1. General

The integration between Workplace and the external calendar (Outlook/Google Calendar) works via a room-centric approach. In room-centric approach the main focus is on integrating with the room calendar (mailbox). For this approach there needs to be full access to the meeting rooms mailboxes. A meeting from Workplace is created in the rooms calendar and users are invited as participants.

Below, several scenarios are described on how the room-centric approach works when creating/updating meetings from Workplace to Outlook/Google Calendar and visa versa.

2. Scenarios

In this chapter, several scenarios are described to see how reservation or meeting reflects in both systems.

• An 'outbound’ meeting is created in any of the Workplace touchpoints and is synced to Outlook/Google Calendar.

• An ‘inbound' meeting, is a meeting created in Outlook/Google Calendar and is synced to Workplace.

2.1 Create meeting in Workplace - synced to Outlook

The new meeting is created in any of the Workplace touchpoints (Workplace App, Go, Room display, etc.):

The meeting is synced to Outlook. The meeting room becomes the organizer of the meeting and the requestor is added as an attendee:

Because the original requestor is added as an attendee/participant to the meeting rooms meeting, the requestor gets an email to accept, decline or tentative the meeting:

The reservation can only be edited or cancelled from Workplace.

2.2 Create meeting in Outlook - synced to Workplace

The new meeting is created in Outlook. The meeting room is added to the meeting.

The meeting is synced to Workplace. The user who created the meeting in Outlook, will become the requestor in Workplace. The meeting room is added to the meeting.

If the user tries to Change the meeting in Workplace Management, the user will get an error:

The user can Cancel the meeting, which will result in the meeting being cancelled in Workplace. In Outlook, the meeting is removed from the rooms mailbox, making the room available again. The meeting will stay in the users mailbox in Outlook until it is deleted in Outlook by the user.

2.3 Create meeting in Workplace - synced to Google Calendar

The new meeting is created in any of the Workplace touchpoints (Workplace App, Go, Room display, etc.):

The meeting is synced to Google Calendar. The meeting room becomes the organizer of the meeting and the requestor is added as a guest (participant):

Because the original requestor is added as a guest to the meeting rooms meeting, the requestor gets an email to accept (Yes), decline (No) or tentative (Maybe) the meeting:

The reservation can only be edited or cancelled from Workplace.

2.4 Create meeting in Google Calendar - synced to Workplace

The new meeting is created in Google Calendar. The meeting room is added to the meeting.

The meeting is synced to Workplace. The user who created the meeting in Google Calendar, will become the requestor in Workplace. The meeting room is added to the meeting.

If the user tries to Change the meeting in Workplace Management, the user will get an error:

The user can Cancel the meeting, which will result in the meeting being cancelled in Workplace. In Outlook, the meeting is removed from the rooms mailbox, making the room available again. The meeting will stay in the users mailbox in Outlook until it is deleted in Outlook.

2.5 No show via brain rule (automation)

A brain rule (automation) can be active which automatically frees up a meeting room, if the user who reserved the meeting room does not show up. With a occupancy sensor, the occupancy can be detected in a meeting room. If no occupancy is detected in the first 15 minutes of a meeting for example, the brain rule will automatically set the reservation to 'no show'.

A 'no show' update on an outbound meeting is considered a “regular“ update, because the update comes from the same source as where the meeting is created.

A 'no show' update on an inbound meeting is considered as “special“ update, because the update (Workplace) does not come from the same source (Outlook/Google Calendar) as where the meeting is created.

A meeting is created in Outlook/Google Calendar:

The sensor in the meeting room does not detect occupancy within the first 15 minutes of the meeting, which triggers the brain rule to “no show“ the meeting. In the room-centric approach Workplace does not have permission to edit the meeting in the users calendar, but the meeting in the meeting rooms calendar can be updated/cancelled. In case of a no show, the meeting in the meeting rooms calendar is completely removed, resulting in the meeting room becoming available again.

2.6 End ongoing meeting early

In the Workplace App it is possible to end an ongoing meeting early. This can potentially be inbound or outbound meetings.

Outbound

• Meeting created in: Workplace

• End ongoing meeting early from: Workplace App

Because the meeting is created in Workplace and the end ongoing meeting early is also done from Workplace (same as the source of the reservation), this will be considered as a “regular“ update.

The meeting is created in Workplace and is synced to Outlook/Google Calendar. In a room-centric approach the meeting is created in the calendar of the meeting room in Outlook/Google Calendar and the user is invited to the meeting as a participant. The end early is executed on the ongoing meeting.

This will result in:

• The meeting in the meeting rooms calendar is updated with the new end time and the meeting room will become available for other meetings again

• The meeting in the users calendar is also updated with the new end time

The meeting in the meeting rooms and users (participant) calendar is updated with the new end time. The original meeting was from 15:45-16:45 but now the meeting rooms meeting is updated to 15:45-16:00 and the room is available again from 16:00 to be reserved by someone else.

Inbound

• Meeting created in: Outlook/Google Calendar

• End ongoing meeting early from: Workplace App

Because the meeting is created in Outlook/Google Calendar and the end ongoing meeting early is done from Workplace (different as the source of the reservation), this will be considered as a “special“ update in the room-centric approach.

The meeting is created in Outlook/Google Calendar in the users calendar and is synced to Workplace. In a room-centric approach Workplace does not have access to the users calendar and thats why the meeting in the users calendar cannot be changed when the meeting is ended early from the Workplace App. But in this case, the meeting in the meeting rooms calendar can be changed.

This will result in:

• The meeting in the users calendar remains unchanged

• The meeting in the meeting rooms calendar is updated with the new end time and the meeting room will become available for other meetings again

The meeting in the users calendar remains the same, the meeting in the meeting rooms calendar is ended early. The original meeting was from 15:00-17:00 but now the meeting rooms meeting is updated to 15:00-15:30 and the room is available again from 15:30 to be reserved by someone else.

2.7 Cancel meeting from Workplace Management

In the Workplace it is possible to cancel a meeting. This can potentially be inbound or outbound meetings.

Outbound

• Meeting created in: Workplace

• Cancelled: Workplace (Management)

Because the meeting is created in Workplace and the cancel is also done from Workplace (same as the source of the reservation), this will be considered as a “regular“ update.

The meeting is created in Workplace and is synced to Outlook/Google Calendar. In a room-centric approach the meeting is created in the calendar of the meeting room in Outlook/Google Calendar and the user is invited to the meeting as a participant. The cancel is executed on the meeting.

This will result in:

• The meeting in the meeting rooms calendar is canceled and removed from the meeting rooms calendar

• The meeting in the users calendar is also removed

Inbound

• Meeting created in: Outlook/Google Calendar

• Cancelled: Workplace (Management)

Because the meeting is created in Outlook/Google Calendar and cancel is done from Workplace (different as the source of the reservation), this will be considered as a “special“ update in the room-centric approach.

The meeting is created in Outlook/Google Calendar in the users calendar and is synced to Workplace. In a room-centric approach Workplace does not have access to the users calendar and thats why the meeting in the users calendar cannot be changed when the meeting is cancelled from the Workplace App. But in this case, the meeting in the meeting rooms calendar can be removed by declining the meeting.

This will result in:

• The meeting in the users calendar remains unchanged

• The meeting in the meeting rooms calendar is removed and the meeting room will become available for other meetings again

3. More information

Next to a room-centric approach, there is also a user-centric approach. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. More information about the room-centric approach, user-centric approach and any possible limitations can be found here: Debunking the myths of room centric limitations