Design Meeting Scheduler

The Uber Meeting Scheduler is a popular Low Level Design (LLD) or Machine Coding interview question. The prompt typically focuses on managing a set of Ncap N𝑁 meeting rooms and handling a continuous stream of booking requests with specific constraints. 4 0 3

Core Problem Statement

You are given a fixed list of Ncap N𝑁 meeting rooms. You must design a system that supports booking and canceling meetings while ensuring no two meetings overlap in the same room. 7 8 9

Key Requirements & Constraints

• Capacity Matching: Each room has a fixed capacity. A meeting request includes a required capacity, and the assigned room must meet or exceed this value.
• Time Slots: Meeting requests include a start and end time (often provided in Epoch/Unix timestamp format).
• Minimize Spillage: This is a common Uber-specific optimization. If multiple rooms are free, you must assign the one that has the least free time (smallest "gap") left over after accommodating the meeting to optimize room utilization.
• Audit Logging: The system must store logs for every room action (e.g., meeting scheduled, canceled). Retention Policy: A specific constraint often requires deleting these logs automatically after Xcap X𝑋 days.
• Concurrency: The system must handle simultaneous booking requests without race conditions or double-bookings.

Advanced Functionality (Follow-ups)

• Recurring Meetings: Support for iCal-style recurrence rules (RRULEs) and handling exceptions for specific instances in a series.
• Earliest Common Slot: An API to find the first available common time slot for Ncap N𝑁 different participants across multiple time zones.

Common Interview Examples

Feature | Implementation Detail --- | --- Input Format | scheduleMeeting(startTime, endTime, capacity) Response | Returns roomNumber (or ID) if successful, otherwise -1 or INVALID. Example Scenario | If Room A is free 9–10 AM and Room B is free 9 AM–12 PM, a request for 9–10 AM should go to Room A to minimize "spillage".

Would you like to see a class diagram or a Python/Java implementation of the "minimize spillage" logic?

[0] - Uber Low Level Design Questions from recent interviews [1] - Uber | L5a | NY | Accepted - Discuss - LeetCode [2] - Uber | L4 | Bangalore | Offer - Discuss - LeetCode [3] - [Uber] Design (LLD) Meeting Scheduler - Machine Coding ... [4] - System Design Interview: LLD interview with Uber 2025 [5] - Uber interview. 27/28 JAN 2022 | by Reiki - Medium [6] - Design a meeting scheduler with cancellations - Uber - PracHub [7] - Uber Low Level Design Questions from recent interviews [8] - Uber Low Level Design Questions from recent interviews - Medium [9] - [Uber] Design (LLD) Meeting Scheduler - Machine Coding ...