How TU Delft makes colleagues and suppliers self-reliant with SelfGuide

TU Delft offers high-quality education and research at a global level, with the Department of Data Analyses and Financial Systems responsible for managing financial applications, RPA and reports. They act as spiders in the web and work closely with HR, the library and ICT. The goal: to relieve colleagues so that they can focus on their core tasks.

TU Delft saw the application landscape become more complex. Things like invoice portals, purchase orders and supplier onboarding increasingly led to repetitive explanations and tickets. “We had to tell the same story every time,” recalls Benito. Through a previous manager, SelfGuide came into the picture. Alternatives were considered, but SelfGuide's flexibility and ease of use convinced enough to launch an extensive pilot, with the aim of increasing self-reliance, securing knowledge and relieving the help desk.

SelfGuide thus replaced inefficient Word and PowerPoint tutorials with interactive, visual and step-by-step instructions, including notes. This also helps less digitally savvy users and external parties.

“You can add a lot of information. Instructions or notes are very easy to edit. After all, the URLs remain the same. The user doesn't notice anything else about it”.

Benito Minnella, Data Analyses & Financial Systems Project Manager

The SelfGuide rollout went smoothly with SSO integration and internal adoption also went well thanks to the training courses by Willem from SelfGuide. The response time was also excellent when asked. “Questions are often answered within a week, via Teams,” says Benito.

In addition, they are very satisfied with the proactive support that SelfGuide offers. This includes quick Teams calls to answer questions, Editor training courses, but also ISO security info for software advice. Editors at TU Delft praise the accessibility of the solution.

Currently, TU Delft has created around 85 instructions with 14 editors. “In order to manage this properly, we have set clear rules for using SelfGuide and creating instructions. We carry out strict controls due to AVG compliance and approval for new content channels,” says Benito.

Because screens with potentially sensitive information are also included, TU Delft keeps a close eye on what is or is not visible. Where necessary and explicitly, it will be audited whether an instruction can be made public.

When asked how they make the instructions discoverable to the internal user, Benito states that most instructions can be found on the intranet or via the ticket system. “We place the URLs of the instructions for both our cloud and on-premise applications there. We also see that they are forwarded by email.” The HR department, library, and ICT create and share their own instructions for onboarding and systems. In the future, they also hope to unlock instructions via TOPdesk.

SelfGuide is also used externally at TU Delft to onboarding suppliers to the complex billing portal. Specific instructions are made public and included as a link in the onboarding communication. “Those colleagues spent quite a bit of time telling the same story. Now we make a nice instruction that we send along. Most suppliers figure it out themselves,” Benito explains.

Thanks to the cloud solution, the URL always remains the same, even with updates. Thanks to the visual steps and notes within the steps, suppliers find their way quickly without help desk contact. This reduces processing times, reduces the number of tickets and confirms professionalism. The suppliers praise this clear guidance.

Currently, instructions and guides are mainly created using SelfGuide. However, the solution also includes a comprehensive training module. “At the moment, the training module within SelfGuide is not widely used”. We will see that happen in the future with the arrival of our new financial system, which will be rolled out in 2027, but I also see opportunities for, for example, our educational catalog, Osiris,” says Benito.

Although there was no formal baseline, ICT and Finance colleagues at TU Delft are experiencing a clear decline in repeated questions and tickets about applications, billing workflows and system processes. “My ICT colleagues received fewer and fewer questions thanks to the use of SelfGuide, and in the end, you want as few tickets as possible,” notes Benito Minnella. Instructions are proactively forwarded from domains, ticketing systems, and the intranet, so users have them ready without searching.

The internal adoption was organic: editors have been enthusiastic about the accessibility from day one; even the communication department was surprised by the functionalities and simplicity. The ability for users to provide feedback via the feedback button leads to rapid adjustments. Suppliers, on the other hand, are very satisfied with the entire onboarding process. For TU Delft, this is a confirmation that both colleagues and external parties know how to find and appreciate the instructions.
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“We wanted to increase self-reliance and knowledge assurance through uniform instructions in processes and applications. You can say it worked.”

Benito Minnella, Data Analyses & Financial Systems Project Manager

TU Delft sees great potential for a wider deployment of SelfGuide, especially in new implementations such as the financial system (start 2027). The training module is ready for onboarding and testing where necessary. By investing ownership with application managers per department, they rely on smooth adoption and up-to-date content. Benito's team is keeping an eye on the pulse as an extra control. His advice: “Check out the SelfGuide site, request a free trial, or talk to a user. It is accessible, price-wise and can be widely used for HR, ICT and more.”