BATbern Website Overhaul - Brainstorming Session Results

# Session Overview

• Topic: Major BATbern website overhaul
• Constraints: None - complete creative freedom
• Approach: Focused ideation with analyst-recommended techniques
• Techniques Used: What If Scenarios, Role Playing, Five Whys
• Session Date: 2024-12-19

# Ideas Generated

# Technique 1: What If Scenarios

Ideas Generated:

• Targeted Visitor Engagement: Use knowledge of visitor identity to target them more explicitly for relevant content
• Event History Intelligence: Leverage previous event attendance data to decide targeting for next events
• Corporate Analytics Dashboard: Provide statistics to partners showing how many employees from their company attended which past events
• Personalized Experience: Adaptive content based on visitor interests, experience level, and goals

# Expanded Scope: Full Event Ecosystem

Key Stakeholders Identified:

• Event organizers
• Partners/Sponsors
• Presenters/Speakers
• Attendees

Core Functions Needed:

• Event Organization: Defining topics, setting and publishing next event dates, sending newsletters
• Speaker Management: Speaker registration, collecting abstracts, short CVs, photos
• Multi-role Experience: Different interfaces and workflows for different user types

# Role Playing Technique

Event Organizer Perspective - Current Workflow Pain Points:

Post-Event Planning Process:

1. Topic Selection: Define event topic using backlog of possible topics + avoiding recent duplicates
2. Speaker Brainstorming: Identify potential speakers for the topic
3. Speaker Assignment: Define who contacts which speaker
4. Speaker Status Tracking: Complex status workflow (open → contacted → ready → declined/accepted → final agenda → informed)
5. Moderation Assignment: Define event moderator
6. Content Collection: Send reminders for materials 1 month before (title, abstract, CV, photo)
7. Progressive Publishing: Publish topic immediately, speakers 1 month before with continuous updates
8. Newsletter Distribution: Send agenda to mailing list 2 weeks before event
9. Catering Coordination: Contact caterer 1 month before for quotes
10. Venue Management: Reserve locations 2+ years in advance each January
11. Partner Meetings: Spring/autumn sponsor meetings with budgets, statistics, topic brainstorming

Key Pain Points Identified:

• Complex speaker status tracking across multiple people
• Manual reminder system for speaker materials
• Coordinating multiple stakeholders (speakers, caterers, venue, partners)
• Progressive content publishing workflow
• Long-term venue and date planning

Speaker/Presenter Perspective - Decision & Submission Experience:

Initial Contact Questions:

1. Expertise Match: “Am I the right person for this topic? Do I have something valuable to say?”
2. Schedule Compatibility: “When is the event? Do I have time to attend and prepare?”
3. Requirements Clarity: “What information do they want from me?”
4. Deadlines: “Submission deadline for abstract? For final slides?”
5. Submission Process: “How can I submit requested information online and update if needed?”
6. Decision Timeline: “When will I be informed if my presentation is accepted?”
7. Event Context: “Target audience size, event scale, location, timing details”
8. Speaker Portal Access: “Easy registration to speaker backend, see draft agenda, other speakers, my slot”

Speaker Pain Points Identified:

• Lack of upfront event context and expectations
• Unclear submission deadlines and processes
• No self-service portal for information management
• Limited visibility into agenda and other speakers
• Uncertainty about acceptance timeline and criteria

Partner/Sponsor Perspective - ROI & Strategic Value:

Justification Data Needs:

1. Employee Engagement Metrics: Number of company visitors per event, attendance trends over time
2. Brand Exposure Analytics: Impression counts, logo visibility across website/mailings/newsletters/presentations
3. Strategic Alignment: How backlog topics match company’s current strategic priorities
4. Content Performance: Download statistics for company speakers’ presentations on SlideShare
5. Visual Proof: Event photos showing company employees and logo visibility

Value Enhancement Opportunities:

1. Increased Participation Correlation: More company attendees = willingness to increase sponsorship
2. Multi-Channel Brand Presence: Consistent logo placement across all touchpoints
3. Strategic Topic Influence: Ability to position company topics on backlog outside partner meetings
4. Continuous Engagement: Online voting system for topic preferences by company strategic interest

Partner Pain Points Identified:

• Limited real-time access to sponsorship ROI data
• Passive role in topic selection between formal meetings
• Difficulty proving internal value without concrete metrics
• No self-service access to brand exposure analytics
• Manual process for strategic topic input

Visitor/Attendee Perspective - Discovery & Engagement Experience:

Discovery & Decision Factors:

1. Event Timeline Understanding: Clear view of upcoming events and historical archive
2. Audience Insights: Understanding what type of professionals attend
3. Logistics Clarity: When, where, and cost information (highlight that it’s free via partner funding)
4. Topic Relevance: Current, trendy topics aligned with personal/company agendas
5. Social Proof: Photos from past events showing community and atmosphere
6. Content Preview: Ability to skim through archive of past presentations

Engagement & Retention Features: 7. Newsletter Management: Easy registration/unregistration for event updates 8. Sophisticated Search: Advanced text search across all past event content with direct links to relevant presentations and events

Visitor Pain Points Identified:

• Limited understanding of community and audience composition
• Difficulty discovering relevant historical content
• No sophisticated search capabilities for deep content exploration
• Unclear value proposition (free attendance via partner sponsorship)
• Basic newsletter management without personalization options

# Convergent Synthesis: Breakthrough System Concepts

# Priority 1: Multi-Role Workflow Engine

Core Concept: Automated, interconnected workflows that seamlessly connect all stakeholder activities in real-time.

Breakthrough Ideas:

Automated Speaker Pipeline:

• Speaker invitation system with pre-filled event context, deadlines, and requirements
• Smart speaker matching based on topic expertise and past performance
• Progressive deadline management with automated reminders and escalations
• Real-time status dashboard visible to all organizers with task assignments

Connected Publishing Workflow:

• Topic published → triggers speaker search → acceptance → auto-publishes to website → triggers newsletter system
• Speaker submission portal auto-updates public agenda in real-time
• Content deadlines automatically enforce publishing timeline

Partner Integration Loop:

• Attendee check-ins automatically feed partner analytics dashboards
• Partner topic votes influence organizer topic backlog prioritization
• Sponsorship ROI data auto-generates for partner meetings

Smart Notification System:

• Role-based notifications (organizers get speaker updates, speakers get deadline reminders, partners get analytics updates)
• Cross-role visibility (speakers see agenda development, partners see speaker quality)

# Priority 2: Dynamic Content Ecosystem

Core Concept: Intelligent content discovery and management system that learns and adapts to user needs.

Breakthrough Ideas:

Intelligent Search & Discovery:

• Full-text search across all presentations, abstracts, speaker bios, and historical content
• AI-powered content recommendations based on user interests and company affiliation
• Topic trending analysis showing emergence and evolution of technical themes
• “Similar to past events you attended” recommendation engine

Progressive Content Publishing:

• Living event pages that update automatically as content becomes available
• Version-controlled speaker materials with change tracking
• Automated content quality checks (complete abstracts, photos, CVs)
• Multi-format content adaptation (mobile, print, social media)

Community Content Intelligence:

• Analytics on most-viewed presentations, trending topics, audience engagement
• Content performance metrics for speakers and organizers
• Partner content ROI tracking (downloads, views, attendee engagement)

# Action Planning & Implementation Roadmap

# Top Priority Sequence

Phase 1: Event Timeline Management System (Highest Impact)

• Why First: Automates the complex 12-step organizer workflow, creates foundation for all other features
• Core Features:
  • Automated topic publishing workflow
  • Smart deadline management with notifications
  • Progressive content publishing pipeline
  • Multi-stakeholder notification system
• Impact: Eliminates manual coordination overhead, ensures consistent timelines

Phase 2: Speaker Portal & Workflow (Transform Pain Point)

• Why Second: Builds on timeline foundation, addresses most frustrating current process
• Core Features:
  • Self-service speaker submission portal
  • Real-time agenda visibility for speakers
  • Automated material collection and reminders
  • Status tracking dashboard for organizers
• Impact: Dramatically improves speaker experience, reduces organizer workload

# Future Enhancement Phases

Phase 3: Partner Analytics Dashboard

• Real-time ROI metrics and sponsorship value demonstration
• Strategic topic influence and voting system

Phase 4: Intelligent Content Discovery

• Advanced search across historical content
• AI-powered recommendations and trending analysis

# Key Success Metrics

Organizer Efficiency:

• Reduce event planning time by 60%
• Eliminate manual reminder tasks
• Real-time visibility into all event status

Speaker Experience:

• 90% speaker satisfaction with submission process
• Reduce speaker onboarding time by 75%
• Eliminate deadline confusion and missed submissions

Partner Value:

• Immediate access to sponsorship ROI data
• Increased partner engagement in topic selection
• Demonstrable value for continued sponsorship

Community Growth:

• Enhanced content discoverability drives repeat attendance
• Professional networking through improved event experience
• Swiss IT architecture community growth and engagement

# Next Steps

1. Technical Architecture Planning: Design system architecture for Phase 1 (Event Timeline Management)
2. User Story Development: Detailed user stories for organizer workflow automation
3. Partner Validation: Confirm analytics requirements with current sponsors
4. Speaker Pilot Program: Beta test speaker portal with trusted speakers

# Session Reflection

Most Valuable Insights:

• The 12-step organizer workflow is more complex than initially understood
• Partners need concrete ROI data for internal sponsorship justification
• Speakers lack context and self-service capabilities in current process
• Visitors need sophisticated content discovery for 20+ years of historical content

Breakthrough Realization: The BATbern website isn’t just a marketing site - it’s a comprehensive event management ecosystem that needs to serve four distinct stakeholder groups with interconnected workflows.

Follow-up Recommendations:

• Deep-dive technical architecture session for multi-role workflow engine
• Partner interview sessions to validate analytics requirements
• Speaker experience mapping workshop to refine portal requirements