Phase B: Outreach

Last Updated: 2026-06-13 — Speaker states aligned to the 8-state model (ADR-009 / Epic 11); promote-to-READY provisioning gate and redesigned kanban board documented.

# Overview

Phase B focuses on speaker engagement. You’ll contact identified candidates, promote the chosen speaker to READY (which provisions their account), send the formal invitation, track their responses through their individual speaker workflows, and collect presentation content from accepted speakers.

Key Concept: The event remains in SPEAKER_IDENTIFICATION state while individual speakers progress through their own parallel 8-state workflows (IDENTIFIED → CONTACTED → READY → INVITED → ACCEPTED → CONTENT_SUBMITTED, per ADR-009).

The provisioning gate (CONTACTED → READY): While IDENTIFIED and CONTACTED are still “brainstorming” states (no account exists), promoting a candidate to READY is the moment the system looks up or creates the User, grants the SPEAKER role, and provisions the AWS Cognito account. Promotion is organizer-only. The speaker then logs in via Cognito (email/password or “Continue with Google”) — there are no magic links.

Key Deliverable: Accepted speakers with submitted content ready for quality review

# Step 4: Speaker Outreach Tracking

Implemented

# Purpose

Systematically contact speaker candidates and track communication history to ensure no candidate falls through the cracks.

# Acceptance Criteria

• ✅ All identified candidates contacted
• ✅ Contact attempts logged with dates
• ✅ Response status tracked for each candidate
• ✅ Follow-up reminders sent as needed

# Outreach Strategy

Initial Contact Timeline:

1. Day 1: Contact high-priority candidates (past speakers, thought leaders)
2. Day 3: Contact medium-priority candidates
3. Day 7: Contact low-priority candidates (if still needed)

Staging Approach:

• Don’t contact all candidates simultaneously
• Contact in waves based on priority
• Preserves backup options if high-priority speakers decline

# How to Complete

# Outreach Metrics

Planned

Track outreach effectiveness. The Outreach Metrics dashboard displays: total candidates contacted, interested count with response rate percentage, declined count and percentage, no-response count and percentage, average response time in days, fastest and slowest response times with speaker names for reference.

# Step 5: Speaker Status Management

In Progress

# Purpose

Track speaker progression from interest through content submission, ensuring timely advancement and identifying blockers.

# Acceptance Criteria

• ✅ All interested speakers have clear status
• ✅ Status transitions logged with timestamps
• ✅ Blockers identified and resolved (e.g., awaiting content guidelines)
• ✅ Minimum speakers reached CONTENT_SUBMITTED status

# Speaker Status Flow (8-state — ADR-009)

READY state (provisioning gate): CONTACTED → READY is organizer-only (the Promote action). It looks up or creates the User, grants the SPEAKER role, and provisions the AWS Cognito account. No email is sent at this step.

INVITED state: READY → INVITED sends the invitation email (login link + temporary password) and is gated by slot capacity — blocked when count(ACCEPTED) + count(INVITED) >= max_slots.

DECLINED is terminal and reachable from every non-terminal state. It covers a lead that didn’t pan out, a refusal to an invitation, and a speaker who accepted then dropped out — replacing the old withdrew state. The previous state and reason are recorded in speaker_status_history.

No separate slot_assigned / confirmed / overflow states. Slot assignment and publish-readiness are now derived flags (is_slot_assigned, is_publishable); over-capacity is handled by the slot-capacity gate, not a parking state.

# Status Definitions

Derived flags (not states): is_slot_assigned := session.start_time IS NOT NULL; is_publishable := QUALITY_REVIEWED AND is_slot_assigned. These replace the removed slot_assigned and confirmed states.

# How to Complete

To: hans.mueller@example.com
Subject: Content Guidelines - BATbern 2025

Hi Hans,

Great to have you confirmed for BATbern 2025!

Please submit the following by March 1, 2025:

Required:
- Presentation Title (≤100 characters)
- Abstract (≤1000 characters)
- 3-5 Learning Objectives

Optional:
- Target Audience (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
- Prerequisites (required attendee knowledge)
- Supporting materials (slides, handouts)

Submit via the speaker portal: https://www.batbern.ch/speaker-portal
(log in with your invitation credentials — email/password or "Continue with Google")

Looking forward to your presentation!

Best,
Anna Schmidt

[Send]

Content Submission Progress
────────────────────────────────────────
Target: 12 confirmed speakers
Deadline: March 1, 2025 (14 days remaining)

Status:
✅ Submitted: 6 speakers (43%)
⏳ In Progress: 4 speakers (29%)
⚠️ Not Started: 4 speakers (29%)

Recently Submitted:
- Hans Müller (2025-02-16)
- Peter Weber (2025-02-18)
- Lisa Meier (2025-02-19)

Overdue / At Risk:
⚠️ Martin Fischer (contacted 14 days ago, no content)
⚠️ Sophie Keller (said "in progress" 7 days ago)

[Send Reminder to At-Risk Speakers]

To: martin.fischer@example.com
Subject: Content Reminder - BATbern 2025 (Due March 1)

Hi Martin,

Friendly reminder that your presentation content for BATbern 2025
is due March 1 (in 5 days).

We still need:
- Presentation Title
- Abstract (≤1000 characters)
- Learning Objectives

Submit via the speaker portal: https://www.batbern.ch/speaker-portal

Let me know if you need an extension or have questions!

Thanks,
Anna

✅ Content Received - Hans Müller
────────────────────────────────────────
Title: "Innovations in Sustainable Building Materials"
Abstract: 287 characters / 1000 ✅
Learning Objectives: 4 ✅

Status: content_submitted
Next: Quality Review (Phase C)

[View Content] [Request Revision]

[Grant 3-Day Extension]
New deadline: March 4, 2025

[Mark as DECLINED]
Reason: Missed content deadline
→ Contact backup candidate

# Status Management Tips

Idempotent State Transitions:

• Re-submitting a speaker to their current state is a safe no-op — the system accepts it without creating duplicate history entries. This is useful when integrating external tools or replaying events.

Set Clear Deadlines:

• Give speakers 2-3 weeks for content submission
• Send reminder at 1 week before deadline
• Final reminder at 2 days before deadline

Track Engagement:

High Engagement (likely to deliver):
✅ Responds quickly to emails
✅ Asks clarifying questions
✅ Submits content early

Low Engagement (at risk):
⚠️ Slow to respond (>3 days)
⚠️ Says "I'll send it soon" multiple times
⚠️ Approaching deadline with no content
→ Prepare backup candidate

Use Staging Strategy:

• Don’t release all slots to INTERESTED speakers
• Hold 20% as buffer for dropouts
• Example: Need 10 speakers, confirm 12 initially

# Step 6: Speaker Content Collection

In Progress

# Purpose

Collect detailed presentation content from speakers to enable quality review and agenda publishing.

# Acceptance Criteria

• ✅ All confirmed speakers submitted required content
• ✅ Content meets format requirements (title ≤100 chars, abstract ≤1000 chars)
• ✅ Learning objectives provided (3-5 per presentation)
• ✅ Supporting materials uploaded (if available)

# Content Requirements

Mandatory Fields:

Optional Fields:

# Content Submission Portal

Implemented

Before collecting content, publish the topic from the Publishing tab.

After publishing the topic, organizers can submit content on behalf of speakers using the content submission drawer.

Fill in the presentation details and submit.

Speakers submit through the Cognito-authenticated speaker portal (no magic links):

https://www.batbern.ch/speaker-portal

After logging in (email/password or “Continue with Google”), the portal displays:

BATbern 2025 Content Submission
────────────────────────────────────────
Hi Hans Müller!

Please provide details for your presentation on
"Sustainable Building Materials"

Presentation Title *
[Innovations in Sustainable Building Materials]
Characters: 48 / 100 ✅

Abstract *
[Describe your presentation here...
This session will explore recent innovations...]
Characters: 287 / 1000 ✅

Learning Objectives * (3-5 items)
1. [Understand key sustainable material types]
2. [Evaluate material lifecycle impacts]
3. [Apply selection criteria to projects]
[+ Add Objective]

Target Audience
[▼ Intermediate]

Prerequisites (optional)
[Basic understanding of building materials]

Supporting Materials (optional)
[Choose Files] No files chosen
PDF format, max 10MB

Speaker Biography * (for event program)
[Hans Müller is a Senior Architect at...]
Characters: 145 / 500 ✅

[Save Draft] [Submit for Review]

# Content Validation

System validates submissions:

Title Validation:

✅ Valid: "Innovations in Sustainable Building Materials" (48 chars)
❌ Invalid: "A Comprehensive Overview of Recent Innovations and Emerging Trends in Sustainable Building Material Selection and Application for Modern Architecture" (142 chars)
Error: Title must be 100 characters or less

Abstract Validation:

✅ Valid: 287 characters
❌ Invalid: 1042 characters
Error: Abstract exceeds 1000 character limit. Please shorten.

Learning Objectives:

✅ Valid: 4 objectives (within 3-5 range)
⚠️ Warning: 2 objectives (below recommended 3)
❌ Error: 0 objectives (minimum 3 required)

# How to Complete

Content Collection Dashboard
────────────────────────────────────────
Target: 12 speakers
Deadline: March 1, 2025

Submitted: 10 ✅
Missing: 2 ⚠️
  - Martin Fischer (Heritage Reuse)
  - Sophie Keller (Digital Transform)

[Send Reminder]

New Submission - Hans Müller
────────────────────────────────────────
Title: "Innovations in Sustainable Building Materials" ✅
Abstract: 287 chars ✅
Objectives: 4 ✅
Supporting Materials: sustainable-materials-overview.pdf ✅

[Accept] [Request Revision]

[Request Revision]

Revision Notes for Hans Müller:
────────────────────────────────────────
- Abstract: Please add specific material examples
- Learning Objective #3: Too vague, please specify

Expected revision by: February 25, 2025

[Send Revision Request]

# Content Quality Tips

Good Title Examples:

• ✅ “Innovations in Sustainable Materials”
• ✅ “Digital Twins for Building Management”
• ✅ “Adaptive Reuse: From Factory to Housing”

Poor Title Examples:

• ❌ “Materials” (too vague)
• ❌ “A Comprehensive Study…” (unnecessarily long)
• ❌ “Part 1: Introduction to…” (implies incomplete)

Good Abstract Structure:

[Hook - 1 sentence]: Why this topic matters
[Context - 2-3 sentences]: Background and current state
[Content - 3-4 sentences]: What will be covered
[Outcome - 1 sentence]: What attendees will gain

Good Learning Objectives:

• ✅ Action-oriented: “Apply”, “Evaluate”, “Design”
• ✅ Specific and measurable
• ✅ Appropriate for target audience level

Poor Learning Objectives:

• ❌ “Understand sustainability” (too vague)
• ❌ “Learn about materials” (not specific)
• ❌ “Be aware of trends” (not action-oriented)

# Phase B Completion

# Success Criteria

Before advancing to Phase C, confirm:

• ✅ All high-priority candidates contacted
• ✅ Chosen speakers promoted to READY and INVITED
• ✅ Minimum speakers reached ACCEPTED state
• ✅ All accepted speakers submitted content
• ✅ Minimum speakers at CONTENT_SUBMITTED state
• ✅ Event state = SPEAKER_IDENTIFICATION (unchanged - progresses in Phase D)

# Minimum Speaker Requirements

# What Happens Next

Phase C: Quality Control begins:

• Content reviewed by organizers
• Quality threshold validation
• Revision requests for subpar content

See Phase C: Quality → to continue.

# Troubleshooting Phase B

# “Too many speaker declines”

Problem: More than 50% of contacted speakers declined.

Solution:

• Review invitation message (too formal? unclear benefits?)
• Check event date (conflicts with holidays/other events?)
• Expand to backup candidates
• Consider extending timeline for more research

# “Content submission deadline missed”

Problem: Speakers not submitting by deadline.

Solution:

• Grant 3-5 day extension (one-time)
• Send urgent reminder with deadline emphasis
• Prepare backup speaker activation
• Mark chronic late-submitters as DROPOUT

# “Content quality insufficient”

Problem: Submitted content too vague or brief.

Solution:

• Request specific revisions via portal
• Provide examples of good content
• Offer to help edit if language barrier
• Last resort: Mark as DROPOUT, use backup

# Related Topics

• Speaker Management → - Speaker profiles
• Phase A: Setup → - Previous phase
• Phase C: Quality → - Next phase
• Troubleshooting → - Workflow issues

# API Reference

POST /api/events/{id}/workflow/step-4                          Complete Step 4 (Outreach)
POST /api/events/{id}/workflow/step-5                          Complete Step 5 (Status Mgmt)
POST /api/events/{id}/workflow/step-6                          Complete Step 6 (Content Collection)
POST /api/v1/events/{code}/speakers/{speakerId}/promote        Promote CONTACTED → READY (provisions Cognito; ORGANIZER only)
PUT  /api/v1/events/{code}/speakers/{speakerId}/status         Update speaker status (8-state allow-list; READY rejected → use /promote)
POST /api/v1/events/{code}/speakers/{speakerId}/content        Submit speaker content (organizer-on-behalf; speakers self-submit via the portal)
GET  /api/v1/events/{code}/speakers/{speakerId}/contact-history Get contact / outreach log

The single writer of speaker_pool.status is SpeakerWorkflowService — these endpoints delegate to it. READY is not an accepted targetStatus on PUT .../status; promotion runs through the dedicated /promote endpoint so account provisioning happens exactly once. See ADR-009 and API: Speaker Coordination.

See API Documentation for complete specifications.