6 TOPDESK 5

The first version of TOPdesk was released almost twenty years ago, and has improved with each new version. The result? TOPdesk 4, our most successful version ever. However, we believe we can do better. We proudly present: TOPdesk 5!

Text: Nienke Deuss

T wenty years ago we were glad that we could create

an inventory and track calls without Excel sheets

or Post-its,” says Wolter Smit, TOPdesk CEO. “But

organizations have become much more complex since then.

Many IT departments work according to ITIL, which currently

comprises 26 processes. Moreover, it is more and more

common for Shared Service Centres to combine IT, Facilities

and HR processes. Our customers have to deal with complex

situations. We developed TOPdesk 5 with this in mind. This

version is intended to make your work easier and ensure that

you achieve more with fewer clicks.”

Achieve more with fewer clicksBut what does ‘achieve more with fewer clicks’ really mean?

“TOPdesk 5 is designed to let users access the information

most important to them without the extra clicks,” explains

Smit. “We achieved this by creating more space on the screen:

we moved or reduced the size of the elements that took up

a lot of space but were not frequently used. This lets users

utilize the space when they need it, and more space means a

better overview.”

This version also ensures that you have immediate access to

TOPdesk’s most important functionalities, as Smit explains.

“Links provide quick access to common actions, such as

creating a new card. TOPdesk 5 introduces the Quick Launch

Bar, which you can equip with buttons for the functions

you use most. For instance, you can create a new call or

reservation in a single click. We don’t know which functions

you use every day, so the Quick Launch Bar is customizable:

you can add buttons to create new cards, or to directly open

a report a selection.”

The ability to customize your work environment, such as with

the Quick Launch Bar, is one of TOPdesk 5’s characteristic

features. There are many ways to personalize your TOPdesk,

ensuring that you will always see the information you need.

“You can also see this with the new bookmark feature,” says

Smit. “As an operator, you may want to track a number of calls

or changes without having to create a new selection. This is

why you can create bookmarks for virtually any card. These

cards are included in an overview, which you can open directly

from your Quick Launch Bar. This overview can include cards

from several processes.”

TOPDESK 5: ACHIEVE MORE WITH FEWER CLICKS

7 TOPDESK 5

The start pageAs mentioned previously, you can use the Quick Launch Bar to click

through to important functionalities. However, you can also access

handy overviews via blocks and buttons on your start page. With

a single click you can open your Task Board, the Dashboard and

TOPdesk’s most important new feature: the Plan Board for operators.

All your tasks on one Task BoardYour start page displays all your tasks, and lets you click through to

task overviews for each module. It is also possible to click through

to the Task Board. The large button at the top of your start page lets

you open an overview of all tasks assigned to you, from all processes.

This gives you a complete overview of everything you need to do.

◄ On the start page, you can

directly click through to all

the information you need.

◄ The progress trail displays all

the customer communication,

including emails and

documents.

Photography: Robin Kuijs

8 TOPDESK 5

9 TOPDESK 5

When you open a call, you will immediately see another important

improvement introduced in TOPdesk 5. The call or incident card is

one of the most commonly used cards among operators. This card

has always contained a lot of information, right from the first version

of TOPdesk: a caller block, additional information, processing and

planning data and of course the request and action field. The layout

has been changed in TOPdesk 5: all fixed administrative data is

contained in (collapsible) sections on the left, leaving room on the

right side of the card for customer communication – the so-called

progress trail. “You can follow the entire process without a single extra

click. You can see the request, the action undertaken and the reactions,

presented chronologically,” says Smit. “What’s more, all sent emails

are included in the progress trail as links, and you are able to see all

internal notes and uploaded files. The progress trail is available in both

Incident Management and Change Management.”

All reports and KPIs on one DashboardManagers monitor their department’s progress and mostly use

TOPdesk to make sure that everything is on track. We have also created

better overviews for these users. You can open the Dashboard directly

from the start page. “We developed the Dashboard for monitoring

processes,” explains Smit. “It allows you to gain immediate insight into

the status of your processes. You can view KPIs and reports displayed

in graphs. If something catches your eye, then you can access the

underlying details in a single click, right down to individual cards. You

can also determine what is displayed on the dashboards. You can add

overviews of current situations, reports, KPIs or selections, to name but

a few. Moreover, you also have access to an Overview Dashboard that

lets you display reports and KPIs from several process on a single page.

Plan Board for operatorsA coordinator is responsible for monitoring his team’s schedule. What

do you do when someone goes on holiday, or if someone calls in sick?

Do you still have the capacity to handle all incoming calls? “Many of

our customers use Excel sheets to keep track of their planning, with a

list of employees on one axis and the service desk’s opening times on

the other,” explains Smit. “The cells are then colour-coded to indicate

who is in the office, who has the day off, the shift someone is working,

◄ Above: View, create and group reports

and KPIs on a single Dashboard

Below: The Plan Board for operators

lets you easily (re)schedule tasks

YOU CAN EASILY SCHEDULE YOUR DEPARTMENT’S STAFF AND EVEN SET UP RECURRENCE PATTERNS

Wolter Smit about the Plan Board

YOU DETERMINE WHICH KPIS AND REPORTS ARE DISPLAYED IN GRAPHS ON THE DASHBOARD

Wolter Smit about the Dashboard

10 TOPDESK 5

and so on. It’s no wonder people use Excel

for this: it is quick, accessible and easy. But

we wondered if we couldn’t offer something

better, something in one application.”

TOPdesk 5 introduces the Plan Board for

operators, which combines the simplicity

of Excel with the power of TOPdesk, as Smit

explains. “With a single click you can access

a list of all operators, ordered by operator

group. You can register and adjust your

department’s staff, take morning and night

shifts into account when doing so and even

set up recurrence patterns.

“However, the Plan Board’s main advantage

is that you also have access to other

information registered in TOPdesk,” says Smit.

“You can see who is present, but you also

know how busy they are and what they are

doing. The Plan Board displays the number of

tasks your employees need to complete, and

how many tasks are assigned to them before

or after this week: you have optimal insight

into your employees’ workflow. You can use

this information to reassign tasks, ensuring

that your schedule will not be disrupted

when someone goes on holiday or calls in sick.”

Manage your processesTOPdesk application managers or process

managers spend a lot of time setting up

processes. They maintain the Change

Management templates or process surveys,

to name but a few tasks. “We have introduced

the module pages with these users in mind,”

explains Smit. “The module page displays

everything you need to manage a module. At

the top of the screen is the module diagram,

which shows how the module is set up for

your organization: the parts you do not use

are marked as light grey. Moreover, you can

click straight through to expand the module’s

settings with new selections, templates or

surveys, for example.”

▲ The module page uses diagrams to show how

your processes are set up.

Interested in a demonstration?Are you interested in TOPdesk 5’s new features and functionalities?

Get in contact with a TOPdesk office near you and request a free demo today.

DID YOU KNOW...

• The Dashboards, Plan Board and module pages are standard parts of the framework?

• TOPdesk 5 was developed by three development teams in the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary?

• Many TOPdesk 5 elements were developed based on users’ feature requests?

• The first demonstration of TOPdesk 5 for beta customers took place on 2 April?

• The next page features pictures of part of the team responsible for TOPdesk 5?

• You can view the names of all TOPdesk employees who contributed to the 5 under TOPdesk menu > Help > About TOPdesk?

Mark van MeursDevelopment (Delft)

11 TOPDESK 5

Robert AmeszDevelopment (Delft)

Niels van KlaverenSupport

Ivette van PuttenSupport

Jalitha WillsDevelopment (Delft)

Laurent van BerkelTesting

Olga ReutelingspergerFunctional design

Cees de QuaastenietTesting

Bart van der HelSupport

Balázs NádasdiDevelopment (Budapest)

Willem BottemaFunctional design

Dirk AmmerlaanFunctional design

Bart EnkelaarDevelopment (Delft)