What should a pilot clarify?
A desk booking pilot is a limited trial before more employees start using the solution. Its purpose is to find setup and workflow problems while they are still manageable to fix. A successful demonstration is not the same as testing a normal day at the office.
Choose participants and define the scope
Choose an area and participants with different needs: a regular office user, a colleague whose attendance varies and someone who helps others. Agree which devices and booking channels to include. MyDesk supports desk booking in Outlook, Teams, on mobile and on the web; test the channels you intend to use.
Assign someone to handle issues and someone to decide on the next step. Agree on an end date and assessment criteria before starting. The pilot need not demonstrate a specific saving; it should show whether employees can complete the agreed tasks.
Test the whole process with actual desks
- Find and book a desk for a chosen office day. Check the date, area and confirmation.
- Go to the desk. Do its number, location and listed equipment match what is there?
- Change or cancel the reservation using your agreed workflow. Check the result in the booking overview.
- Ask another participant to try booking the same desk and time slot. Check that the process handles the existing reservation correctly.
- Test how to get help with an error. Can the participant find the right contact and describe the problem?
Use participants’ normal access permissions for testing. Administrators may have different options, so testing only with an administrator account is insufficient. Use agreed test reservations and cancel them afterwards.
Record errors, questions and requests separately
Record the task, what the participant expected and what happened. A wrong desk number is a problem with the underlying data. An unclear cancellation step may call for better guidance. A request for a different allocation rule needs a decision. These problems do not necessarily require the same solution.
Keep only the information needed for follow-up. Avoid passwords and unrelated personal data in screenshots and issue lists. Record an owner, next action and status for each item.
Agree when you are ready for the next area
One practical criterion could be that participants can book, find and cancel a desk without help, and that problems preventing these tasks have been fixed and retested. Set your own criteria rather than using an arbitrary percentage target.
Example: Everyone can make a reservation, but several people go to the wrong desk because the map and signs do not match. Correct the map or signage and repeat the journey from reservation to physical desk before expanding. More completed bookings will not fix that problem.
Expand with a clear handover
Gather the updated instructions, known limitations and support contacts. Tell the next group what is changing and who can help. Keep the same test tasks when a new area opens; desks, equipment and access may differ.