The Opportunity
Across one academic department at a leading Irish college, six teaching rooms were active throughout the week, but the timetable did not always reflect how many students actually attended or which room size they needed. Actual Frequency reached 64.8%, higher than the 51.3% Booked Frequency, showing that the space was being used — simply not always in the way the timetable predicted.
The clearest opportunity was alignment. Booked Utilisation averaged 28.6%, compared with 17.6% Actual Utilisation, while expected groups filled 55.6% of seats on paper but 27.2% in practice. This created an 11-point utilisation gap driven mainly by attendance forecasting and room allocation, not by a shortage of teaching space.
Nearly half of bookings were already appropriately sized. The remaining patterns pointed to targeted improvements:
Move smaller groups into better-matched rooms, protect genuine late-morning peaks, and bring recurring unbooked activity into the formal timetable.
In Their Words
The analysis helped us understand the difference between what was booked and how our teaching rooms were actually being used. We now have a clearer basis for matching class sizes with suitable rooms.
Timetabling Manager
Leading Irish College
The DIREK Fix
DIREK analysed timetabling data and occupancy signals across all six rooms using D-XPERT®. The platform separated time-based activity from seat fill, compared expected attendance with observed attendance, and identified where booking rules could be refined without expanding the estate.
The analysis produced a focused set of actions for the Timetabling and Estates teams:
1. Right-Size Oversized Bookings
Right-size the 47.1% of oversized bookings by moving smaller groups into more suitable rooms.
2. Improve Attendance Forecasts
Use attendance data to close the 25.5-person gap in group size.
3. Protect Midweek Demand
Safeguard peak usage periods, particularly the Wednesday 11:00 portfolio peak.
4. Review Consistently Lighter Slots
Reassess underused windows like Tuesday 09:00 and late Friday.
5. Formalise Walk-In Activity
Capture informal usage, especially small rooms used more.
6. Monitor Localised Overbooking
Address the 4.5% of bookings affected by overbooking.
Impact
A Clearer Path Forward
The report replaced a simple “booked or not booked” view with a clearer picture of how teaching space behaves in practice. The department can now distinguish genuine capacity needs from attendance variation, protect the busiest teaching periods, and place smaller groups in rooms that better fit them.
The recommended approach is intentionally measured: refine expected group sizes, test room reallocations, formalise recurring walk-in demand, and review the same metrics each term. This improves the use of the current estate without creating unnecessary disruption for students or teaching teams.
FAQ
Learn More by User Questions
Related Case Studies
More success stories from DIREK clients
(+44) 080 0031 8090
