It is post COVID and employees need to come back to the office. How would you design a system for employees to book desks?

Introduction

Designing a desk booking system for employees returning to the office post-COVID is a critical challenge many companies face. This task involves balancing employee safety, workspace efficiency, and organizational flexibility. I'll approach this problem by first clarifying key aspects, then analyzing user needs, and finally proposing a comprehensive solution.

Step 1

Clarify Questions (3 minutes)

• Is this a company-specific product or a generic solution for multiple companies?

• Why it matters: The scale and specific requirements may vary significantly between a single company and a multi-company solution.
• Hypothetical answer: Let's assume it's a generic solution that can be customized for different companies.
• Impact: We'll need to design a flexible system that can accommodate various office layouts and company policies.

• What's the typical size range of companies we're targeting?

• Why it matters: Company size affects the complexity of the booking system and the features required.
• Hypothetical answer: Let's target medium to large enterprises with 500+ employees.
• Impact: We'll need to design for scalability and potentially include features for managing multiple office locations.

• Are there any specific COVID-related requirements we need to consider?

• Why it matters: Health and safety features could be crucial for user adoption and company compliance.
• Hypothetical answer: Yes, we should include features for contact tracing and social distancing.
• Impact: We'll incorporate health and safety features into the core design of the system.

• What's the timeline for development and deployment?

• Why it matters: This affects the scope of features we can realistically include in the initial release.
• Hypothetical answer: Let's aim for a 3-month development cycle for an MVP.
• Impact: We'll need to prioritize core features and plan for iterative improvements post-launch.

Propose the Goal

Given the focus on employee safety and workspace efficiency, I believe our goal should be to create a user-friendly desk booking system that optimizes office space utilization while ensuring employee health and safety. Does this align with your vision?

Define the Scope

For this product design challenge, let's focus on creating a mobile-first application that allows employees to book desks, with features for health screening and social distancing. We'll assume we're designing for companies with multiple office locations and a hybrid work model.

Based on these assumptions, let's move forward with our solution.