Method and system for scheduling a meeting for a set of attendees via a special attendee

Abstract

A group scheduling solution offers an organized and formalized solution to the time management problem in which the desired meeting includes one person who is difficult to schedule. In the inventive approach, a scheduling system is provided in which a hard-to-schedule attendee takes over responsibility for setting the start time of an event. In the invention, a workflow is provided, in which the organizer sends a request to the hard-to-schedule person. The request preferably contains the desired duration of the meeting. The request may contain a list of attendees, location, and other details. These requests are maintained in a queue for the hard-to-schedule person. Batching requests in a queue is a key feature of the invention. The hard-to-schedule person, or their proxy, can then review these requests and select a suitable time for the meeting, set this time in a meeting request, thereby causing an update to be sent back to the organizer and the other attendees, thus indicating the appointed time for the meeting. The organizer of the meeting can still update the meeting details, etc. However, any changes in the start time or the duration of the meeting must be made by the hard-to-schedule person or their proxy. The hard-to-schedule person can also decline the meeting entirely.