Doodle (poll-based scheduling)
A scheduling method that collects availability for candidate dates as ○△× votes. It takes its name from the Swiss tool of the same name.
Doodle-style scheduling is a “poll-based” method in which the organizer lists candidate dates and times, participants vote on each candidate with ○△×, and the date and time with the most matches is chosen. The name comes from the tool of the same name born in Zurich, Switzerland in 2007. It was developed by two people who were students at ETH Zürich at the time, and the operator itself states in its published history that it was made to eliminate back-and-forth emails about candidate dates. The same “list the candidates and mark them” method was later adopted by many services. Polls like Chouseisan (a popular Japanese scheduling service) belong to the same lineage.
The flow of poll-based scheduling
Why this method spread
A major reason the poll-based method took hold is its design that “does not require respondents to register an account.” With back-and-forth emails about candidate dates, the organizer had to match everyone’s answers in their head, but gathering them on a poll page makes the tally automatic, and respondents only need to open the URL and add their marks. Because it works even when participants belong to different organizations and use different tools, it is especially strong for scheduling that includes outside parties or private plans.
The limits of the poll-based method
On the other hand, with the poll-based method the step of “proposing candidate dates” stays with the organizer. Unlike the booking page method, which automatically offers slots from the free time on the organizer’s calendar, the organizer’s sense in choosing candidate dates affects the result. Also, the more participants there are, the less likely a unanimous match becomes, so in scheduling large groups you need to decide operating rules in advance, such as “confirm with a majority.”