TOPTABLE / Seating rules functional specification
Seating rules functional specification
Rules are either hard or soft.
- A plan containing any hard violation cannot be published
- Soft violations are surfaced for a human to decide on. Never blocking, never auto-resolved
Hard constraints
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Capacity | A table must not be seated above its capacity |
| Conflicts | Two guests recorded as in conflict must not share a table |
| Allergy escalation | Any table seating a guest with a recorded allergy must be flagged for a kitchen brief on the plan |
| Top table | The top table contains only guests holding a protocol role, in the protocol order. See KB-4 |
| Partners adjacent | Partners must sit next to each other, not merely at the same table. A pair with either of them at the top table is exempt, because KB-4 fixes who sits there and in what order |
Soft constraints
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Household together | A household should not be spread across more than two tables |
| Generation mix | Where there is more than one guest under eighteen, they should not all be seated at the same round table. The top table is exempt, because KB-4 fixes who sits there |
| Tag groups | Guests sharing a tag should mostly sit together, but a tag should not fill a table on its own |
| Social balance | Every table should have at least one guest with socialType of livewire or sociable |
Allergies are not dietary preferences
They are recorded in separate fields and must not be handled the same way.
- An allergy is a safety matter. Hard constraint. The table is flagged and the kitchen is briefed by name
- A dietary preference is a catering count. It appears in the kitchen numbers and nowhere else. It is not a violation of anything
A vegan at an unflagged table is fine. A nut allergy at an unflagged table stops the plan publishing.
Publication
A plan publishes when the hard violation count is zero. Soft violations are listed for the couple.
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