📅 Building a Frictionless Booking Engine for 1:1 Mentorship

A case study on designing the scheduling core of Mentorpedia

TL;DR

At the heart of Mentorpedia was a booking engine — the system that matched students with mentors, managed availability, and facilitated seamless sessions. I designed and built this system to be intuitive, fast, and trust-driven, integrating calendar logic, real-time slot management, and Google Meet to deliver a reliable mentorship experience.

🧠 The Problem

Our early user interviews revealed a critical issue:

• Mentors are busy and don't want back-and-forth DMs

• Students are anxious about reaching out or scheduling

• Calendars and availability tools are often confusing, especially on mobile

• Mentorship tools available in the market were either too transactional or too clunky

We needed a booking experience that was as easy as texting — but structured like Calendly.

🎯 The Goal

• Students should be able to book a session in under 1 minute

• Mentors should be able to set and forget availability

• Sessions should generate Google Meet links automatically

• Prevent double bookings and no-shows through smart rules

🛠 The System Design

🔄 1. Real-time Slot Syncing

• Mentors defined weekly availability in the dashboard

• Slots were mapped to a 7-day rolling calendar, auto-expiring past hours

• Booked slots were auto-locked to prevent overlap

🔗 2. Google Meet Integration

• Used Google Meet API to auto-generate unique links per session

• Links were visible to both users, included in confirmation + reminder emails

• Hosted fully through Firebase Functions for security and speed

📆 3. Calendar Logic

• Students saw mentor availability in their time zone

• Bookings were allowed only 12–72 hours in advance to maintain quality

• Cancellation logic: allowed 6+ hours before session, else credits forfeited

💻 UX/UI Details

• Calendar-first layout with color-coded slots:

  • Green = Available

  • Red = Taken

  • Grey = Expired

• Session preview cards showed mentor bio, topic, duration, cost (in credits)

• Confirmation screen included:

  • Meet link

  • Session tips

  • Option to add to Google Calendar

🔐 Trust + Anti-Spam Features

• Each student limited to 1 session per mentor per week

• No option to message mentor until session was confirmed

• Booking required wallet credits, adding seriousness to intent

• Post-session feedback unlocks next booking

📈 Results

MetricBefore Booking EngineAfter LaunchAvg. booking time10+ minutes via DMs1.2 minutes ↓No-shows32%12% ↓Mentor onboarding time~2 hours20 mins ↓Session conversion (view → book)14%41% ↑

🔍 What Worked

• Familiar patterns: mimicked calendar apps students already used

• Meet integration saved time and built trust (“it feels official”)

• Limited-time windows created urgency without pressure

• UI gave mentors control without needing manual action

💡 What I Learned

• Simplicity wins — fewer options → higher conversion

• The feeling of control matters more than actual control

• Time-based UX needs timezone clarity and edge-case handling

• You don’t need a complex SaaS tool to build trust — you need clarity

🔮 What’s Next (If We Continued)

• Native calendar sync (Google Calendar + Apple Calendar)

• Group bookings (panel mentorship)

• Smart rescheduling suggestions

• Add AI to suggest mentors based on past sessions or goals

Final Thoughts

The Mentorpedia booking engine was more than a calendar — it was a bridge between intent and action, between curiosity and guidance. It taught me that the smallest UX decisions — like when a slot shows up or when a link is sent — can have outsized emotional and behavioral impact.

Want to see the flow or prototypes?
→ Visit amishsri.framer.website
→ DM me for a walkthrough or session replay