that we created
more room for customer contact. Customers
also indicate that we are better at keeping
them up to date: they can use the intranet to
check their questions and requests in TOPdesk.
This keeps them informed and saves us a lot
of phone calls. We are confi dent that our score
will be even better this year. Our goal is a 7.3.”
Continuous feedbackDSM is taking the next step in customer
contact, says Hendriks. “Customer satisfac-
tion survey results are snapshots. Maybe
someone had a negative experience with
the department just before we sent out the
survey, causing them to give us a lower score.
This is why we recently introduced so-called
quick surveys. Once a case is processed, ran-
domly selected customers are sent an email
with three questions about how they were
served. This provides us with continuous
feedback and lets us actively apply changes
where needed.” DSM created the quick survey
in cooperation with TOPdesk. “At DSM, we are
always looking for new ways to improve our
effi ciency and customer-oriented approach,”
says Hendriks. “We try to get the most out of
our current systems, which is why we collabo-
rate with TOPdesk so frequently. I know that
this tool has a lot to offer, and we’re only reap-
ing some of the benefi ts. We might use TOP-
desk for other processes in the future, such as
planning HR workfl ows, issuing company cars
or keeping track of digital staff fi les.”
Working towards a single CLADSM is about to undergo extensive changes.
“A recent benchmark revealed that DSM has
a large amount of HR employees,” says Man-
ders. “This isn’t surprising when you consider
how tasks are scattered across departments.”
To address this, DSM wants to switch to a sin-
gle collective labour agreement on 1 January
2014. “A single CLA will help DSM save money
and increase effi ciency, and it will make our
work much easier. Even more importantly,
the terms of employment will be modern-
ized. Each employee will be able to make
personal choices regarding their terms of
employment.”
DSM’s future is exciting, but the employees
remain enthusiastic, as Hendriks explains.
“It’s a challenge to design effi cient processes
for such a complex organization. We have the
right tool, but there’s a long way to go before
all our processes are in line.”
CusTOmer iN fOCus 9 Text: Nienke Deuss
QUICK SURVEYS PROVIDE US WITH CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK AND LET US ACTIVELY APPLY CHANGES
Jacqueline Hendriks - DSM
10 IN ThE SPOTLIGhT
ADVANCED SEArCh: GET ThE BEST rESULTS If you use TOPdesk intensively, you may lose track of tasks, persons or contracts. However, TOPdesk features many handy search functions to ensure you always have access to the information you need. This article provides a number of useful tips to help you fi nd what you are looking for.
iN THe sPOTLiGHT 11 Text: Timme Hos
Searching starts with autocomplete When you start typing in the search fi eld, TOPdesk displays a list of
suggestions from the selected card type (database). This list includes all
terms from the database that start with the letters you have entered.
Simplify your search with ‘fuzzy’Users should be aware that TOPdesk uses ‘fuzzy search’. This prevents
typing mistakes or spelling variations from affecting search results. For
instance, if you were to search for pinter, TOPdesk will also display
results for ‘printer’.
Exact searchUsing quotation marks ensures that you only see search results for
your exact search term “printer”. In other words, quotation marks
disable fuzzy search. This also works for multi-word search terms.
Please note: highlighted search terms in the text are based on
individual search terms. This may make it seem as if only part of the
search term was taken into account.
Searching for several termsIf you are looking for a card that includes two specifi c search terms,
use the command [term A] AND [term B]. For instance, if you
want to fi nd all calls featuring the terms ‘printer’ and ‘malfunction’,
you would enter printer AND malfunction.
To search for at least one of both terms, use the command
[term A] OR [term B].
It is also possible to combine these commands: ([term A] OR
[term B]) AND ([term C] OR [term D]). Use parentheses
to defi ne combined terms. For the example above, the results
must contain at least one of the terms between the fi rst set of
parentheses and at least one term from the second set. An example
of this command is (printing OR printer) AND (error OR
malfunction).
Using wildcardsUsing an asterisk in a search term generates results matching
characters before, after or before and after the asterisk. For instance,
if you search for cof*, *copy and de*n, possible results would be
coffee, photocopy and Dean. You can also use wildcards if you are not
sure which spelling convention was used within TOPdesk. The search
term help* will generate results for both help desk and helpdesk.
You can also use a wildcard to replace a single character. Including a
question mark in a search term lets the fuzzy search include variations
for that character. For instance, the search term te?t will generate
results such as test, text and tent. This wildcard is also useful when
searching for serial numbers or different (or incorrect) spelling
variations such as organization/organisation.
Excluding terms and charactersUse the command NOT to exclude terms and characters from your
search. For instance, the command error NOT printer will
exclude ‘printer’ from the results.
When copying a search term (such as an error message or a URL),
you will have to remove or ‘neutralize’ wildcards such as ? or *. You
can deactivate wildcards by inserting a backslash before the wildcard.
In other words, you change ? into \?.
DataDictThe DataDict is the ideal solution for users who wish to perform
very advanced searches within TOPdesk. This lets you specify textual
search fi elds in the quick fi nder. The DataDict is especially useful
when a general search term generates too many results, or if you
wish to search specifi c fi elds or categories, such as the name of the
caller in Incident Management. Select the desired fi eld name from
the Category list. Your search would be [Field name]: search
term, for example ‘object: dean’. You can access the DataDict
in TOPdesk via the TOPdesk menu > Help > DataDict. Another useful
alternative is a (saved) selection with an ‘ask during use’ value.
Visit the Help & Support site
Our Help & Support site features tips on how to get the most
out of your TOPdesk, including Getting Started instructions,
manuals and more. You can access the Help & Support site by
clicking on the question mark in TOPdesk.
12 CusTOmer iN fOCus Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn
TOPDESk 5 The LUMC’s first experiences
Remco Jansen (l) and Willem van Duyvenvoorde - LUMC
Every day, 6,000 users within the LUMC
can use the Self Service Desk to ask their
IT-related questions. The operating IT
department has been using TOPdesk
for some time. Jansen explains that the
department gradually started using more
modules and supported more and more
processes with TOPdesk. “The organization
really depends on TOPdesk: we register 6,000
incidents a month. The IT department has a
strong focus on innovation and is very happy
with the latest version.”
Time to adjustThe LUMC has been using TOPdesk 5 since
the beginning of May. The fi rst experiences
were positive, says Jansen. “We defi nitely
like the new version, and it’s very easy to get
used to. We got off to an optimistic start with
TOPdesk 5 and really knuckled down.” Help
desk coordinator Willem van Duyvenvoorde
tells us that he welcomed the new
possibilities with open arms and immediately
started using the Plan Board.
The team needed time to adjust at fi rst, but
soon familiarized themselves with the new
interface and features. “The new graphical
style makes you wonder, where is everything
located? But the clear overviews are easy to
get used to. There were no complaints,” says
Van Duyvenvoorde. “It’s very intuitive. I think
that the ‘newness’ is what scares most people.
It looks different, and that always takes
getting used to. We had hardly any trouble at
all, though,” says Jansen.
The transition to TOPdesk 5The LUMC got off to an enthusiastic start
with the beta programme. “It all went
very quickly from that point on,’’ says Van
Duyvenvoorde. “We are very happy. All the
new features were easy to implement. Our
experience with previous TOPdesk beta
programmes was also positive. We went
live before the offi cial release – we started
working with TOPdesk 5 at the beginning of
May.” “It was a great experience,” says Jansen.
“We hardly needed any troubleshooting. The
excellent support from consultants ensured
that everything went smoothly.”
New featuresThe biggest improvements in Van
Duyvenvoorde’s eyes are the Dashboard
and Plan Board. “It’s so easy. I used to create
schedules in Excel, but now I use the Plan
Board. My team creates their own schedule.
I just need to monitor things.”
Both Jansen and the technical IT staff in
the Operations group think that the Task
Board is the best new feature. “There were
complaints about the Task Board not being
included in the old version. All tasks were
grouped in separate to-do lists for each
module. Our colleagues think the current
arrangement is much more insightful.
Everything is included in a single overview,
which the group really likes.”
“We use each of the new features: the
Plan Board, Task Board and Dashboard. They
worked very well for all of us. We already use
them a lot, but we are only getting started,”
says Van Duyvenvoorde.
Defi nitely recommendedThe launch of a new version does not mean
TOPdesk is sitting still. Jansen and Van
Duyvenvoorde think it is important to know
that TOPdesk is continually developing its
software. They are very glad that they have
always had such a good relationship with
the organization, as it makes it easy for them
to join discussions or share their wishes.
“TOPdesk has always been willing to listen to
ideas from customers,” says Jansen. “TOPdesk
takes note of our input. That means a lot to
us. For instance, we noticed a minor issue
in the beta version, which was removed
from the release version at our request. If
the software hadn’t been in development,
this wouldn’t have been possible.” The
developments are taking the software in the
right direction, and Van Duyvenvoorde and
Jansen defi nitely recommend TOPdesk 5 to
everyone.
When we asked Remco Jansen, IT Change Manager, the purposes for which Leiden University Medical Centre uses TOPdesk, he answered us with another question: “What don’t we use it for?” The LUMC was full of confi dence when it took part in the beta programme in April, and justifi ably so: they soon made the fi nal switch to TOPdesk 5. We asked them about their initial experiences.
CusTOmer iN fOCus 13 Text: Stefanie Klaassen
MY TEAM USES THE PLAN BOARD TO CREATE THEIR OWN SCHEDULE
Willem van Duyvenvoorde - LUMC
14 TreNDs Photography: Robin Kuijs
TOPdesk has grown rapidly over the past 15
years, both as a tool and as an organization.
We currently offer 15 modules and have
over 420 employees across six different
branches. This can make it challenging to fi nd
the right expert to answer your question.
A few years ago, it became apparent that
each department needed a contact person
for each module: a module specialist. The
specialist is familiar with the module’s
strengths and areas for improvement, knows
about its ‘exotic applications’ and is a point of
contact for other departments.
A module specialist is a developer, account
manager, support specialist or consultant
whose experience or education provides
them with unique knowledge of a specifi c
module. Anna Ravensbergen, a Support
department module specialist, tells us more.
“We have an in-depth module knowledge
that lets us engage in discussions with
customers and really help them with specifi c
questions and problems.”
Module specialists share knowledge with
customers and colleagues, but are also help
improve the software, as Anna explains. “You
can infl uence your module’s development.
It’s great to discuss customer experiences
and wishes with the developers. I was able
to make a considerable contribution to the
development of the Change Management
module.”
Role and task allocationCustomer contact provides plenty of input
regarding wishes, comments and complaints.
MODULE SPECIALISTS: CONNECTING CUSTOMEr, kNOWLEDGE AND TOOL
… is a team leader, consultant and TOPdesk module specialist
ANNEKE WESTERMAN
TOPdesk employees share their knowledge, skills and experience with our customers every day. Account managers, consultants and support specialists are TOPdesk experts, but they also have to be able to send our customer’s requests for improvement to the right people. TOPdesk introduced so-called module specialists to process module-specifi c questions and feature requests.
YOU CAN REALLY INFLUENCE YOUR MODULE’S DEVELOPMENT
Anna Ravensbergen
For instance, a customer has a question for
TOPdesk Support regarding a feature that
does not work, or asks their account manager
whether TOPdesk can be used for resource
planning, while a consultant faces the
question of how to make a clear overview of
maintenance task expenses in TOPdesk. How
can the various module specialists process
such questions?
The Support module specialist gathers
bug-related incidents to discuss with
Development, answers module-specifi c
questions that colleagues cannot solve
themselves and gives feedback to customers
regarding features requests. The specialist is
also responsible for sharing their knowledge
in TOPdesk using the Knowledge Base and
standard solutions.
The Account Management module
specialist answers colleagues’ questions
about TOPdesk applications, confers with
other account managers about specifi c
customer wishes, turns those wishes into
feature requests and provides updates about
module developments.
The Consultancy module specialist
answers questions about setups and informs
colleagues about the module’s latest
developments. They also group feature
requests from other consultants and provide
internal documentation that can be used to
implement the module.
User stories and prioritiesThe module specialists come together in
periodic meetings lead by TOPdesk’s product
managers. Several topics are discussed:
long-term goals, feature requests and the
status of the module. “Since Support started
working with module specialists, issues
have been clearer and easier to prioritize,”
says Ravensbergen. “The feature requests
are translated to so-called user stories
that describe what a certain TOPdesk user
wants to do and why. We work together
to determine which user stories have the
highest priority and how they can be taken
into account for a release.”
Straightforward communication Using module specialists makes day-to-
day communications even easier, says
Ravensbergen. “The specialists are important
contact persons within the organization.
A developer demonstrates a new feature
to the module specialists and they can
immediately tell him whether or not the
feature addresses customer problems. If a
consultant runs into a problem, they simply
ask the specialist whether it is a known error
or if a workaround is available.” Specialists are
also used in customer contact. You may have
met one of them during a themed session or
at a customer event.
During implementations, TOPdesk advises
customers to pay special attention to sharing
and recording knowledge to improve the
quality of services. The module specialists
help TOPdesk achieve this goal: they help
translate customer practice into the fi nal
product, as well as record and publish their
valuable knowledge.
This benefi ts our colleagues and our
customers. “The module specialists have
already helped us take our software and
services to the next level,” says Ravensbergen.
“But there’s always room for improvement. For
instance, the Support department is coming
up with better ways to inform customers of
the status of their feature requests.”
TreNDs 15 Text: Anneke Westerman
USER STORY: PLAN BOARD
‘Anouk, the dispatcher, wants to quickly
assign incidents to operators so she can
divide the workload evenly.’
The solution in TOPdesk 5
Anouk can drag and drop incidents
from the Dispatch panel to operators
or operator groups. After dropping
the incident in the overview, the
appointment date is displayed in blue
or red mini to-do lists, grouped per day.
Anouk can now see the number
of assigned incidents per operator.
USER STORY: TASK
BOARD
‘Mark, the second line
support employee, wants
to have his list sorted
per day so he can easily
distinguish information
from one day to another.’
The solution in TOPdesk 5
When Mark opens the Task Board, he
sees the tasks displayed per day.
User stories help us improve TOPdesk. Here you can read two examples of user stories
that lead to new features in TOPdesk 5.
Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn16 CusTOmer iN fOCus
CusTOmer iN fOCus 17 Text: Timme Hos
ThE NEThErLANDS CANCEr INSTITUTE Putting patients first with TOPdesk and ISM
ISM: a well-defined process templateThe NKI-AVL has been using TOPdesk for six years. Three years ago,
they decided to tailor TOPdesk to ISM, a practical ITIL methodology.
“ISM is basically a template comprising clear process descriptions.
It’s very easy to use,” says Nijhof. He and his colleagues currently
use four principal ISM processes: Incident Management, Change
Management, Configuration Management and Operations
Management. “We do our best to ensure processes are ISM-compliant,
and to have our TOPdesk set-up reflect this. Change Management
was particularly challenging at first, but it’s getting easier. TOPdesk is
becoming more and more suited to ISM. We are going to use requests
for change, for example. This will improve our change acceptance
management, as described in ISM.”
ITIL made compact and scalableNijhof had experience with implementing ITIL in all its complexity
from a previous job. “You are forced to make all the detailed decisions
surrounding the implementation yourself, despite not always being
able to predict the results.”
ISM, on the other hand, makes ITIL easy to implement. “Many
decisions are made for you,” he explains. ISM is easier because it is
practical, compact and scalable. “Much of it has been condensed,
allowing you to get to work very quickly. It’s a well-formulated
methodology, and above all very scalable, making it suitable for
organizations of all sizes. And that’s what’s so appealing.”
Working towards a single Service CentreThe NKI-AVL is on the right track with TOPdesk and ISM. But what
does the IT department actually deal with? “We process around 3,000
calls per quarter – of which 1,700 are incidents – covering a wide
range of topics,” says Topée. “Calls are usually about application or
workspace management, but we also deal with servers, networks,
telephony and printers.”
The Service Centre launched Visitor Registration on the day of our
visit. “Visitors who report to the Service Centre are issued a pass that
grants them access to the organization. We are also introducing CAFM.
This will enable us to collaborate with all Facilities departments, for
which the Service Centre will soon play a central role.”
Test results in TOPdeskWhen NKI-AVL tests its updated hospital information systems, the
results are processed in TOPdesk. “We update this system several times
a year, and each update requires extensive testing,” explains Nijhof.
The Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam comprises a scientific research institute and a specialized clinic. The NKI-AVL supports internal services with TOPdesk, using the ISM framework. Hugo M. Nijhof, Application Management team leader and change manager, and Meta Topée, Service Centre team leader and incident manager, reveal how the IT department is getting to grips with their processes.
Hugo M. Nijhof (l) and Meta Topée - IT department
Around 40 analysts repeatedly register their fi ndings. Previously, each
analyst submitted their results by email. Now they use the Self Service
Desk to process everything directly in TOPdesk. This offers numerous
benefi ts, explains Nijhof. “We can process the results with greater
effi ciency. It’s also much easier to forward test results to the correct
back offi ces. Working in TOPdesk saves us a lot of time.”
Customized service portal interfaceNKI-AVL launched their Self Service Desk in March. “We’re very proud,”
says Topée. “We want to offer our internal customers several ways to
contact us. Previously, if we wanted more information from the caller,
we had to track them down fi rst. The Self Service Desk lets us ask
for all the relevant information in one go. Email traffi c has reduced
and the Self Service Desk is becoming more popular. We are going to
introduce an English version after the summer: eighty-fi ve per cent of
the research we do at NKI-AVL is in English.”
“The SSD has been adjusted to match our corporate identity,” Nijhof
elaborates. “This is partly thanks to the adjustable forms that we
created using the XML form generator. Users see the NKI colours and
logo, so they don’t notice they’re using a tool. When registering a call
or change, the customer is almost enticed into providing the right
information. We’re very proud of this.”
Putting patients fi rst Prioritizing calls and changes at a hospital can be a matter of life and
death, albeit indirectly. “The introduction of the electronic patient
fi le means that soon everyone will be using an IT solution. Should a
malfunction occur, we need to determine where to allocate resources
as quickly as possible.”
The IT department currently uses a priority matrix for incidents
and an impact matrix for changes. “These decisions affect the patient
and it’s important to keep that in mind,” says Topée. This is why IT is
introducing a ‘patient matrix’. “How can you tell that a call will directly
affect a patient? How do you adjust the priority accordingly? These are
important questions, and we are currently processing them in TOPdesk.”
18 CusTOmer iN fOCus
Interested in working with ISM?The TOPdesk ISM module is a solution provided by BHVB, Mavim
and TOPdesk. The ISM process model is available in Rules, Mavim’s
process management software. These process descriptions are
directly linked to the corresponding TOPdesk modules. This
enables you to click through from TOPdesk modules to the
relevant process descriptions, and vice versa. This makes it easy to
attune your department’s working methods to ISM processes.
For more information, please contact your TOPdesk account manager.
The NKI-AVL is successfully using TOPdesk and ISM.
ISM IS PRACTICAL AND SCALABLE, MAKING ITIL EASY TO IMPLEMENT
Hugo M. Nijhof - NKI-AVL
CusTOmer iN fOCus 19 Text: Nienke Deuss
TOPDESk ON YOUr DIPLOMAThe rOC college in Tilburg, the Netherlands comprises 18 schools, all of which are supported by a TOPdesk-based shared service Centre. The school for iT and media Technology is taking the use of TOPdesk even further: students are taking TOPdesk exams and they have made plans to set up their own TOPdesk environment.
Photography: Mark Kuipers
Wout Quispel (l) and Fons van Oosterhout - ROC Tilburg
20 CusTOmer iN fOCus Photography: Mark Kuipers
The school for IT & Media technology is
unique: they are the only school with their
own network environment. “We provide IT
education, so you want to give your students
the opportunity to practice IT management.
This means the network should be accessible
and fl exible,” explains Wout Quispel, teacher
at the school. “We use our own network envi-
ronment. If you let students practice in a cen-
tral environment, the security measures cause
you more problems than benefi ts.” Fons van
Oosterhout, IT consultant, explains further.
“I’ve worked at a school where they didn’t
think network separation was important.
They hadn’t considered that students could
change their own grades!”
Providing students with their own network
environment gives them a skill set which they
can immediately put into practice. “This is in
line with our competency-based approach:
students learn skills that they will be using in
the fi eld,” says Quispel. “The exams are also
combined, so students can link knowledge
acquired from different courses.”
The importance of trendsIt is very important that IT studies are close-
ly related to practice. “You need to keep up
with current market developments,” explains
Quispel. “When our students graduate, they
should be able to use the latest programs and
most recent Windows version. Teachers also
need continuous training to keep up with the
latest market trends. We follow courses, but
also hire experts to give classes. Teachers also
join these classes to learn how they can give the
course next time: the ‘train the trainer’ concept.
We’re always developing ourselves, but schools
can never quite catch up with the industry.”
Fons van Oosterhout was also hired as an
external expert by ROC Tilburg. Last year he
coached students in using ITIL and processed-
based approaches. “It is diffi cult to make ITIL
speak to the students’ imagination,” says
Van Oosterhout. “The process description
is extremely abstract. I want to make these
processes concrete by demonstrating how
they work in practice. I’ve been working with
TOPdesk since the start of my career, and sug-
gested using it as a practical example.”
External demandThere was a strong demand to further devel-
op the lessons at the ROC. “The basic skills
for IT management should include the abil-
ity to receive and process incidents, but these
skills were barely discussed in class,” explains
Quispel. “We received this feedback from
companies providing the student internships.
Seven out of these ten organizations use TOP-
desk, but the students hadn’t learned how
to work with the software.” Van Oosterhout
adds, “TOPdesk is market leader, and IT col-
leges should follow market trends. That’s why
we decided to discuss TOPdesk in class.”
IT management trainingVan Oosterhout already had a good relation-
ship with TOPdesk, so when the ROC wanted to
use TOPdesk for their IT management lessons, he
simply called the account manager. “I made one
phone call to Raoul and everything was arranged.
We set up the application ourselves, which ena-
bled the students to use it for their assignments.”
The TOPdesk lessons give the students an
accurate representation of a service desk.
“It’s a good sandbox,” says Van Oosterhout.
“Our goal is to provide each college level with
a different challenge. Level two students will
be taught the basics: processing incidents in
TOPdesk. Level three students will also work
with registering incidents and system man-
agement in the Project Management, Change
Management and Problem Management
modules. Once the students have completed
their assignments, they have to link them to
the incident and close the incident. It really
gives them great hands-on experience with
the software!”
Trial periodThe fi rst TOPdesk lessons were a tryout to
see how the course could be structured. “It
was the fi rst time we’d given these lessons,
so we had to take some time to fi nd the right
pace and approach. For instance, one of our
students had completed his assignments
three weeks early. We then gave him a demo
account to experiment on his own – a great
learning experience for us!”
TOPDESK IS MARKET LEADER, AND IT COLLEGES SHOULD FOLLOW TRENDS
Fons van Oosterhout - ROC Tilburg
CusTOmer iN fOCus 21 Text: Nienke Deuss
After six weeks, the students took a mock
exam to find out whether they had grasped
the material. “We handed out lists of inci-
dents for the students to resolve,” explains
Van Oosterhout. “Everyone seriously set to
work. You could have heard a pin drop. In the
end, the incident registration left much to
be desired: most students only managed to
register one or two out of seven incidents, of
which only twenty-three per cent could be
used. It made us realize that a lot of students
didn’t understand the point of registering
incidents.”
‘Suddenly the phone rings’Quispel explains that the real exam was given
at the end of the term. “This time we truly
tried to simulate a service desk in practice.
The students were assigned three or four
incidents on paper. We then shouted ‘phone
call’ at random intervals and new incidents
started coming in by email, including a num-
ber of incidents with standard solutions. This
immediately showed the students the added
value of working with TOPdesk.” Van Ooster-
hout also considers this test a success. “It was
a high-pressure exercise, because they didn’t
know what to expect. You could tell straight
away that some students really understood
what they were doing. They used the Knowl-
edge Base or the Caller Card.”
DevelopmentThe TOPdesk lessons are being further devel-
oped after this term. “We started with the
basics,” says Quispel. “First we covered Inci-
dent Management, Configuration Manage-
ment and the Knowledge Base. Slowly but
surely we want to move on to other modules,
because the TOPdesk lessons really show the
students how ITIL can be used in practice.”
The ROC Tilburg also wants its other teach-
ers to be able to give TOPdesk classes. “This
period was a great learning experience,” says
Van Oosterhout. “Now we know how much
time we should spend discussing each topic
and how we can make the lessons more
engaging. Next year we would like to set up a
service desk at the school, manned by interns,
for which TOPdesk specialist Tim Lansbergen
will help us set up a TOPdesk 5 environment.
It will give the students a taste of what it’s like
to work at a service desk.”
Fons van Oosterhout (l) and Wout Quispel have set up TOPdesk lessons
22
TOPdesk for Higher Education Enhance the efficiency of your service desk
Service Management Simplified
Higher Education service desks have their work cut out for
them. Whether you have to create a student account or set up
the projector in the lecture hall, you are always busy. TOPdesk’s
call and workflow system can improve your efficiency, giving
you more time for your other tasks.
Attend one of our Higher Education demo days in
London on 25 and 26 October to see what TOPdesk can
do for your organization. For more information, call us
on +44 (0)20 7803 4200
TOPDESk PArTNEr SOLUTIONSTOPdesk’s solution partners help us create specific solutions, enabling us to meet all our customers’ needs and requirements. On this page, we highlight a number of our partners and the solutions we offer.
TOPdesk incident monitorVicta has developed QlikView, a dynamic and interactive
management dashboard for TOPdesk’s service manage-
ment software. This powerful application grants com-
plete insight into all calls logged within your organization. The TOPdesk Incident Moni-
tor was developed using QlikView’s powerful Business Intelligence platform. QlikView’s
patented memory-based associative technology lets users perform quick and dynamic
data analysis, ensuring that you always have access to the most up-to-date information.
CTI moduleAskRoger! provides Unified
Communications solutions
for optimizing IT availability, helping employees to work
more efficiently and boost productivity. Innovative solu-
tions by suppliers such as Cisco should be flexible and
scalable to be able to grow with the organization. What’s
more, the costs should be as expected and limited if pos-
sible. AskRoger! has all the tools to offer IT and telephone
disciplines (landline and mobile phones, CTI, video com-
munication and a (wireless) network) as a total solution.
TOPdesk and MS SCOM integrationTOPdesk and 3Fifty have developed a TOPdesk and Microsoft
System Center Center Operations Manager (SCOM) integration.
SCOM is an application that monitors servers, services and net-
works. It safeguards services and signals (potential) problems. The integration of
TOPdesk and SCOM grants unprecedented insight into calls and solutions in your
network environment.
Mirror 42 Performance DashboardMirror42 is a software development company that
develops software for CIOs and IT managers, helping
them gain insight into their organization’s performance through KPIs (Key Perfor-
mance Indicators) and trends. KPIs are based on management processes and auto-
matically generate daily reports. Mirror42 also founded the fast-growing commu-
nity www.kpilibrarby.com, where more than 370,000 registered users share their KPI
knowledge and expertise. With over 6,000 KPIs, KPI Library helps its members to dis-
cover the right performance indicators based on their processes and industry.
ISM moduleThe TOPdesk ISM module is a solu-
tion provided by BHVB, Mavim
and TOPdesk. ISM focuses on the
phase after the implementation,
helping IT managers to put their processes into practice
and organize the services they provide. The ISM process
model is developed using elements from ITIL and ASL.
This compact and simple model comprises six detailed
processes common to IT organizations. It is important
to know who is responsible for certain activities. That
is why ISM offers the tools to adjust process descrip-
tions to suit an organization’s procedures. ISM helps IT
managers determine what needs to be done, when, by
whom, and using which tools.
PArTNer iN fOCus 23 Text: TOPdesk & partners
24 wOrk smArTer Text: Patrick Mackaaij Photography: Robin Kuiijs
You can use information registered in TOPdesk to easily set up
dashboards, such as the Reservations information screen. This add-on
uses information from the Reservations Management module to
display today’s meetings in a clear overview. The graphics are suitable
for a TV screen or large monitor. What’s more, publishing news items
or a welcome message will make your visitors’ wait more pleasant.
How does the Reservations information screen work?The information screen is a web page that you access from a PC or
thin client connected to a large screen. The screen displays both
current reservations and reservations that are due to start today. If
there are too many reservations to fi t on one screen, the add-on will
display these on additional pages, which are displayed sequentially.
You can also include a news overview page in the sequence.
The URL for the Reservations information screen is
http://TOPdesk-server:port/[realm]/resinfoscherm/
If you remove [realm] from this URL, you will open the information
screen web page without logging in. If your TOPdesk server can be
accessed via the internet, you might consider deleting the ‘bespoke-
work-web\open’ folder on the TOPdesk server. You can then open
the information screen by replacing [realm] with tas/public or
tas/secure.
INFOrMATION SCrEEN DISPLAYING NEWS AND rESErVATIONS
…is a consultant and team leader at TOPdesk. He specializes in
technical issues and optimizing processes
PATRICK MACKAAIJ
The Reservations information screen add-on lets you create an informative dashboard, displaying reservations and news on a single page. This can be particularly useful at your reception desk: your customers can see at a glance exactly where each meeting will be held.
TIP: Ask your system administrator to disable sleep
mode and the screensaver on the machine that runs the
information screen. They should also set up the web page
to open in full-screen mode upon start-up (iexplore –k).
These steps will save your reception a lot of time.
Displaying branch-specifi c informationIf your organization comprises several branches, you can limit the
information displayed to a particular branch. You can do this by adding
the branch, location or a selection of locations to the URL:
1. Branch: ?branchUnid=[branch unid]
2. Location: ?locationUnid=[location unid]
3. Selection of locations: ?locationSelectionUnid=[selection unid]
The UNID of a location, branch or selection is displayed in the
overview. Click on the desired branch or location in this list. The UNID
is part of the URL, which you can copy by right-clicking on the pi
symbol at the bottom right corner of the screen. The symbol can be
found on the same row as ‘0 of X selected’, as illustrated below.
Basic settingsThe Reservations information screen automatically uses the images
displayed on your login screen and reports, therefore matching your
corporate identity. You can upload your logo to TOPdesk 5 under
Settings > Functional settings > Look and Feel. The remaining basic
settings for the Reservations information screen are located in the
Operator’s Section of TOPdesk. The settings URL is:
http://TOPdesk-server:port/tas/secure/resinfoscherm/settings/
You can edit the following settings:
• Set up the number of reservations displayed on each page
and the display duration (in seconds).
• Limit the reservations displayed to reservations due to start
‘within X hours’.
• Set up a message to be displayed when there are no upcoming
reservations.
Individual reservation settings The information screen displays each reservation’s location(s),
brief description, start and end times, branch, number of attendees
and requester. If you have issued a reservation to someone other
than the requester, this name will appear as well. You can, however,
adjust the settings to hide the branch, number of attendees and
the requester.
wOrk smArTer 25 Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn
TIP: Copy the URL of the Reservations information
screen settings to the Quick Launch bar of the
operators who keep the news overview up to date.
Reservations informations screen at one of TOPdesk’s customers
26 wOrk smArTer
Advanced settings The Reservations information screen only displays reservations for which the ‘display on
information screen’ option has been ticked on one of the linked locations. By default, the
add-on will assume that your TOPdesk application manager has made the first logical tick box
available on the Location Card’s first optional field tab. It is also possible to exclude particular
reservations. To do this, the TOPdesk application manager must add an optional logical field to
a tab containing optional fields on the Reservations Card.
There is no interface for the advanced settings. You can set up the database field names
directly on the TOPdesk server in the file ‘bespokeresources\current_reservation_overview.
settings’. This file includes the following options:
• reservationinfo.location.freelogic=vrijelogisch1
• reservationinfo.reservation.freelogic=
You can find the database field names in TOPdesk 5 under Help > Datadict. Go to Category
and click on the name of the table. The relevant tables are called ‘locatie’ and ‘reservering’
respectively. The field name that TOPdesk uses is located in the Field name in current language
column and the corresponding database field name in the Field column.
Matching your corporate identity You can adjust the default layout of the Reservations information screen to exactly match your
screen resolution or corporate identity. You can customize the colours, font and the positioning
in great detail using the CSS file ‘bespoke-work-web\[open|public|secure]\resinfoscherm\css\
resinfo.css’ on the TOPdesk server. Where open, public or secure appears, enter the data that
corresponds with [realm] in the information screen URL. The CSS tutorial from w3schools.
com is a good source of additional information about CSS: http://www.w3schools.com/css/.
It is also possible to edit labels, such as the title of the Reservations information screen or the
date format. To do this, open the language files in the ‘bespoke-work-resources’ folder on the
TOPdesk server. The date uses SimpleDateFormat:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html
About TOPdesk add-onsTOPdesk offers add-ons to Enterprise customers to help them better meet their customers’
needs. TOPdesk consultants usually oversee add-on installation, provide bespoke work
information and take care of the initial set-up. For more information, contact your local
TOPdesk representative.
Editorial
Want to comment? Go to
www.topdeskmagazine.com
The TOPdesk Magazine covers subjects
that are topical in the world of
professional service desks in IT, facilities
and other service providing organizations.
TOPdesk Magazine is intended for
managers, service desk employees,
facilities organizations and electronic
city councils – anyone who is involved
with supporting clients on a daily basis.
This concerns both the processes and the
technology behind these services.
TOPdesk Magazine is a TOPdesk
publication
Tel: +44 (0) 207 803 4200
Email: [email protected]
Chief Editor: Nienke Deuss
Editors: Nienke Deuss, Timme Hos,
Milou Snaterse
Translators: Leah Clarke, Nicola van de
Velde, Hazel Hollis
Contributors: Renske van der Heide,
Bart de Kort, Patrick Mackaaij,
Lydje Snieders, Anneke Westerman
Layout: Louise van der Laak
Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn,
Robin Kuijs, Mark Kuipers
Copy editor: Nicola van de Velde
A print run of 5,000
Quarterly magazine
Languages: Dutch, English
TIP You can adjust the layout of the news overview with HTML,
enabling you to display images alongside your news items.
TIP The Reservations information screen settings are saved in the
‘bespokeresources\current_reservation_overview.settings’ file on the TOPdesk
server. Create a copy of this file to quickly find these settings after an upgrade.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
WANT TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SELF SERVICE DESK?A successful SSD starts with a successful promotion!
Please feel free to contact us to discuss the possibilities
of your Self Service Desk promotion.
The more your end users use the SSD, the more time and money you will save. After a successful promotion, the number of calls logged in the SSD increases by 40% on average!
One of the animated manuals for Waternet
The more your end users use the SSD, the more time and
Desktop card with easy-to-follow steps for Waternet
t +31 (0)15 270 09 60e [email protected] designagencyddc.com
tips + tricksDynamic status fieldYou wish to create a report about closed calls. However, it
turns out that a large number of closed calls are actually still
In Progress according to the Status field. The call has been
closed, but the status has not been updated. You can use
a dynamic status field to link the Status field value to the
status of the Closed checkbox. When you set the Status field
to Closed, TOPdesk automatically ticks this box. You can set
this up as follows:
1. In TOPdesk, go to Settings > Module Settings > Call
Management > General.
2. In the ‘Processing’ block, tick the ‘Status field determines
completed and closed’.
> Two mandatory fields will appear.
3. Here you can determine which status should
automatically mark the call as Completed or Closed when
the call is reopened or closed via the Self Service Desk.
> The ‘Closed’ option on the Call Card can no longer be
ticked. You can close the call by adjusting the processing
status.
4. In Settings Management, open Searchlist Management
for Call Management.
5. Under ‘Status’ > ‘Processing’, check which statuses are
linked to which processing statuses. If you wish to close
a call when it is marked ‘Solved’, link the processing status
‘Closed’ to this option.
6. Click on ‘Save’ and refresh the System Settings.
Please note: these steps can only be performed by an
administrator. It is not possible to adjust the status in
the Self Service Desk.
URL on an extra tabAn employee calls the service desk with a printer problem.
You could go to the printer to see what the problem is, but
you can usually also find out online.
Many printers have online internal status pages. You can
include one of these pages in TOPdesk, on an extra tab
of an Incident or Branch Card for example. You do this by
creating a link to the desired URL on an extra tab. This could
direct you to the status page or service page, which includes
warranty details and supplier contact information. This
ensures that all relevant printer information is available in
TOPdesk.
You can display the web page linked to an object (the printer
in this case) on an additional tab as follows:
1. Open Settings Management, go to the Action Explorer and
create an HTTP request. Under ‘Name’, enter the name of
the tab.
2. On the ‘Message’ tab, in the ‘Server’ field, enter [Object_
ID]. TOPdesk retrieves the URL of the linked object.
3. Tick the ‘Display URL on Extra Tab’ option.
4. Click on ‘Save’.
Please note: step 2 will only work if the web page URL is
identical to the printer’s network address. In this example
we assume that the [Object_ID] is identical to the printer’s
network address.
TOPdesk UK limited t +44 (0)20 7803 4200 e [email protected] w www.topdesk.co.uk
TOPdesk Netherlands t +31 (0)15 270 09 00 e [email protected] w www.topdesk.nl
TOPdesk Germany GmbH t +49 (0)631 624 00 0 e [email protected] w www.topdesk.de
TOPdesk Belgium t +32 (0)3 292 32 90 e [email protected] w www.topdesk.be
TOPdesk Hungary t +36 1 301 0190 e [email protected] w www.topdesk.hu
TOPdesk France t + 33 (0) 811 11 59 84 e info.topdesk.fr w www.topdesk.fr
Copyright © 2012 TOPdesk UK limited. Although this magazine has been produced with the utmost care and attention, the writers cannot be held responsible in any way for any damages that may occur due to errors and / or deficiencies in this publication.
TOPdesk Danmark A/St +45 7015 7500 e [email protected] w www.topdesk.dk
