Events in Workplace Calendar Synchronization

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Events in Workplace Calendar Synchronization

    The Workplace Calendar Synchronization application automatically creates and manages events for all reservation-related actions within the Workplace Reservation Management system. These events track when reservations are created, updated, canceled, or read, ensuring synchronization between the Workplace Reservation portal and calendar providers like Google Calendar and Microsoft Exchange On-Premises.

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    Key Features

    • Event Types:
      • Create: Triggered when a reservation is created.
      • Update: Triggered when a reservation is updated or checked out.
      • Delete: Triggered on reservation cancellation or a no-show.
      • Read: Triggered when reading reservations from Google Calendar or Microsoft Exchange On-Premises (only for calendar data, excluding attendee details on Exchange).
      • Retrieve attendees: Specific to Microsoft Exchange On-Premises to retrieve attendee details since the Read event does not include them.
    • Event States: Events start in a New state and transition through Processing, Processed, or Error based on synchronization status.
    • Event Details: Each event includes payload information representing reservation data both in string format (Payload) and provider-specific format (Provider payload). Responses from calendar providers are recorded and viewable once processing completes.
    • Error Handling and Reprocessing: Errors encountered during event processing are logged in detail, and events can be manually reprocessed to resolve synchronization issues.
    • Format Options: Payload, Provider payload, and Response fields can be toggled between string and JSON formats for improved readability and troubleshooting.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This event-driven synchronization enables ServiceNow customers to maintain accurate, real-time alignment between their Workplace Reservation Management system and external calendar providers. Customers can track the lifecycle of each reservation-related action, identify and resolve synchronization errors efficiently, and ensure attendee information is correctly retrieved for Microsoft Exchange On-Premises environments. The ability to view and reprocess events provides transparency and control over the synchronization process, ultimately enhancing workplace resource management and calendar accuracy.

    For every reservation-related action, an event is created in Workplace Calendar Synchronization

    About Events

    When a synchronization is performed, the Workplace Calendar Synchronization application creates an entry for every new reservation, creation, reservation update, and reservation cancellation. To view events, navigate to All > Workplace Calendar Synchronization > Synchronization > Events.

    The following events are created:
    • Create: A Create event is created whenever a reservation is created in the Workplace Reservation Management Reservation portal.
    • Update: An Update event is created whenever there’s an update to the reservation created in the Workplace Reservation Management Reservation portal or when a reservation is checked out
    • Delete: A Delete event is created whenever there is a reservation cancellation or a No show.
    • Read: A Read event is created when the Workplace Reservation Management application intends to read the reservations created on the rooms calendar in the calendar provider. The Read event is created only for Google Calendar and Microsoft Exchange On-Premises calendar providers.
    • Retrieve attendees: The Retrieve attendees event is created for Microsoft Exchange On-Premises calendar provider to retrieve details related to attendees included in a reservation. The Read event does not return attendee details for Microsoft Exchange On-Premises calendar provider.

    Event details

    When an event is created, it is set to New state by default. Depending on the processing, the state changes to Processing, Processed or Error.

    When an event is created, the event details on an Event form are displayed as follows:
    • In the Request related list:
      • Payload: The Payload field contains the details of the reservation in a string format. It contains reservation-related details such as it create, update, or cancel. The format of the payload is set based on the Reservation portal form.
      • Provider payload: The Provider payload contains the same details displayed in the Payload field but in the format of the calendar provider's reservation form. That is, in the format in which the calendar provider reads.
    • In the Response related list, the Response field displays the response to the event from the calendar provider in a string format.
      • The response is displayed only when an event is processed. That is, when an event is set to Processed or Error.
      • When an event returns an error, you can view the error-related details in the Response field
    • On the form, you can view details such as:
      • The reservation for which the event is created.
      • Location of the event.
      • State and substate of the event.
      • For what action the event is created.
      • The provider for which the event is created.
      • The error details if an event results in an error.
    • You can also change the Payload, Provider Payload and Response format from string format to JSON format using the Format JSON option. The Format JSON helps with the readability of these fields.
    • If an event fails, you can also manually reprocess the event using the Re-process option.