Speaker Program
The Speaker Program is an internal tool for requesting and approving speaking engagements, in place of tracking them across spreadsheets and email. An organizer submits through a self-service intake form whose fields adapt to the event type, and a program coordinator triages the request and routes it for approval. From there the request clears an approving manager and a communications and brand reviewer working in parallel, both required, before a speaker is confirmed, scheduled, and delivered. Threaded comments and an immutable audit history keep the conversation and decisions on the record, and a light status view shows program leadership where the pipeline stands.
- Role
- Product Manager
- Type
- Request and approval workflow
- Status
- Complete
- PRD
- Charter
- User Guide
- Process Flow
- Test Scripts
- Skeletal App Demo
Problem
- Organizers requested speakers across spreadsheets and email, so requests and sign-offs scattered across threads.
- Reconstructing the approval trail took a lot of digging.
- The manager approval and the communications and brand review happened informally, with no shared record.
- Program coordinators had no single queue to triage and route requests.
- Program leadership had no running picture of where the pipeline stood.
Solution
- Combined the email-driven sign-offs into one tracked request.
- Set up parallel approval so a manager and a communications and brand reviewer can clear a request at the same time, both required.
- Defined the coordinator triage-and-route step ahead of approval.
- Added threaded comments and an immutable audit history so the conversation and decisions stay on the record.
Results
- Centralized every speaking-engagement request on one tracked record.
- Gave a manager and a brand reviewer parallel approval instead of a slow sequence.
- Kept the full approval trail on the record, so there is no more digging through threads.
- Gave program leadership a running picture of the pipeline.
What you can explore here
The skeletal app below is a navigation-only prototype: the intake form with event-type-aware fields, the requester's My Requests list, the coordinator and reviewer Queue, a request detail record with the parallel-approvals panel, comments, and a read-only audit history, the reviewer approval view, the speaker confirmation view, notifications, an admin view, and a light status view with accessible charts. It is illustrative and non-functional; all data is sample data and nothing submits, routes, changes status, opens a file picker, or notifies.
Skeletal App Demo
Screen 1 · Intake
Request a Speaker
Tell us about your event and the expertise you need. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
The form shows extra fields based on the event type you pick. This demo reveals the matching group as you change the Event type; with scripting off, every group is shown and labelled.
Display only. This control does not open a file picker and does not accept uploads.
Screen 2 · Requester list
My Requests
Every speaker request you have submitted, with its current status.
| Request ID | Event | Type | Event Date | Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK-1042 | Annual Product Summit | Conference | [Event date] | Pending Approvals | 2 hours ago |
| SPK-1039 | Q3 Customer Webinar | Webinar | [Event date] | Speaker Confirmation | 1 day ago |
| SPK-1031 | Design Systems Panel | Panel | [Event date] | Scheduled | 3 days ago |
| SPK-1024 | Onboarding Lunch and Learn | Internal Talk | [Event date] | Completed | 1 week ago |
Screen 3 · Coordinator and reviewer queue
Request Queue
All active requests. Filter and sort to work your list.
| Request ID | Event | Type | Event Date | Status | Coordinator | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK-1042 | Annual Product Summit | Conference | [Event date] | Pending Approvals | C. Morales | 3h |
| SPK-1041 | Security Best Practices Webinar | Webinar | [Event date] | In Review | C. Morales | 5h |
| SPK-1039 | Q3 Customer Webinar | Webinar | [Event date] | Speaker Confirmation | H. Price | 1d |
| SPK-1038 | Leadership Fireside Panel | Panel | [Event date] | Pending Approvals | Unassigned | 1d |
| SPK-1037 | New Hire Tech Talk | Internal Talk | [Event date] | Approved | H. Price | 2d |
| SPK-1031 | Design Systems Panel | Panel | [Event date] | Scheduled | C. Morales | 3d |
Screen 4 · Request detail
SPK-1042 · Annual Product Summit
Pending ApprovalsApprovals (parallel)
- Approving Manager G. Bauer Approved
- Communications / Brand Reviewer I. Novak Pending
Both approvals are required before a speaker can be confirmed.
Conversation
- earlier today Confirmed the date and audience with the organizer. Routing for approval now.
- earlier today Approved from my side. Good fit for the summit.
History
| Actor | Action | When |
|---|---|---|
| B. Turner | Submitted the request. Status set to Submitted. | (sample timestamp) |
| C. Morales | Confirmed details. Status set to In Review. | (sample timestamp) |
| C. Morales | Routed for approval. Status set to Pending Approvals. | (sample timestamp) |
| G. Bauer (Approving Manager) | Approved. | (sample timestamp) |
| System | Communications / Brand review pending. | (sample timestamp) |
History is read-only and cannot be edited or deleted.
Screen 5 · Reviewer view
SPK-1038 · Leadership Fireside Panel
Pending ApprovalsB. Turner is requesting a subject-matter expert to join a leadership panel on team culture.
You are reviewing as: Communications / Brand Reviewer.
Once both reviewers approve, the request moves to speaker confirmation. Decline and Return each require a comment.
Screen 6 · Speaker view
SPK-1039 · Q3 Customer Webinar
Speaker ConfirmationYou have been asked to speak on customer onboarding best practices at a 30-minute virtual webinar.
On accept, the coordinator confirms the final date and logistics. A decline returns the request for reassignment.
Screen 7 · Showcase
Program Status
How the speaker pipeline is performing. Sample data for demonstration.
- 21 Open Requests
- 14 Scheduled This Month
- 63 Completed This Quarter
- 2.3 days Average Time to Approval
Submitted 4, In Review 5, Pending Approvals 6, Approved 3, Speaker Confirmation 3, Scheduled 14.
Conference 12, Panel 9, Webinar 18, Internal Talk 15, Workshop 7.
| Period | Days |
|---|---|
| Period 1 | 2.9 |
| Period 2 | 2.6 |
| Period 3 | 3.1 |
| Period 4 | 2.4 |
| Period 5 | 2.2 |
| Period 6 | 2.3 |
- Q3 Customer Webinar Webinar [Event date]
- Design Systems Panel Panel [Event date]
- New Hire Tech Talk Internal Talk [Event date]
All figures are sample data for demonstration only.
Notifications
Notifications
- Unread. A speaker request is awaiting your approval: SPK-1038. (sample date)
- Your request SPK-1042 has been approved at both levels. (sample date)
- Your request SPK-1042 is being reviewed by the program. (sample date)
- Your request SPK-1042 has been received. (sample date)
- SPK-1024 is now complete. Thank you. (sample date)
Admin · Configuration
Admin Configuration
Event Types
Approval routing (read-only)
Every request routes in parallel to an Approving Manager and a Communications / Brand Reviewer. Both must approve before a speaker is confirmed.
Admin sections cover event types, formats, approval routing, notification templates, and roles. Configuration changes take effect without a code change.