Require Meeting Subject Validation in Outlook Engage Add-in Before Reservation Submission
Prevent users from completing room reservations through the Outlook Calendar + Eptura Engage Add-in workflow when no meeting subject has been provided.
Problem Statement
When users book meeting rooms through the Eptura Engage Add-in within Outlook Calendar, reservations can be submitted without a meeting subject.
Where a meeting subject is required by organizational policy, the reservation may subsequently fail, creating a disconnect between the user's action and the final outcome.
From the end-user perspective, this often appears as:
- A room booking issue
- A synchronization problem
- An Eptura application issue
rather than a missing meeting subject.
This results in:
- User confusion
- Unsuccessful reservations
- Additional support requests
- Administrative overhead
- Reduced confidence in the booking process
Proposed Enhancement
Introduce validation within the Eptura Engage Outlook Add-in workflow before a reservation is submitted.
Preferred Behaviour
Prevent reservation submission until a meeting subject has been entered.
Example:
"A meeting subject is required before completing this reservation."
Alternative Behaviour
Display a blocking warning message and allow the user to return to the Outlook meeting invite to add a subject.
Optional Administrative Configuration
Allow administrators to choose whether meeting subjects are:
- Required
- Optional
based on organizational policy.
Business Value
- Improves user experience
- Prevents avoidable reservation failures
- Reduces support tickets
- Improves booking data quality
- Increases confidence in Outlook booking workflows
Benefit Summary
By validating the meeting subject before the booking request is submitted, users receive immediate feedback and can resolve the issue directly within Outlook, avoiding failed reservations and unnecessary support interactions.
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Stephane Lamarchand
commented
Hello Damien! Idea indeed strongly supported!
This enhancement would move validation to the point where the user can still take corrective action, instead of notifying them after the reservation has already failed.
Requiring a meeting subject before submission would:
- Prevent avoidable booking failures
- Reduce user frustration
- Decrease support tickets
- Improve booking quality and compliance
- Increase confidence in the Outlook + Eptura reservation workflowUsers should receive immediate feedback while creating the booking, rather than discovering the issue later through a rejection email.
Preventing the error is significantly more effective than explaining the error afterwards.