Behind the Labs: Scheduler Live App by Niccolo Zapponi

Welcome to Behind the Labs, a new blog series where we shine the spotlight on Salesforce employees that have built free solutions available on AppExchange.

How familiar does this scenario sound?

Teammate #1: "I just sent out a calendar invite for that debrief."

Teammate #2: "That starts at 7 p.m. my time, I can't make that."

Teammate #3: "Well it's showing at 1 p.m. for me. What time zone did you make this in?"

*Insert a chorus of groans*

If you work with teammates, customers, or contractors around the globe — or even just a few timezones away — this is likely an interaction you've had a couple times (at least). Trying to find even 15 minutes can prove to be difficult and counterproductive, creating unnecessary email or chat strings.

Enter Niccolo Zapponi, creator of the Scheduler Live App.

Niccolo joined Salesforce in 2015 as an Associate Solution Engineer for Marketing Cloud. After two years, and growing into a Senior Solution Engineer working with some of Europe’s largest brands, he moved to lend his expertise to Quip. Niccolo is one of the few Solution Engineers in EMEA focused on Quip, and is really excited to see Quip’s journey in the market.

Niccolo Zapponi, Senior Solution Engineer at Salesforce

We caught up with Niccolo to discuss his Salesforce Labs solution, Scheduler Live App for Quip, and learn more about what's next.

Tell us about your Salesforce Labs solution. How does it help customers?

Niccolo Zapponi: The Scheduler Live App allows everyone to collaboratively propose, vote, and choose the best time to schedule a meeting in seconds. Engaging in a collaborative approach to schedule times helps align resources, making sure everyone is on the same page. Fun tip: Every user will see the time slots in their own time zone, avoiding confusions when planning events with people from all over the world! This solution can help organizations save time and endless email loops for calendar placeholders.

Scheduler Live App for Quip, built by Salesforce employee Niccolo Zapponi.

Why did you decide to publish this Salesforce Labs solution on AppExchange?

NZ: This is a project I worked on together with an intern who spent a week at Salesforce last summer. He was really interested in software engineering, an internal team came up with the idea of a better way of scheduling meetings, so the stars aligned and we decided to turn the idea into a reality.

Is your solution Open Sourced?

NZ: Yes! The source code can be found on the Salesforce Labs GitHub Repo.

That’s awesome! What advice do you have for admins looking to build solutions in Salesforce?

NZ: Prototype quickly, and fail fast if necessary!

Scheduler Live App for Quip in action.

Did you have any key learnings from this experience creating a Salesforce Labs solution?

NZ: There is a lot to think about when creating a new product or feature! Way more than the intern had ever expected. From the functionality of every button to the security implications of the code we wrote, plus the documentation and marketing of the product.

What’s next? What should we anticipate from you in the future?

NZ: Improvements on what's out there already, and helping our partners create their own Quip Live Apps!

Get Niccolo’s solution, Scheduler Live App for Quip, on AppExchange and find more Salesforce Labs solutions on AppExchange today.