calendar alternate views - aim for clean UI

Question

I am making a scheduling application where a user will be presented with a calendar, see the available time slots and book the slot that he wants.

The decision I cannot make is whether this calendar should occupy the whole screen or not - for example like hotmail or google web calendars. In the case it does not occupy the whole screen other info will be present in that specific page. The negative side with this is that too many elements will be together in the same page, not being a "clean" UI as I want it.

In case it is like hotmail/google - this scenario requires the loading of a separate webpage. Of course some minimum controls will be present here also.

I must also say, that in this calendar the user will select time slots-not just days.

Answer 1

The UI should contain all the data its users need to perform the tasks it is intended for.

Thus, you might want to walk through those tasks wearing your user's hats and enumerate the data element they need to be handy to perform those tasks without needing to drill down into a menu hierarchy or whatever.

This is what they need. You might want to provide them with additional data so they are reassured. Like, for (a simplistic) example, it's enough to publish the day of the month number, but you might choose to include also the day of the week. Or, if some slots have different pricing, then show them with slight differences despite the fact that the users are known to be aware of the tariffs.

So, too many elements should depend on the user's needs, not on the looks of the page.