Speaker Management

Implemented

Last Updated: 2026-06-13

# Overview

Speakers are architecture professionals who present at BATbern conferences. Each speaker has a profile containing biographical information, expertise areas, and contact details. Speakers progress through a defined 8-state workflow from initial identification through confirmed participation.

Self-Service Portal: Invited speakers can accept/decline invitations, submit content, update their company’s public info, and track their engagements through the Speaker Self-Service Portal. Organisers can also manage all of this directly from this screen (hybrid workflow).

Authentication (Epic 11 / Epic 12): Speakers log in through AWS Cognito — email/password or “Continue with Google” — exactly like every other role. The earlier magic-link login was fully torn down in Epic 11; there are no ?token=/?jwt= portal URLs anymore. A Cognito user with the SPEAKER role is provisioned automatically when a speaker reaches the READY workflow transition.

# Speaker Profiles

# Profile Components

Personal Information:

• First Name, Last Name
• Professional headshot (photo upload)
• Email, Phone
• LinkedIn profile (optional)

Professional Details:

• Company affiliation
• Job title
• Years of experience
• Professional biography (≤500 characters)

Expertise:

• Primary topics (e.g., “Sustainable Building”, “Digital Transformation”)
• Secondary topics (related interests)
• Languages spoken (German, French, Italian, English)

Presentation History:

• Past BATbern presentations
• External speaking engagements
• Publications and awards

# Creating a Speaker

# Speaker Status States

Implemented

Each speaker progresses through their own independent workflow in parallel with other speakers. The speaker workflow operates independently from the event workflow, allowing flexible coordination.

# Status Flow

# Status Descriptions

# Critical: Auto-Confirmation

Speakers reach confirmed status automatically when BOTH conditions are met (in any order):

1. Speaker status = quality_reviewed (content approved in Phase C)
2. Session has startTime (slot assigned in Phase D)

This means:

• Quality review first → slot assigned later → auto-confirms when slot saved
• Slot assigned first → quality review later → auto-confirms when quality approved
• Order doesn’t matter - confirmation happens when both complete

# Status Transitions

Speaker workflow progresses through phases:

• Phase A: Setup - identified (speakers brainstormed)
• Phase B: Outreach - identified → contacted → ready → accepted/declined
• Phase B: Content Collection - accepted → content_submitted
• Phase C: Quality Review - content_submitted → quality_reviewed
• Phase D: Assignment - quality_reviewed + slot → confirmed (automatic)
• Any Phase - accepted → withdrew (if speaker drops out)

Parallel Progression: All speakers move through states independently. Event can have speakers in different states simultaneously (e.g., Speaker A is “contacted”, Speaker B is “content_submitted”, Speaker C is “confirmed”).

See Workflow System Documentation for complete details on the 3 workflow systems.

# Content Collection

Implemented

Speakers submit presentation content during Phase B: Outreach. Content can be submitted by the speaker via the self-service portal or by the organiser on the speaker’s behalf (hybrid workflow).

# Content Requirements

Mandatory Fields:

• Presentation Title* - Specific session title (≤100 characters)
• Abstract* - Session description (≤1000 characters)
• Learning Objectives - What attendees will learn (3-5 bullets)

Optional Fields:

• Supporting Materials - Slides, handouts, references (PDF upload)
• Prerequisites - Required attendee knowledge
• Target Audience - Who should attend (Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced)

# Character Limit Validation

Abstract field enforces 1000-character limit:

Abstract *
[Your presentation description here...     ]

Characters: 287 / 1000 ✅

Abstract *
[Very long text that exceeds the limit... ]

Characters: 1042 / 1000 ❌
Error: Abstract must be 1000 characters or less

# Content Review

Content is reviewed during Phase C: Quality Review:

1. Organizer reviews content for:

   • Relevance to event theme
   • Quality and clarity
   • Originality
   • Audience fit

2. Feedback provided if revisions needed:

   • Organizer clicks “Request Revisions” in quality drawer
   • Speaker receives comments
   • Speaker revises and resubmits
   • Status remains content_submitted until approved

3. Content approved:

   • Organizer clicks “Approve” in quality drawer
   • Status advances to quality_reviewed
   • Speaker auto-confirms when slot also assigned (in either order)

See Phase C: Quality Review for details.

# Outreach Tracking

Implemented

Track all speaker communications during outreach phase.

# Contact History

Contact History - Hans Müller
────────────────────────────────────
2025-02-15 14:23 | Email Sent
Subject: "Invitation to speak at BATbern 2025"
Status: contacted

2025-02-18 09:45 | Response Received
"Yes, interested in presenting on sustainable materials"
Status: ready

2025-02-19 10:15 | Acceptance Confirmed
Speaker accepted invitation
Status: accepted

2025-02-20 16:30 | Content Request Sent
Subject: "Content submission deadline: March 1"

2025-02-28 11:15 | Content Received
Title: "Innovations in Sustainable Building Materials"
Status: content_submitted

2025-03-02 14:30 | Quality Review Completed
Content approved by organizer
Status: quality_reviewed

2025-03-05 09:00 | Slot Assigned
Assigned to 10:00-10:45 AM slot
Status: confirmed (auto-confirmed)

# Outreach Templates

Implemented

Pre-built email templates for common communications:

Initial Invitation:

Subject: Invitation to speak at BATbern 2025

Dear {{speaker_name}},

We are planning BATbern 2025 and would like to invite you
to present on "{{topic}}".

Event Details:
- Date: {{event_date}}
- Type: {{event_type}}
- Audience: {{expected_attendees}} architects

Are you interested? Please let us know by {{response_deadline}}.

Best regards,
{{organizer_name}}

Content Request:

Subject: Content submission for BATbern 2025

Dear {{speaker_name}},

Thank you for confirming your participation! Please submit:

- Presentation title (≤100 characters)
- Abstract (≤1000 characters)
- 3-5 learning objectives

Deadline: {{content_deadline}}

Submit via: {{submission_link}}

Looking forward to your presentation!

See Phase B: Outreach for outreach management details.

# Session Assignment

Implemented

Confirmed speakers are assigned to event time slots during Phase D: Assignment.

# Slot Assignment Interface

Drag-and-drop interface for assigning speakers to slots:

BATbern 2025 - March 15, 2025
──────────────────────────────────────────

Morning Track A         | Morning Track B
────────────────────────────────────────
09:00-09:45            | 09:00-09:45
[Drag speaker here]     | [Hans Müller]
                        | Sustainable Materials

10:00-10:45            | 10:00-10:45
[Anna Schmidt]         | [Drag speaker here]
Digital Architecture    |

# Assignment Constraints

System enforces constraints:

• ✅ No double-booking: Speaker can’t be in two slots simultaneously
• ✅ Break enforcement: Minimum 15-minute gap between speaker’s sessions
• ✅ Availability check: Speakers can mark unavailable time slots
• ❌ Conflict warnings: Flag potential scheduling conflicts

See Phase D: Assignment for details.

# Speaker Directory

Implemented

Public-facing speaker directory showcases confirmed speakers.

# Directory Display

BATbern 2025 Speakers
────────────────────────────────────────

[Photo]  Hans Müller
         Müller Architekten AG
         Senior Architect

         "Innovations in Sustainable Building Materials"

         Expert in sustainable design with 15 years experience.
         Previous speaker at BATbern 2022, 2023.

         [View Session Details]

────────────────────────────────────────

[Photo]  Anna Schmidt
         Schmidt & Partner
         Digital Innovation Lead

         "Digital Transformation in Architecture"

         Leading digital initiatives in architectural practice.

         [View Session Details]

# Editing a Speaker

# Handling Speaker Dropouts

Implemented

If a speaker withdraws participation:

See Phase B: Outreach for speaker state management and dropout handling.

# Searching Speakers

# Quick Search

🔍 [Müller]

Searches across:

• First name, Last name
• Company name
• Topics/expertise

# Filter by Status

status:confirmed

status:contacted,accepted

# Filter by Topic

topic:Sustainable Building

# Common Issues

# “Speaker stuck in contacted status”

Problem: Speaker contacted but no response received.

Solution:

• Send follow-up reminder (after 3-5 days)
• Try alternative contact method (phone instead of email)
• Move to backup speaker if deadline approaching
• Update status to declined if no response after 2 reminders (via Kanban drag-and-drop)

# “Content exceeds 1000 characters”

Problem: Speaker submitted abstract longer than limit.

Solution:

• Request speaker to revise and shorten
• Provide editing suggestions
• Emphasize need for concise, focused abstracts
• Offer to help edit if language barrier

# “Speaker has scheduling conflict after confirmation”

Problem: Confirmed speaker can’t attend assigned time slot.

Solution:

• Check if alternative slot available in Phase D
• Swap with another speaker if possible (drag-and-drop slot reassignment)
• If no alternatives, may need to mark as withdrew
• Communicate changes promptly
• Update published agenda if event already in AGENDA_PUBLISHED state

# Speaker Self-Service Portal

Implemented — Epic 6 (auth refactored in Epic 11)

Invited speakers manage their own participation through the Speaker Self-Service Portal after logging in with their Cognito account (email/password or “Continue with Google”):

• Accept or decline invitations
• Submit presentation content (title, abstract, file) through a guided wizard
• Update their company’s public info (display name, website, logo) with organizer review — see below
• View the speaker dashboard — upcoming engagements, deadlines, organiser contact, past events

How organisers trigger portal access:

1. Add the speaker to the event’s speaker pool (Phase A: Setup)
2. Click Send Invitation on the speaker’s Phase B Kanban card
3. The system sends the invitation email automatically; at the READY transition a Cognito user with the SPEAKER role is provisioned so the speaker can log in

Hybrid workflow: Organisers can always manage content and status on behalf of speakers directly from this screen — the portal supplements but does not replace organiser control.

Automated deadline reminders are sent at 14 days, 7 days, and 3 days before the content deadline. Each reminder email includes a fresh dashboard link.

See the Speaker Portal documentation → for the full speaker-facing experience.

# Speaker Company Self-Service

Implemented — Story 11.G.1

A speaker whose company’s logo, display name, and website appear on the public site beside their session can update those fields from their own speaker profile page — with an organizer reviewing the change before it goes live.

How it works:

1. The speaker edits the company section on their profile page (display name, website, logo) and submits.
2. The submission creates a pending company-update request (it does NOT change the public company immediately) and raises a review task for organisers.
3. An organiser reviews the proposed change on the /organizer/companies surface (a badge and filter chip flag companies with a pending request) and approves or rejects it with an optional note.
4. On approval the company’s public fields are updated; on rejection nothing changes.

Rules:

• Only one pending request per company at a time (a second concurrent submission is rejected).
• The decision is audited (submitted_by / reviewed_by / reviewed_at / decision note); first decision wins.
• This keeps speakers in control of their company’s public footprint without emailing an organiser, while preserving an organizer sign-off gate.

# Related Topics

• Phase B: Outreach → - Speaker outreach process
• Phase C: Quality → - Content review
• Phase D: Assignment → - Slot assignment
• User Management → - Link speakers to user accounts
• Event Management → - Event sessions and speakers

# API Reference

# Endpoints (illustrative)

GET    /api/speakers               List speakers (paginated)
GET    /api/speakers/{id}          Get speaker by ID
PUT    /api/speakers/{id}          Update speaker
PUT    /api/speakers/{id}/status   Update speaker status (via SpeakerWorkflowService)
POST   /api/speakers/{id}/content  Submit presentation content
POST   /api/speakers/{id}/photo    Request presigned URL for headshot upload

See API Documentation for complete specifications.