If double-bookings are a hassle
Lots of experiences involving doubles are positive: doubles in baseball, double espressos, double cheeseburgers… But double-bookings? Not so much. Robust software can do a lot. But it’s still not physically possible to 
be in two places at the same time. Yet.
Therefore, any full-bore registration management system should prevent someone from signing up for two classes or other events that occur at the same time. If a person did commit to two classes occurring simultaneously, the earth wouldn’t stop spinning on its axis. But for programs that juggle a lot of resources—say instructors or training space—trying to keep an eye out for potential double-bookings can be a serious pain in the neck. Double-booking training space can make everyone cranky.
If you have resource management functionality and scheduling within your registration management system, think of what you could do to prevent double-bookings:
- If you have a training offering scheduled for Tuesday from 4:00 to 5:00, you’ll only see resources available for that time.
- Eliminate a lot of human errors, like someone forgetting to write down they already have Training Room A booked.
- Block out a time when Training Room B is out of service for maintenance. Therefore, a registrar won’t be able to book it when they set up a class for the same time.
- Never accidentally assign Steve to teach Fundamentals of Voice Mail Setup the week he’s on vacation.
- Make anything a resource, like audio/video equipment or tablets.
- Quickly run reports showing intelligence like what resources are getting the most use. (Maybe it’s time for Steve to take another vacation.)
Thinking of resources as part of the registration management process is just another way to make software do some of the heavy lifting. If you’re curious about how such a thing would work, Learning Stream—surprise—has the functionality to prevent double-bookings of resources. Contact us when you’re ready.