This session will equip you with the knowledge needed to effectively analyze the (TOPdesk) API integration possibilities

1. Getting started with
(TOPdesk) API
Discover if and how API’s can be an answer to your challenges
Alexander Janssens & Gert-Jan van Rooij

2. What are we going to talk about
We have a crazy idea/use case
• How did we start working on this?
• How would you start working on this?
• The 7 steps to success!
Interaction is not only possible, it is expected!

3. Our crazy idea
To search knowledge in the “brain” of our
supplier

4. How did we start working on this?

5. How did we start working on this?
About everything you
should not do:
• Do something and see
what happens.
• “This would be cool
too, let’s do it”

6. How would you start working on
this?

7. How would you start working
on this?
To search knowledge in the “brain” of our
supplier

8. Create
Local Incident
Search External
Knowledge
Create External
Incident
Update Local
Incident
Copy
Knowledge to
Local Incident
Further
Processing
Knowledge
available?
How would you start working on
this?

9. The 7 steps to success!

10. The 7 steps to success
1. What do I want?
2. What are the functionalities of the tools?
3. What should it look like?
4. What are the functionalities of both API’s?
5. What do we have to do to link them?
6. Time & money
7. Design for failure

11. 1. What do I want?
• Define the problem to solve
• Find missing knowledge
• Faster solutions

12. 1. What do I want?
• Define the problem to solve
• Find missing knowledge
• Faster solutions
• Define your ideal solution
• Knowledge is automaticaly retrieved from
the supplier.
• If there is no knowledge: send question to
supplier.

13. 2. What are the
functionalities of the tools?
• What features does our tool offer?
• What can we expect from the
supplier’s tool?
‘By accident’, we picked TOPdesk twice.

14. 3. What should it look like?
• Visual representation of your ideal
solution
• Think about all tools involved

19. 4. What are the
functionalities of both API’s?
API-documentation: check what is possible
General thoughts:
• Limitation: external number + unknown
caller (log in as person)
• Limitation: no RTF from knowledge item
• Limitation: attachments?

20. 5. What do we have to do to link
them?
• Learn to work with action sequences
https://developers.topdesk.com/

21. How to link them?
• Learn to work with action sequences
• Learn Freemarker:
https://freemarker.apache.org/

22. 5. What do we have to do to link
them?
• Learn to work with action sequences
https://developers.topdesk.com/
• Learn Freemarker:
https://freemarker.apache.org/

23. 5. What do we have to do to link
them?
• Learn to work with action sequences
https://developers.topdesk.com/
• Learn Freemarker:
https://freemarker.apache.org/

24. How to link them?
• Learn to work with action sequences
• Learn Freemarker:
https://freemarker.apache.org/

25. 5. What do we have to do to link
them?
• Learn to work with action sequences
https://developers.topdesk.com/
• Learn Freemarker:
https://freemarker.apache.org/
• Take implementation into account

26. 6. Time & money
• Costs and benefits
• Question the value at
each step
• Example: dealing with
multiple languages

27. 7. Design for failure
• What if you don’t get the response you
hoped for (no results/ error/ …)
• What if you don’t get a response at all?
• TEST TEST TEST!

28. The 7 steps to success!
1. What do I want?
2. What are the functionalities of the tools?
3. What should it look like?
4. What are the functionalities of both API’s?
5. What do we have to do to link them?
6. Time & money
7. Design for failure

29. The final result

34. Summary
• Follow all 7 steps before you start building – no shortcuts.
• Don’t just spend money or time on this if it has no use.
• Try to solve a problem, avoid getting lost into details too
early.

35. Keep in mind
• The TOPdesk Marketplace
https://marketplace.topdesk.com
• TOPdesk can help you

36. Thank you for attending
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