6 TOPDESK 5.

Photography: Aad Hoogendoorn

Erik Pols (l) and Dirk Ammerlaan worked together on the Form Designer

THE FORM DESIGNER

STRAIGHT TO WORK WITH YOUR REQUESTS

Text: Nienke Deuss

TOPDESK 5.2 7

TOPdesk 5.2 introduces a new module: the Form Designer. Thanks to this module, your requests and calls are always complete and can be processed immediately. This is the rst step towards bridging the gap between operator and user.

8 TOPDESK 5.2

That one question

WYSIWYG
A lot of organizations still use paper forms. You can create any type of form in MS Word. That is why the Form Designer had to be just as easy to work with as typing in Word, explains Ammerlaan. When we were developing this module, we started all over again after a couple of weeks. It was becoming too laborious. We strongly believe in the approach we have taken with TOPdesk 5: achieve more with fewer clicks. That is why we put so much effort into making the Form Designer as intuitive as possible. We tried to keep it straightforward: you start with a blank canvas, drag a question to the right place and start typing. What you see it what you get (wysiwyg).

THE FORM DESIGNER OFFERS AN EXTRA DIMENSION, BECAUSE YOU CAN ASK JUST THAT ONE QUESTION TO BEGIN WITH
Dirk Ammerlaan functional designer

In the Form Designer, a form is created using components such as open questions, multiple choice questions, or plain text. The more people I spoke with, the more I realized that they often need exactly the same type of information, says Pols. It usually doesnt even concern a eld that should be lled in in TOPdesk, but simply more details to clarify the request. This is something that can easily be resolved with an additional open question or date eld. The Form Designer offers an extra dimension, because you can ask just that one question to begin with.

I once visited a TOPdesk customer who had a monitor displaying KPIs, says Erik Pols, TOPdesk product manager. These KPIs were based on the number of standard requests versus the number of non-standard requests. The goal was to standardize as much as possible. If a request was already submitted more than once, we looked into the possibility of standardization. This is exactly where the Form Designer comes in: to help you efciently process common requests.

Matching the operators processes

The Form Designer not only ensures that requests are complete when submitted, but processing forms is also easier. You could even say that the service desk is superuous, says Pols. You can include information about the processing in each form, without the requester seeing this information. For instance, you can ll in an operator or select a change template. The request is assigned directly to the right operator and they can get straight to work.

Proud
It is a rst step, but you can really do a lot with it, explains Pols. It is especially handy that you can ll in a change template. For instance, if you select a template for which the request is already authorized, the form is immediately turned into a change in progress. The underlying activities can also start directly. Ammerlaan agrees. Even if the Form Designers look is simple and intuitive, it is very diverse. We really captured the essence of making forms with this module.

Missing pieces
Almost every service desk has to deal with incomplete requests. You receive a request for a telephone, but do not know who it is for. Or a new employee registration, but you do not know for which department. You need more information to process requests, says Pols. While you would rather spend less time chasing after requests and spend more time actually helping your customers. Dirk Ammerlaan, functional designer, adds: Processes in the Operators Section are often set up correctly, but there is still a large gap between the process in TOPdesk and the end users request. The Form Designer is the rst step towards bridging this gap. You can design your own call or change form, making sure that there are no more missing pieces once the request is submitted.

In your own words

Previously, when someone wanted to submit a request in the Self Service Desk, they were shown a TOPdesk card, says Ammerlaan. The Form Designer makes this process a lot easier. The requester is no longer bothered with elds he doesnt need to ll in. You can also display the questions in the callers language. You can add elds from a call or change card to the form and remove all the jargon. Instead of displaying a eld name such as Category, you can now include your own set of questions for the caller to ll in. You can make it a lot clearer by saying How can we help you? This makes the forms more friendly. Visit TOPdesk.com/topdesk52 for more information, or contact your account manager.

TOPdesk 5.2
In addition to the Form Designer, TOPdesk 5.2 also offers the following new or improved functionalities: Dynamic status eld in Change Management Upload les with drag-and-drop Assign calls directly to the right operator Export person and branch details thanks to extra authorization More buttons on the Quick Launch Bar