Meetinga - app for events

Meetinga was created as a tool for organizers of meetings, conferences, fairs and other online and offline events. The client can choose from more than 40 functionalities, facilitating the conference in the area of communication and information. Additionally, the logo, color scheme and name can be changed in the application, so it can be maximally adapted to the event. This gives the effect of a dedicated solution.

 

During the initial configuration of the solution, we select the elements we are interested in from ready-made modules, facilitating the conduct of a conference in the area of communication and information. In addition, you can change the logo, colors and name of the application, so that it can be maximally adapted to the organized event. Thanks to this the user will have the impression that the application he is using is a solution dedicated to him.

We have also thought about the organizers of outdoor events. The challenge in organizing such fairs is fast and intuitive navigation of participants from point A to point B. Although it seems mundane, sometimes finding the shortest path to a chosen stand or one's own car in a huge parking lot required a lot of energy and time from the participant. 

In order to make it easier, we have prepared dedicated maps of the event with GPS navigation support in the application. Thanks to them the user saves time, which can be spent on making valuable contacts, and the event administrator does not have to worry about lost participants. Such a solution has been implemented at one of the largest agricultural fairs in this part of Europe - Agro Show.

When designing and creating Meetinga for our clients, we focused on the following goals:

• creating an application that can be modified in almost every element (including choice of functionality, visual side, quick adaptation to unexpected changes);
• creating administrative panel for client with possibility of independent application configuration,
• conference networking service,
• support of navigation on outdoor events on the event map.

During the realization of works we met with a number of challenges that have to be faced while creating such a universal product. At the initial stage (the so-called discovery) it was particularly important to establish a common vision of the application based on our clients' expectations. This is the most important phase of the project, which has a decisive impact on the proper course of the production process and satisfaction with the final product. During a series of workshops we defined the final shape of functionality in response to previously collected expectations.

Another particularly important element was the look of the application. We wanted each client to be able to adapt Meetinga to their needs and uniqueness of their event. That is why we made sure that both the administrative panel available to the event organizer and the mobile application which will be used by the participants were well thought-out and intuitive. This is especially important because Meetinga is now a global solution and we know that many users from different parts of the world use our solution. Customers are using our app in North America and Europe to support their events. We wanted everything to be easy to understand when using the app for the first time.

When designing Meetinga, we knew that at practically every event we could expect a large number of users at the same time, who would be using our solution intensively throughout the day. Therefore, system stability, reliability and a scalable server infrastructure were of paramount importance to deliver the product as intended. The infrastructure we created protected both applications from peaks of up to tens of thousands of users that can occur at an event as well as through online sessions.

Meetinga offers the following functionalities and modules to our clients:

• Custom branding: The app has an icon, customer colors and can be downloaded directly from the App Store and Google Play without app-mediators.
• Multiapplication: Support any number of events simultaneously. Ideal for organizers of multiple events per year.
• Event Agenda Support: View the schedule for multiple rooms simultaneously, with the ability to add speakers to favorites or your calendar.
• Speaker presentation capability: A list of speakers with descriptions and photos with the ability to assign them to individual agenda items.
• Live Streaming: Online broadcasts in the app and in the web version with live questioning.
• Networking: Module that allows communication between attendees (1:1 chat, group chat), networking and viewing attendee lists.
• Live Questions: Participants can ask questions and vote for the best ones in the app - these will be displayed on a screen in the room.
• Surveys: A module to rate, for example, speakers, talks, lunch, cars tested by attendees or movies watched.
• Notes: Each attendee can add their notes e.g. during the lecture (including to each page of the presentation) or describe the exhibitor.
• Exhibitor lists: With name, logo, booth number and the ability to categorize, search by tags and a quick option to go to the map.
• Interactive maps and plans: Site plans on which you can plot any interactive points and link them to the agenda or exhibitors, for example.
• Map navigation: At outdoor events (e.g., parties, trade shows), it is possible to navigate the participant to a selected location and map out the shortest paths to get there.
• Banners: It is possible to add many non-invasive (rotating) banners (e.g. exhibitor, partner) with a link to the website.
• Contact and Directions: Organizer's contact information and event location with directions.
• Unlimited Articles: An unlimited number of articles can be added in the app, combined into categories and presented anywhere in the app.
• Language versions: The application can be provided in Polish or English (it adjusts itself to the phone's language).
• PUSH notifications: Text messages sent to people who have downloaded the application.
• External Resources: Ability to add a link to external resources elsewhere on the web.
• Gallery: Provide attendees with photos from the event with the ability to group them into folders.
• Custom Menu Layout: Administrator can move the menu items in any way arranging them in any order.
• CMS Panel: Administrator panel for managing application content.

While creating the application, we used Python programming language (Django) to prepare the CMS, and native languages (Swift and Kotlin) to create mobile applications for iOS and Android. The use of native solutions allows not only for better performance and stability of the solution, but also has a positive impact on the security of the data collected there. Due to the large number of recipients and the assumption that the system will be B2C, we focused on a large number of functional, automated and security tests.

We implemented the project in:

• Python Django (backend, CMS)
• Kotlin (Android)
• Swift (iOS)

Thanks to:

• extensive application configuration possibilities,
• the option of own configuration,
• technical support.

We have serviced:

• trade shows with tens of thousands of visitors Audio Video Show and Agroshow,
• conferences, trainings with an extensive agenda of Warsaw Comic Con,
• specialist conferences organized by the C.H.Beck publishing house or Forum Media,
• outdoor events organized for a closed group by event agencies we cooperate with.

Corporate clients who choose a separate version of the application receive a solution which behaves like a dedicated tool and can freely configure not only the application itself with the CMS, but also the individual events inside.

Meetinga is a flexible solution tailored to the needs of users, the customer can choose between:

• Multiapplication - choose this option if you organize multiple events per year, such as a series of trainings or workshops.
• One application for one event - this solution is ideal for organizers of several larger conferences or fairs.
• Space in Meetinga app - choose this option if you care about an economical solution. You gain space in our app and users can easily find your event by choosing it among others.