How to handle resources (now rooms and equipment) not associated with a building?

[jdlessley]

I appreciate everyone's kindness in suggesting some possible "workarounds." (Sigh) I just wish it were possible to continue what has evolved into an excellent and useful system for our stake without having to go back to the dark ages. If I block out everything we're back to the call or e-mail the scheduler (with the attendant possible phone tag) to schedule these resources. If I elect to open the site and monitor I make a whole lot of extra work for myself. Are we REALLY ready to tun off classic calendars on 31 Dec 2011?

I don't see how the classic event calendar or classic resource calendar provided any benefit greater than the new calendar other than the "submit event" feature. Even when an event was submitted on the classic calendar an administrator still had to check the calendar regularly to see if there were any new events submitted. There is no difference to me whether I get the event submital by e-mail or I have to log onto a system and check to see if an event is submitted. There is absolutely no additional work. It is exactly the same. I still have to check something.

[aebrown]

There is no difference to me whether I get the event submital by e-mail or I have to log onto a system and check to see if an event is submitted. There is absolutely no additional work. It is exactly the same. I still have to check something.

There's a big difference for me. I check email regularly for a multitude of reasons, and my phone notifies me when email has arrived. So I will know promptly if I have received an email. But logging into a site, just to check if there is something new --- that's definitely extra work.

So the "Submit Event" feature that was removed between the classic and the new calendar certainly created extra work. And for non-editors, who used to be able to submit an event using the classic calendar, but now have to find out who to call, then call and request a reservation, it's a lot more work. That part of the workflow also generates more work for the approver.

[jdlessley]

There's a big difference for me. I check email regularly for a multitude of reasons, and my phone notifies me when email has arrived. So I will know promptly if I have received an email. But logging into a site, just to check if there is something new --- that's definitely extra work.

In the classic calendar when a new event is submitted by the "submit event" feature an email notice is/was sent to the sole administrator designated to receive messages. Even then that administrator had to still go to the calendar and approve it. That still requires additional action. And if you as the building scheduler are not the designated administrator to receive messages then you still have to go to the site to see if new events have been submitted.

So where is the additional work from then to now?

And for non-editors, who used to be able to submit an event using the classic calendar, but now have to find out who to call, then call and request a reservation, it's a lot more work. That part of the workflow also generates more work for the approver.

I don't know if you have checked since v2 release but it is quite easy to find out who the building scheduler is. In the "Locations" box next to each location title is a down arrow. Click it to either change the building icon color, and all displayed event titles color for that location, or to "Contact building scheduler". Clicking "Contact building scheduler" displays the location name, the building scheduler name, the building scheduler's telephone number, and the building scheduler's e-mail address as a "mail to:" link.

A non-editor has the option of calling the building scheduler or e-mailing all the information.

Ao where is the additional work from then to now? I actually see less work for the building scheduler with the current calendar.

[aebrown]

In the classic calendar when a new event is submitted by the "submit event" feature an email notice is/was sent to the sole administrator designated to receive messages. Even then that administrator had to still go to the calendar and approve it. That still requires additional action. And if you as the building scheduler are not the designated administrator to receive messages then you still have to go to the site to see if new events have been submitted.

So where is the additional work from then to now?

It appears that you didn't read my previous post, even though you quoted it. Reading my mail is zero extra work, because I check it frequently, and my phone notifiess me of new mail. Checking the site even once just to see if there is something new is extra work. How often do I have to check the site for new submissions in order to give a timely response? Even once is more work, and if it is once a day, or more often, that is substantially more work.

I don't know if you have checked since v2 release but it is quite easy to find out who the building scheduler is. In the "Locations" box next to each location title is a down arrow. Click it to either change the building icon color, and all displayed event titles color for that location, or to "Contact building scheduler". Clicking "Contact building scheduler" displays the location name, the building scheduler name, the building scheduler's telephone number, and the building scheduler's e-mail address as a "mail to:" link.

Of course I have checked since v2 has been released, and I'm completely aware of the UI you describe. I know that it is relatively easy to find the building scheduler if you make a couple of assumptions: that a regular member knows what location the equipment is connected with, and that the down arrow by a location is something that will help them find the building scheduler. Both assumptions are very weak for the people I work with, who aren't all that familiar with the calendar site.

A non-editor has the option of calling the building scheduler or e-mailing all the information.

Ao where is the additional work from then to now? I actually see less work for the building scheduler with the current calendar.

A phone call is more work for the caller and the scheduler. A phone call requires the scheduler to get to a computer, or arrange a time to take the call when he is at a computer, or write down the details of the schedule request and get to a computer. An email requires the scheduler to copy and paste information into the calendar, or to type it in again. There is also the very real risk that the requester didn't supply all the necessary information, and additional communication will be required.

Under the old calendar, the submitter picked the resource, and submitted the details on a form that prompted you for title, date, description. Then the scheduler simply went to the approval section, read it quickly, and approved it. A few clicks and he was done. It was obviously far less work for requests that need to go through the scheduler.

[PKBarnes3]

To AEBROWN'S two options above, where he offered: "Set a reservation that blocks that resource from ever being automatically scheduled, so people have to contact the building scheduler in order to book the equipment."... I have to ask if blocking with Reservations will also preclude ME from using the resource calendar as my scheduling interface. In other words, if nobody can schedule automatically, then I can't either. I would have to use a different calendar altogether such as GMAIL to keep things in order. In our situation, we are loaning spare tables and chairs so that none of the 'good' ones are taken from the buildings. Nobody can know what is available at any given time except the person who is coordinating the inventory and the requests. The Classic calendar did this well, forcing each request to flow through an Approver. Also, we get zero notifications of someone needing something, so we are compelled to monitor the calendar for changes. This is flawed by design. Sure, it is nice to allow more people to get access to resources, but they had access previously, and there was also 'order'... Hmmm... Order..

[jdlessley]

Reading my mail is zero extra work, because I check it frequently, and my phone notifiess me of new mail. Checking the site even once just to see if there is something new is extra work. How often do I have to check the site for new submissions in order to give a timely response? Even once is more work, and if it is once a day, or more often, that is substantially more work.

This is exactly my point. With the classic calendar a building scheduler had to go to the website to check for submissions. With the new calendar a building scheduler does not have to go to the website to check for new submissions. For the situation discussed in this thread the person needing to reserve a piece of equipment sends an e-mail to the building scheduler. And as in your case they will know through e-mail clients or telephone alerts of messages that there is a request.

I was a building scheduler. I had to go to the website daily to check for new submissions. The stake had one administrator that was designated to receive messages for the stake and each ward had one. For two stakes I was in this one administrator was not a building scheduler. For every ward in those stakes the building scheduler was not that administrator either.

I am not advocating against having a "submit event" capability. I am all for it. I just don't see how the classic calendar was less work than the new calendar. It was more work for me as a building scheduler. This relatively small issue of reserving equipment to me is not worth going back to the class calendar way of doing things.

A phone call is more work for the caller and the scheduler. A phone call requires the scheduler to get to a computer, or arrange a time to take the call when he is at a computer, or write down the details of the schedule request and get to a computer. An email requires the scheduler to copy and paste information into the calendar, or to type it in again. There is also the very real risk that the requester didn't supply all the necessary information, and additional communication will be required.

Under the old calendar, the submitter picked the resource, and submitted the details on a form that prompted you for title, date, description. Then the scheduler simply went to the approval section, read it quickly, and approved it. A few clicks and he was done. It was obviously far less work for requests that need to go through the scheduler.

Really! How often is that going to happen? Most of the people who need to reserve equipment will be those who are going to have edit rights. There is always going to be a number of people who will not, can not, or just don't want to use the on-line system. The building scheduler will always have those telephone calls to deal with no matter what.

[aebrown]

This is exactly my point. With the classic calendar a building scheduler had to go to the website to check for submissions. With the new calendar a building scheduler does not have to go to the website to check for new submissions. For the situation discussed in this thread the person needing to reserve a piece of equipment sends an e-mail to the building scheduler. And as in your case they will know through e-mail clients or telephone alerts of messages that there is a request.

Ah, now I understand why you have a different opinion. I'm not sure why you didn't get emails under the old system, but I most definitely did. So there was no extra work for me. If you weren't getting emails under the old system, then I can see why you might think it was more work.

And with the new calendar, under one of the scenarios we are talking about with the new calendar (option 2 on this post), the building scheduler most definitely does have to check the calendar, which is extra work. I think you started thinking only of option 1, but I was still considering option 2 in my discussion.

Really! How often is that going to happen? Most of the people who need to reserve equipment will be those who are going to have edit rights. There is always going to be a number of people who will not, can not, or just don't want to use the on-line system. The building scheduler will always have those telephone calls to deal with no matter what.

But for option 1, we are talking about a situation where edit rights are irrelevant.

I guess in this discussion I should have been clearer in specifying which scenario I was discussing. You seem to have been using arguments concerning option 1 in trying to refute my points about option 2, and vice versa.

[jdlessley]

Yes, thanks for clearing that up. At least we agree that resurrecting the "submit event" feature is a worthy issue to consider for those people who do not have editor rights.

[mnmpeterson]

I was a building scheduler. I had to go to the website daily to check for new submissions. The stake had one administrator that was designated to receive messages for the stake and each ward had one. For two stakes I was in this one administrator was not a building scheduler. For every ward in those stakes the building scheduler was not that administrator either.

Sounds like you didn't have your resource calendars set up correctly. You can designate a person to receive emails whenever a new submission to a resource calendar is made. Each calendar can have a different person who gets emailed. So if you make your resource scheduler the person who receives the emails they don't have to remember to check the website regularly to see if anything has been submitted. They only need to approve when the receive an email notice.

[jdlessley]

Sounds like you didn't have your resource calendars set up correctly.

We discontinued the use of the resource calendar because people did not use it (long explanation) and because there was no connectivity between it and the event calendar. There was significantly more work created for the building scheduler because of these two issues. We solved these two issues by establishing procedures that used the event calendar solely.

You can designate a person to receive emails whenever a new submission to a resource calendar is made. Each calendar can have a different person who gets emailed. So if you make your resource scheduler the person who receives the emails they don't have to remember to check the website regularly to see if anything has been submitted. They only need to approve when the receive an email notice.

I am well aware of how the e-mail system worked. But since we did not use the resource calendar, as explained, and because the sole administrator designated to receive messages for the event calendar was not the building scheduler (stake presidency decision), the email system was not useable for this purpose.