Workplace terminology. Without the jargon.

A rule controlling who can see or book a particular resource and under what conditions.

Access rules can be used for teams, user groups, locations, resource types or individual resources.

The period before a date or time during which a resource can be reserved.

For example, a desk might be bookable 30 days ahead while another resource is only released 7 days in advance.

A desk reserved for a particular person or team rather than being available to everyone by default.

Assigned desks can still be made flexible by day or time where workplace policy allows.

A rule that returns an unused reservation to availability when a required action, such as check-in, has not happened.

Automatic release can reduce resources appearing unavailable when the original booking is no longer being used.

An askAiB Workplace Intelligence measure based on the proportion of bookings that remain active rather than being cancelled or deleted.

It is calculated from booking behaviour. A retained booking is not proof that someone physically attended.

A configurable condition that determines how, when or by whom a workplace resource can be booked.

Rules can cover booking windows, permissions, availability, approvals, check-in, release behaviour and other resource-specific requirements.

The percentage of available bookable resource time that has been reserved.

Booked utilisation measures reservation demand, not physical occupancy. For rooms, it measures room time rather than the number of seats occupied.

The amount of usable workplace resource available within a defined scope, such as desks on a floor or rooms at a site.

Capacity only becomes meaningful when considered alongside availability, booking rules and actual demand.

An askAiB Workplace Intelligence indicator showing how often demand gets close to the available bookable capacity.

The current measure looks for open days containing at least one hour where booked demand reaches 90% or more of available capacity.

An action confirming that a person has arrived for, or is using, a booked workplace resource.

Check-in provides stronger evidence of use than the booking alone, although the exact process can vary by resource and configuration.

Two or more reservations that overlap in time for the same user or resource.

Workplace rules can restrict overlapping bookings where the combination would not make sense, while still allowing valid combinations such as a desk and parking space.

An organisation-specific data field added to a resource, booking or related record.

Custom fields let administrators capture information that is relevant to their workplace rather than relying only on fixed system fields.

A bookable workplace item that does not need to fit a standard desk, room or parking category.

Examples can include lockers, equipment, project spaces, collaboration tables or any other resource that needs its own fields, rules and permissions.

A UK government-backed cyber security certification focused on core technical controls that protect organisations from common cyber threats.

askAiB has achieved Cyber Essentials certification.

A contractual document describing how personal data is processed when one organisation handles it on behalf of another.

A DPA normally covers matters such as processing instructions, security measures, subprocessors, retention and deletion responsibilities.

The geographic region in which customer data is hosted or stored.

askAiB offers UK and US data-hosting options on Microsoft Azure.

The ability for an authorised person to create or manage a workplace booking on behalf of someone else.

This is useful for executive assistants, team coordinators and other users who organise workplace activity for colleagues.

A system for finding and reserving an available desk for a particular date or time.

Modern desk booking can also show colleagues, amenities, team areas, assignments, parking and other information needed to plan an office day.

A desk-sharing model where people reserve a workspace in advance rather than being permanently assigned a desk.

Hoteling usually implies advance reservation, while hot desking is often used more broadly for shared or first-available workspace.

A defined area of desks associated with a team, department or type of work.

Neighbourhoods can help teams sit together while still allowing the underlying desks to be shared or released according to workplace rules.

Data Protection Impact Assessment. A process used to identify and manage privacy risks where personal data processing may create a higher risk to individuals.

Customers may ask suppliers such as askAiB to provide technical and processing information that supports their DPIA.

Microsoft's cloud identity and access-management service, previously known as Azure Active Directory.

askAiB supports Microsoft Entra for single sign-on and automated user provisioning.

An application that runs inside Microsoft Teams so users can access another service without leaving the Teams environment.

askAiB can be used through Microsoft Teams on desktop and mobile for workplace booking.

An organisation operating more than one office, building or workplace location within the same estate.

A multi-site platform lets administrators apply common standards while retaining local resources, rules and permissions where required.

A Microsoft Exchange calendar associated with a meeting room or other bookable room resource.

askAiB can synchronise supported room calendars in both directions so room activity stays aligned between askAiB and Microsoft.

The configuration that determines how user information from an identity source is matched to fields in another system.

Field mapping can be used when provisioning askAiB users so workplace attributes align with the organisation's identity data.

A visual map of a workplace floor showing bookable resources and their locations.

Interactive floorplans help users understand where a desk, room or parking space is located and select it visually.

A UK public-sector procurement framework for cloud services available through the Crown Commercial Service.

askAiB has been awarded a place on G-Cloud 15.

A message sent to the employee or workplace contact responsible for a visitor when an event such as arrival or check-in occurs.

askAiB visitor workflows can notify the appropriate host when a visitor checks in.

A workplace model where desks are shared rather than permanently allocated to one employee.

Hot desking can be first-available or supported by a booking system. It does not necessarily mean every desk is available to every person at every time.

A workplace model in which people split their working time between the office and other locations.

Hybrid workplace management usually involves coordinating people, space, resources and workplace demand across changing attendance patterns.

A booking that was retained but where the expected user did not provide the configured evidence of attendance or use.

No-show handling can help return unused resources to availability and improve the quality of booking data.

The number or proportion of people physically present in a workplace or defined space at a particular time.

Occupancy is not the same as booked utilisation. A booking records intent or reservation, while occupancy requires evidence of physical presence.

A system for allocating and reserving workplace parking spaces.

Parking rules can account for different user groups and bay types such as accessible, visitor, EV or other designated spaces.

An askAiB Workplace Intelligence measure describing how consistent demand is across comparable weekdays.

It is a consistency measure, not a probability that a forecast will be correct.

A check-in process where a user or visitor scans a QR code to start or confirm an arrival workflow.

In visitor management, QR check-in can be used alongside tablet and reception-managed arrival journeys.

A reservation that repeats on a defined pattern, such as every Tuesday or every second Thursday.

Recurring booking rules help organisations control how far ahead repeating reservations can be created and which resources support them.

A bookable item managed in a workplace platform.

In askAiB a resource can be a desk, room, parking space or a custom resource such as equipment, lockers or another organisation-specific item.

A searchable feature or attribute that helps a user choose the right resource.

Examples include monitors, video conferencing equipment, accessibility information, EV charging or other configured characteristics.

The process of finding and reserving a meeting room based on factors such as availability, capacity, location and equipment.

Room booking can be connected to Microsoft Exchange so room calendars and askAiB remain aligned.

A pattern where the capacity of rooms being reserved is consistently larger or smaller than the apparent requirement.

Workplace Intelligence can surface room-size mismatch as something worth reviewing, rather than assuming every large-room booking is wasteful.

An authentication method that lets users access a service using an existing organisational identity rather than a separate password.

askAiB supports Microsoft Entra SSO.

Booking workplace resources for several people or coordinating where a group will work together.

Team booking can help organisers reserve the resources needed for a group rather than requiring every person to complete the same process individually.

A shared view of when and where members of a team plan to work.

Team schedules can make it easier to coordinate office days and understand when colleagues are expected at a site.

An integration in which supported changes can move in both directions between two connected systems.

For askAiB room booking, two-way Exchange synchronisation is designed to keep supported room-calendar activity aligned between askAiB and Microsoft.

The process of creating and maintaining user accounts in a system from an identity source.

askAiB supports automated user provisioning through Microsoft identity, including configurable field mapping and user-management controls.

The configured sequence a visitor follows before, during and after arriving at a workplace.

A journey can include pre-registration, questions, welcome information, health and safety content, check-in, host notification and check-out.

Software used to manage external visitors coming to a workplace.

A VMS can handle pre-registration, arrival information, check-in, host notification, on-site visibility and departure.

Information and visual guidance that helps people understand where a workplace resource or destination is located.

In a workplace booking context, floorplans and resource location information can support wayfinding before and during an office visit.

The analysis of workplace activity data to understand patterns such as demand, bookings, utilisation, check-ins, cancellations and resource behaviour.

Analytics describe what the data shows. They should not automatically be treated as proof of physical occupancy or the cause of a pattern.

An askAiB operational indicator combining freedom from capacity pressure, booking efficiency and predictability.

Workplace Health is not an employee wellbeing score, property valuation or guarantee that the workplace is optimally configured.

askAiB's analysis layer for surfacing evidence-backed workplace findings, forecasts and opportunities from workplace activity data.

It is designed to focus attention and support investigation. It does not automatically move bookings, close floors or make workplace policy decisions.

Software used to coordinate the people, spaces, resources and operational workflows involved in running a workplace.

Depending on the product, this can include desk and room booking, parking, visitors, workplace data, integrations and administration.