BP208 Manipulating Time and Space

Kevin Pettitt | LotusGuru ConsultingSusan Bulloch | IBM

Agenda● Native C&S capability

● Tips on extending existing features

● Best practices when programming in this area

● Sample code

● Resources

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What you’ll get out of this session● Practical code and tips that can bring quick ROI● When to customize● How to customize● Where to find more information

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C&S-Enabled is more than just a calendar● “C&S-Enabled” applications tie in with personal

calendar and/or room and resource availability● Custom Lotus Notes calendar applications don't

necessarily have anything to do with native C&S

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Out of the Box – Schedule Meetings● Meeting invitations

▬ Chair/Meeting Creator can review invitee and room availability and easily select best time

▬ Flexible (custom) repeat handling▬ Automatically updates participant’s calendars when a

particular meeting (or repeat instance) is cancelled or rescheduled

▬ Room reservations are tied to meeting▬ No more “booked but empty” rooms

▬ Calendar Delegation

Out of the Box – Not Just Email● Meeting details are automatically placed on all

participants calendars● Updates propagated automatically● Room ownership restrictions

Commonly Requested Features● Change meeting chairs

▬ When the chair leaves or changes jobs● See room availability for repeat meetings beyond

initial instance● Auto remind repeat meeting chairs when last

instance is approaching● Setup/tear down time and notifications● Yours?

Customization Rules of Thumb● Avoid modifications to core design elements

▬ You may break something▬ Upgrades are much harder - “Add-on” elements easy to

add to the next version▬ There are lots of cool things you can do without such

drastic measures● No medals for most complicated solution

▬ Simple approaches are more common than you think● Document EVERY change

▬ Be kind to the next developer (it may be you)

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Example Applications● Training Request Submittals

▬ User/Manager fills in request form▬ Training Coordinator schedules room and instructor (and

participants)● Group Events

▬ Department admins push events to user calendars● Appointment Booker

▬ Create appointments that are routed to user’s calendar

Example - Training Requests● Allows users to submit “request for training” forms

that don't specify room or exact time● Training coordinators use submitted information to

book appropriate training facilities and personnel● Application interfaces to the Room and Resources

system and training staff calendars to check availability

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Example – Group Events● Central place to define group-specific events

▬ Personal calendars of group members updated automatically

▬ This can be done by programmatically “pushing” calendar entries

▬ Version 8.5 adds calendar federation allowing users to “subscribe” to many types of public and other Notes calendars

● Event creation restricted to authorized users

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Example – Appointment Booker● Sends an “appointment” type entry as if it were a

“meeting”● Application can generate basic appointments and

place them on a target user's calendar▬ Only a “meeting” appointment type can do this normally▬ Booker won’t look “busy” when they really are not

● Alternative to calendar delegation▬ Fewer security concerns▬ Easier to manage

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Example – Court Hearing Scheduler● Problem: Difficult to schedule multiple resource

categories▬ When can I get a judge, prosecutor, public defender, clerk,

and court reporter to walk into an empty courtroom?● Solution: Create a standalone workflow application for

court clerks▬ Automatically find next open time when all resource

categories are available?

Example – Room Profile Database● Separate proxy application that contains additional

room details▬ Photos▬ complete inventory of equipment▬ Special booking instructions

● Can see room schedule and create reservations directly from profile

▬ Form pre-filled with room and selected time/date● Can create “combo” profiles for rooms that are

sometimes booked together

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Example – Interview Scheduler● Problem: HR struggles to keep track of job

interviews▬ wants a centralized way to schedule job interviews

● Solution: Create a standalone workflow application for HR

▬ Check manager's availability in Notes while coordinating interview time with candidate

▬ Single place to store interview information for interviewers and candidates

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Example – Interview Scheduler● Solution advantages

▬ HR sends the resumes to the manager in a timely manner▬ HR can easily verify interview times for candidate▬ Automatically add interviews to manager's calendar

(“invitation” they don’t have to accept)▬ Reserve interview room at the same time▬ No more phone tag with interviewers and candidates

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Demos

Room Management Gotchas● Changes to a room or resource document require an

administrator▬ Why?▬ The documents are mail-in documents in the directory▬ Do you let anybody else work in the Directory?

● Proxy application approach allows room owners to make changes indirectly▬ Admins can then approve and implement changes very

quickly

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Conclusions● We hope you walk away with an understanding of

how to...▬ Get big ROI with what's in the box▬ Use provided tips and code to move forward with practical

custom applications▬ You know where to find more information

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Resources● IBM developerWorks articles

▬ Bruce Kahn, “New Rooms and Resources features in Lotus Notes/Domino 7” (IBM, December 2005)

▬ www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/domino7-rooms-resources/index.html

▬ Bruce Kahn, “Rooms and Resources design in Lotus Notes/Domino 7” (IBM, August 2005)

▬ www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/rr-nd7/● Domino Admin Help

▬ Calendars and Scheduling topic

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Resources● Notes and Domino wiki articles

▬ http://www.lotus.com/ldd/dominowiki.nsf

● The C&S Schema▬ http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/

documentation/dw-l-calendarschema.html

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BP208 Manipulating Time and Space

Kevin Pettitt | President LotusGuru ConsultingSusan Bulloch | IBM

Q&A

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