Room Booking Workflow

Room Booking Workflow

This document describes the end-to-end process for booking meeting rooms within the Effective Office system, covering both the tablet client interface and backend Google Calendar integration. The workflow encompasses room selection, time scheduling, conflict validation, and calendar event creation.

For information about real-time availability updates and push notifications, see Real-time Availability System. For details about the quick reservation feature, see Fast Booking Feature.

Overview

The room booking workflow enables users to reserve meeting rooms through a tablet interface. The system validates availability, checks for conflicts, and synchronizes bookings with Google Calendar. The process supports both new booking creation and modification of existing bookings, with comprehensive validation and error handling throughout.

High-Level Booking Flow

Technical Component Architecture

Booking Editor State Management

The BookingEditorComponent manages complex state transitions during the booking process:

State Field	Purpose	Validation
duration	Meeting duration in minutes	Must be positive
date	Selected date and time	Cannot be in the past
selectOrganizer	Chosen meeting organizer	Must exist in system
isBusyEvent	Indicates scheduling conflicts	Blocks booking creation
enableUpdateButton	Controls action button state	Based on all validations
isTimeInPastError	Past time validation flag	Shows snackbar error

Validation and Conflict Detection

The conflict detection algorithm checks for time overlap using:

newEventStart < existingEventEnd && newEventEnd > existingEventStart

Backend Google Calendar Integration

The GoogleCalendarProvider handles the core booking operations:

Booking Creation Flow

Key Backend Methods

Method	Purpose	Returns
createEvent()	Creates new Google Calendar event	Booking with assigned ID
updateEvent()	Modifies existing calendar event	Updated Booking
deleteEvent()	Removes calendar event	Unit
checkBookingAvailability()	Validates time slot availability	Boolean
findEventsByWorkspace()	Retrieves room's existing bookings	List<Booking>

Error Handling and User Feedback

The booking workflow implements comprehensive error handling:

Client-Side Error States

Error Type	Trigger	User Feedback
isTimeInPastError	Selected time is in the past	Snackbar with localized message
isInputError	Invalid organizer selection	Form field validation highlight
isBusyEvent	Room unavailable at selected time	Disabled booking button
isErrorCreate	Backend booking creation failed	Button shows "Error creating event"
isErrorUpdate	Backend booking update failed	Button shows "Error"
isErrorDelete	Backend booking deletion failed	Button shows "Error deleting event"

Backend Exception Handling

The GoogleCalendarProvider throws specific exceptions:

• OverlappingBookingException for scheduling conflicts
• GoogleJsonResponseException for Google API errors
• NullPointerException for failed event creation

Domain Model Transformations

The system performs several data transformations throughout the booking workflow:

Client Domain Models

• EventInfo - Client-side representation of a booking event
• Organizer - User who organizes the meeting
• RoomInfo - Meeting room details

Backend Domain Models

• Booking - Core domain model for room reservations
• User - System user with email and role information
• Workspace - Physical meeting room or space

API Data Transfer Objects

• BookingRequestDTO - Client booking creation request
• BookingResponseDTO - Server booking response
• UserDTO - User information in API responses