Refreshing BAFTA Events into an Accessible and Flexible White-Label Solution

The BAFTA Events platform, launched in 2020, marked my first significant product release since Nucleus. I took over management of the product halfway through its development and faced the considerable challenge of steering this complex project to completion. Initially conceived to facilitate ticket sales for BAFTA’s extensive year-round events programme, it has evolved to support online events, bespoke awards ticket sales, and fundraising activities. I've been dedicated to refining, streamlining and updating the platform to improve usability. Initially, the system was unwieldy, suffering from unclear direction and inadequate stakeholder management. Through focused effort, the platform has significantly improved, a fact underscored by its rapid growth and widespread adoption within BAFTA.

Introduction to the BAFTA Events Platform

A primary motive behind BAFTA's development of proprietary products, including this one, is the potential for external licensing, generating additional revenue and enabling BAFTA to contribute positively to the broader industry. This is particularly valuable for organisations encountering similar workflow challenges without the means to develop bespoke solutions.

At its inception, the product aimed to reflect the design of BAFTA's website—a design which, having launched in 2012, felt outdated by 2020, leading to a design constrained by the existing components and page structures. This alignment with the website's aesthetic was a limitation I found disappointing. It's worth noting that the BAFTA website is currently undergoing a much-needed redesign, slated for late 2024. While the launch design of Events was accessible and responsive, I believe we missed an opportunity to innovate beyond merely replicating the website's structure and components.

Expanding Potential with White-Labelling

By January 2023, the task of evaluating the product for potential white-labelling brought design concerns to the forefront. The initial design, seemed incompatible with the flexibility required for white-labelling. Drawing on my recent success with Nucleus's redesign I concluded that white-labelling with the launch design would not be possible as if would not offer clients the flexibility they require. A fresh approach was needed by redesigning the interface so that clients could make simple modifications like colour and logo changes without development. This approach would allow the Events platform to seamlessly integrate as an extension of the clients websites. Consequently, I decided to embark on a similar path for the Events product, prioritising versatility in its design framework.

Redesigning the Platform: Balancing Stakeholder Needs

During a BMT away day I seized the opportunity to propose a significant overhaul of the Events design. The idea was more well-received than anticipated, granting me the mandate to progress with it. However, engaging stakeholders in this new direction immediately presented a significant obstacle as they harboured a preference for the design to maintain a visual connection with the BAFTA website. Unbeknownst to me, feedback gathered during the scoping phase for the website's redesign had already set a course towards tighter integration between the events platform and the BAFTA website. The stakeholders envisioned this integration as a means to forge new user journeys, thereby extending the reach and impact of BAFTA's events.

Disappointed but not deterred, I collaborated closely with stakeholders to meticulously define the dual needs of BAFTA and its clients, aiming for a cohesive strategy. After presenting the strategy to a stakeholder management group the outcome was to consult Alchemy Digital, the designers behind the BAFTA website, about the dilemma. Alchemy Digital expressed confidence that the requisite solution wouldn't veer significantly from our initial strategy. It entailed devising a design that harmonised with the forthcoming BAFTA website aesthetics, albeit with less intricacy. This approach prioritised the prominence of event imagery, restricted colour palettes with flexibility for white-labelling adjustments, and introduced unique components not needed by the BAFTA website itself. These elements were essential in refining workflows and ensuring the design stood out sufficiently.

Progressing to the design phase necessitated close collaboration with Alchemy Digital. We established a core group of stakeholders, myself included, to contribute their insights and requirements. Drawing on years of experience with the system and recent commitments to enhance accessibility, the stakeholders introduced a variety of new concepts to be integrated into the design. My paramount concern was to ensure the design remained practical, aligning with the system's existing functionalities without overextension. After a diligent two-month process, we achieved a design that met all criteria and received unanimous approval.

From Design to Development

Subsequently, my focus shifted towards generating the requisite Jira tickets for the development phase. Updating an existing design, especially for a system as multifaceted as BAFTA Events, is significantly more complex than creating a new product. This complexity stems from the need to accommodate all pre-existing developments alongside new and working within a pre-existing structure. My initial responsibilities were threefold: to document all new features introduced by the redesign, to determine which of these features would be essential for the minimum viable product (MVP), and to ensure the new design would fully support all existing functionalities.

In the following weeks, I meticulously detailed the design, outlining the specific pages to be constructed and their required functionalities. This comprehensive groundwork laid out the entire workflow and page specifications for the Front End developer to execute. Concurrently, I evaluated the integration of new features, each necessitating distinct admin setup functionalities. As the front end pages were being coded, I assigned tasks to a PHP developer for crafting the backend admin capabilities, deciding to gate these behind a configuration variable for seamless development releases.

The construction of these pages spanned approximately six weeks, allowing for the refinement of components. Subsequently, the challenge was to integrate the new code with the existing page structure on a development site—a task reputed to be straightforward but proved to be exceptionally meticulous. Fortunately, I was spared from this process, with the developer demonstrating commendable diligence to complete it within a few weeks. Upon its completion, the intricate task of ensuring alignment between the launch design, the updated pages, and the example provided by Alchemy Digital ensued. This phase felt akin to assembling a 1,000-piece puzzle with only half the pieces visible; the remainder had to be discerned within the code, requiring meticulous comparison and adjustment to achieve the end result.

Bridging Design and Real-World Application

In addition to these challenges there is always a disconnect between the screens provided by the designers and how this can be applied to the final product. Designers craft visually appealing designs based on scoped requirements, however, in the context of a complex legacy system like ours, what often gets overlooked is the integration of existing functionalities and the intricate rules governing component visibility. This results in static designs that, while aesthetically pleasing, don't always translate seamlessly into real-world scenarios. Here are several illustrative examples:

• The design featured a prominent "Featured Events" section, enhancing event visibility. Yet, the design didn't account for scenarios lacking featured events, nor did it consider department-specific event displays crucial for international user experiences.
• The event listings on the main page used placeholder text, which didn't reflect the real variance in event title and description lengths. This discrepancy affected the layout, necessitating content restrictions to maintain design integrity.
• Absence of designs for empty state pages necessitated custom definitions to ensure user-friendly navigation even when data was sparse.
• The introduction of new system features or pages post-design phase, like a suddenly needed table component, required on-the-fly solutions and integration.

This stage involved continuous collaboration with the development team, involving a relentless cycle of review, ticket creation, and adjustments. This back-and-forth was crucial not just for aesthetic alignment but also for the practical implementation of new functionalities. Notably, the development of filters proved more complex than anticipated, requiring significant code rewrites and extending delivery timelines, which in turn, impacted other project components.

Overcoming Workflow and Testing Complexities

During testing newly released developments, I encountered instances where certain pages were omitted from the initial designs, necessitating immediate decision-making regarding their integration. I also discovered pre-existing unconsidered functionalities, such as a feature advising users on the most cost-effective ticket combinations, which posed dilemmas on their incorporation or potential removal in the new design. This process often required discerning when to consult stakeholders, bearing in mind their responsibilities and the impracticality of discussing over 300 design modifications. Thus, I had to judiciously decide when stakeholder feedback was essential, balancing the need for input with the recognition of their primary duties.

The redesign also presented an opportunity to address and streamline some of the workflow complexities ingrained in the original system architecture. For instance, the conditions determining an event's availability status—be it on-sale, sold out, or closed—due to varied admin-controlled quotas, meaning an event could be sold out for one user but available for another. This necessitated a detailed definition of these scenarios for effective testing, of which I've identified over 30 so far. Moreover, the integration of invoicing and bespoke awards ticket selling workflows, introduced post the completion of the design phase, added layers of complexity. These had to be seamlessly incorporated into the design, intensifying the testing phase to ensure all modified workflows were accurately implemented and functional.

An exhaustive amount of effort was dedicated to ensuring every detail was flawlessly executed within the redesign. This meticulous process involved verifying the precise placement and design of buttons, ensuring all messages were modifiable within the admin CMS, and confirming that error messages adhered to the updated design specifications. Furthermore, it was crucial to guarantee that features were activated at the appropriate times, menus displayed the correct options also at the right moments, input fields functioned properly, email notifications triggered as expected, and modals popped up with relevant information. The accuracy of workflow applications, the design of error screens, and many other elements were scrutinised. The thorough review and refinement and development phase spanned approximately three months, continuing right up until the launch. A significant portion of this time was also invested in ensuring the redesigned system's functionality across mobile devices and tablets, as well as its accessibility through keyboard-only controls and compatibility with screen readers, underscoring our commitment to inclusivity and user-friendliness.

To ensure a smooth transition, stakeholders and administrators were provided with a comprehensive training programme to familiarise themselves with the new functionalities. Additionally, I allocated a period for them to test the redesigned platform and offer their feedback. A meticulous launch plan was developed in collaboration with stakeholders, which included temporarily taking the site offline and displaying communications on the launch design to inform users of the changes. This allowed administrators the necessary time to update all copy, ensuring everything was in perfect order before granting access to users. This proactive approach facilitated a seamless transition, underscoring our commitment to stakeholder engagement and user satisfaction.

Delivering a Fully Responsive and Accessible Platform

The project's success culminated in a stunning, contemporary design that is fully accessible and responsive, offering administrators the flexibility to customise with their colours and logos for white-labelling. This achievement fills me with immense pride, as it not only enhances user experience through clearer workflows but also resolves several complexities inherent in the original system.

Beyond the core redesign, additional features such as the accessible booking workflow, address book integration, and invoicing system have been successfully delivered. These enhancements showcase the platform’s ability to adapt to BAFTA’s evolving needs while improving operational efficiency and inclusivity. You can read more about these features in dedicated blogs:

• Building an Accessible Booking Experience for BAFTA Events
• Integrating an Address Book for BAFTA Events
• Implementing Invoicing Workflow for BAFTA Events

The platform has also achieved a significant milestone with its first white-label client, British Arrows, who used BAFTA Events to power their Young Arrows Awards. Their extremely positive feedback underscores the platform’s flexibility and effectiveness in supporting diverse events. This success highlights the potential for external licensing, enabling the platform to make a meaningful impact beyond BAFTA’s own initiatives.

Looking ahead, the platform is well-positioned for further development. The next phase involves evaluating and prioritising deferred features from the MVP phase, ensuring continuous evolution and alignment with user needs. With a solid foundation and growing adoption, the BAFTA Events platform is set to remain a robust and innovative solution for managing events and delivering seamless user experiences.