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Step 1: Select possible ('suggested') dates
In Figure 1 below (slightly reduced), the user has specified a meeting which could take place on any of the following: Friday 15th April, or any day between Monday 18th April and Friday 22nd April.
Figure 1: Specifying dates.
The user could have opted for a more fine-grained view, showing an AM/PM distinction (two check-boxes per date), by clicking on the 'AM/PM' button on the right. The fields for 'Meeting name', 'My name' and 'My email' are intended to provide a meaningful name for the meeting, and an identity and automatic email updates for the proposer (Note: email addresses are never used anywhere else by Meetomatic, and it is our firm policy never to distribute email addresses for any purpose whatsoever.)
Step 2: Send email to participants
In Figure 2 below, you can see an email message being prepared. The URL has been generated automatically by Meet-O-Matic, as indeed has the second part of the email (there is nothing like a personal touch at the beginning, of course!).
Figure 2: Sending a message to prospective
participants. The second half of the wording
is provided as a 'suggestion' by Meet-O-Matic, and pasted into a
conventional email.
Figure 3 shows the response form that invited participants see. They simply fill in their names and select available dates, then press the 'Submit' button.
Figure 3: How participants join in. The 'select all'
and 'unselect all' options provide a convenient mechanism for selecting
many dates with one click.
Step 3: Monitor progress
The proposer needs to re-visit the Meet-O-Matic's custom-generated web page from time to time to observe how the responses are shaping up (an email message reminds the meeting proposer to do this as responses come in). Meet-O-Matic indicates the best dates at the bottom of the response table, and provides a 'VIP?' (Very Important Person) option so that the proposer can refresh the best date analysis after indicating specific VIPs (i.e. those who really really need to be at the meeting).
Figure 4: Participants (at left) vs. proposed dates (at
top). 'Refresh best dates' allows the proposer to undertake 'what if'
analyses by selecting different VIPs (Very Important Persons).
In Figure 4 we see that the best (most popular) date, hence 'Rank 1', is Friday 15th April. This is simply indicated as such on the form, but it is up to the meeting proposer to pick the best date and email the invitees to let them know the decision! In this example, suppose that both Fred (top row) and Carole Jones (third row) were, in the mind of the meeting proposer, absolutely essential for the meeting. In this case the best thing to do is simple select those two people in the 'VIP' boxes on the left, click on 'Refresh Best Dates', and observe the new recommended dates, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Just like Figure 4, except two people (rows
one and three) are deemed by the meeting proposer to be 'VIP' status
(i.e. essential for the meeting), so Thursday 21st April is in fact the
best date (because all VIPs and the largest number of respondents can
make that date).
Version 3.6(r544).
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