The latest addition to the Office 365 Suite of products here at the University of Reading.

 

What is Microsoft Bookings?

Microsoft Bookings is an online scheduling tool that is part of Office 365. Bookings allows employees to set up calendars and manage availability for themselves so that others can book appointments with them quickly and efficiently.  Academics can use Bookings to provide their availability for office hours and allow students to book appointments with them. Staff can use Bookings to provide their availability to both internal and external colleagues and allow them to schedule time slots for a meeting or event.

 

What is a good use case for Microsoft Bookings?

After a successful pilot we have seen a lot of good use cases of Microsoft Bookings and the feedback has been positive.  From this, we have been able to see what works best and what doesn’t.

A few case examples:

  • An academic looking to advertise some scheduled times that students could book to drop in and meet with them.
  • Employees looking to open up their calendar to internal or external colleagues to display their availability on a certain subject matter.

Remember it’s a “book-me” system rather than a “book-this object” system. The recommended use of this tool will be person based. There are other Apps and resources for booking other items .  E.G Rooms or Table Space or Loan equipment as examples….  (Either via CMIS or Exchange Rooms etc…)  Microsoft Bookings is NOT a replacement for booking meetings rooms!

 

Who has access to Bookings – How do I get access to it?

This service is available for University Employees to use.

If you are interested and have a valid use case you wish to implement via Microsoft Bookings, then please request access via this form. Once this is filled out we can assign the license to your personal user account on Office365.

As a member of staff, you can allow anyone to book via your Calendar.

 

Great – I have access to Bookings now. Any tips for use?

  • Keep the Display Name For your calendar to the point.  E.G “John Smith – Student Engagement Bookings”
  • As mentioned, keep this person based. Once your employment with the University finishes the license will be automatically revoked.
  • This is a hosted system surfaced through the Microsoft Office 365 Platform. DTS will not be able to provide much support on this as the administration is done through your own Office365 account.
  • If you are going to use a room on-premise to meet physically then ensure you book the room separately.
  • Booking Calendars are non-transferable and need to be kept related to you.  If you leave the University you cannot pass the Booking calendar on to your predecessor or colleague.
  • Think carefully about the naming of the Booking Calendar – Inappropriate naming or names that are too vague or breach common use will be removed. E.G Finance, HR etc