Study reveals time spent with scheduling

Is it possible to save time while scheduling by using an online scheduling tool such as Doodle rather than alternative tools such as phone calls, email, etc.? Many of you who have used an online scheduling tool would likely say that it is definitely possible, but an experimental study that was performed for a Bachelor’s thesis at ETH Zurich has provided data to support this point.

For this experiment, a group of 96 people were selected to use Doodle and alternative scheduling tools to setup a private dinner with 4-6 participants, a business meeting with 6-8 participants, and a private dinner with 10-15 participants.

General scheduling results

Included below are the general results that were observed regarding overall scheduling behavior.

The back and forth communication is the most substantial time killer while scheduling, and the number of iterations and time needed to grow right along with the number of participants. It was also noted that gender, age, and education have no impact on the time that it takes to get something scheduled.

Detailed scheduling results  

The following data highlights the differences in relation to the amount of time that is needed for scheduling when using Doodle instead of alternative scheduling tools.

As you can see, Doodle users schedule smaller meetings in less than half the time that is required by people who use other tools, and on average, they save about a quarter of an hour (11-15 minutes).

Even more time is saved in larger groups. For example, a meeting/event with 10-15 participants can be scheduled in approximately 45 minutes with Doodle while non-Doodle users need 1 1/2 to 2 hours to do the same thing.

So the next time that you think you’re saving time with Doodle, you’ll know that it’s not just in your head!