Event Lifecycle

How an event moves through its lifecycle in the BizTech system: creation, registration, check-in, companion, feedback, and post-event analytics. Each stage with the key files and endpoints involved.

Lifecycle Stages

Create → Configure → Publish → Registration → Event Day → Feedback → Analytics
                                   │               │
                                   │          ┌─────┴──────┐
                                   │          │  Companion  │
                                   │          │  Check-in   │
                                   │          └────────────┘
                                   │
                              ┌────┴────┐
                              │ Payments │
                              │ Waitlist │
                              └─────────┘

1. Event Creation

Admins create events at /admin/event/new.

Frontend: src/pages/admin/event/new.tsx uses src/components/Events/EventForm.tsx with Zod validation from src/components/Events/EventFormSchema.ts.

What gets configured:

Field	Purpose
`id` (slug), `year`	Composite primary key (e.g. `"blueprint"` + `2026`)
`ename`, `description`	Display name and description
`startDate`, `endDate`	ISO 8601 timestamps — used for active event detection
`capac`	Maximum registration capacity — enforced by `updateHelper()`
`pricing`	`{ members: 0, nonMembers: 5 }` — price in dollars per group
`imageUrl`	Event thumbnail uploaded to S3 via presigned URL
`registrationQuestions`	Dynamic form questions for attendees
`partnerRegistrationQuestions`	Dynamic form questions for partners
`attendeeFeedbackQuestions`	Post-event feedback form config
`partnerFeedbackQuestions`	Post-event feedback form config
`isApplicationBased`	Enables accept/reject flow instead of direct registration
`nonBizTechAllowed`	Whether non-members can register

Backend: POST /events/ — validates feedback questions, normalizes question arrays via feedbackHelpers.js, assigns UUIDs to registration questions, checks for duplicates, and writes to biztechEvents.

Key files:

src/pages/admin/event/new.tsx — creation page with schema transform
src/components/Events/EventForm.tsx — shared form with live preview
src/components/Events/EventThumbnailUploader.tsx — image upload
src/components/Events/CustomQuestions.tsx — registration question builder
services/events/handler.js → create — backend handler
services/events/feedbackHelpers.js — question normalization/validation

See Event Creation Flow for the full trace from form to DynamoDB.

2. Publishing and Event Listing

Events are created with isPublished: false by default. The admin toggles publishing from the edit page.

Once published, the event appears on /events (public events listing). The frontend query hook useEvents() in src/queries/events.ts filters for isPublished: true and excludes alumni-night events.

Admin users see all events (published and unpublished) on /admin/home via useAllEvents().

3. Registration Period

Users register at /event/{eventId}/{year}/register. The registration form includes:

Standard fields — email, name, year level, faculty, major, pronouns, dietary
Dynamic fields — generated from the event's registrationQuestions array

Capacity management: updateHelper() in services/registrations/handler.js checks registeredCount >= event.capac. If full, status is set to "waitlist" instead of "registered".

Paid events: Create a Stripe Checkout session using event.pricing.members or event.pricing.nonMembers based on user.isMember. Status starts as "incomplete" until payment completes.

Key files:

src/pages/event/[eventId]/[year]/register/index.tsx — attendee registration page
src/components/Events/AttendeeEventRegistrationForm.tsx — attendee form
src/components/Events/PartnerEventRegistrationForm.tsx — partner form
services/registrations/handler.js → updateHelper — capacity check and status logic
services/payments/handler.js → payment — Stripe session creation

See Events and Registrations for the full registration-event dependency.

4. Event Day: Check-In

Admins check attendees in via the admin dashboard at /admin/event/[eventId]/[year]:

QR scanner tab: Scans the QR code from the attendee's registration email
Manual check-in: Click status toggle in the Data Table tab

Check-in calls PUT /registrations/{email}/{fname} with registrationStatus: "checkedIn".

Dashboard tabs:

Tab	Component	What It Shows
Data Table	`EventDashboard.tsx`	All registrations with filtering, sorting, status toggles, CSV export
Teams	`TeamsTab.tsx`	Team assignments for team-based activities
Analytics	`AnalyticsTab.tsx`	Registration timeline, capacity usage, response breakdowns
Feedback	`FeedbackTab.tsx`	Feedback question builder + response viewer

All dashboard components are in src/components/EventsDashboard/.

See Event Check-In for the check-in flow details.

5. During the Event: Companion App

For events with companion configurations (defined in src/constants/companion-events.ts), attendees access /companion/{eventId}/{year}.

Current companion-enabled events:

Blueprint 2025 / 2026
ProductX 2025
Kickstart 2025

The companion provides:

Profile page — attendee's business card with QR/NFC
Quests — gamified tasks tracked in biztechQuests
Connections — NFC-based networking stored in bizConnections
Partner directory — browse sponsors

getActiveEvent (GET /events/getActiveEvent) returns the live event by comparing startDate <= now AND endDate >= now as ISO strings. This powers automatic event detection without manual selection.

See Active Event Detection and Companion System.

6. Post-Event: Feedback

Feedback uses a built-in system with configurable question types (SHORT_TEXT, LONG_TEXT, MULTIPLE_CHOICE, CHECKBOXES, LINEAR_SCALE).

Collection:

Feedback forms at /event/{id}/{year}/feedback/attendee and .../feedback/partner
Both endpoints are public — no login required
Submissions stored in biztechEventFeedback table with eventFormKey GSI

Admin review:

FeedbackTab in the admin dashboard shows all submissions
GET /events/{id}/{year}/feedback/{formType}/submissions — Cognito-protected

Default question: Every feedback form starts with a locked "How would you rate this event overall?" question (LINEAR_SCALE 1-10), injected by ensureDefaultOverallRatingQuestion().

See Event Feedback for the complete feedback system.

7. Post-Event: Analytics

The Analytics tab (src/components/EventsDashboard/AnalyticsTab.tsx) shows:

Registration timeline chart
Capacity utilization percentage
Response distributions for each registration question
Faculty and year-level breakdowns

Registration counts are powered by GET /events/{id}/{year}?count=true, which calls getEventCounts() — counting registered, checkedIn, and waitlist statuses.

Key Data Model Fields

See Event Data Model for the complete field reference. Key fields:

{
  "id": "blueprint",
  "year": 2026,
  "ename": "Blueprint 2026",
  "description": "Product and design conference",
  "startDate": "2026-01-25T09:00:00.000Z",
  "endDate": "2026-01-25T18:00:00.000Z",
  "capac": 200,
  "isPublished": true,
  "pricing": { "members": 0, "nonMembers": 5 },
  "registrationQuestions": [
    {
      "questionId": "q-why",
      "type": "TEXT",
      "label": "Why do you want to attend?",
      "required": true
    }
  ],
  "attendeeFeedbackEnabled": true,
  "attendeeFeedbackQuestions": [
    {
      "questionId": "overall-rating",
      "type": "LINEAR_SCALE",
      "label": "How would you rate this event overall?",
      "required": true,
      "scaleMin": 1,
      "scaleMax": 10
    }
  ]
}

All Event Endpoints

Method	Path	Auth	Handler	Description
`POST`	`/events/`	Cognito	`create`	Create event
`GET`	`/events/`	Public	`getAll`	List all events
`GET`	`/events/{id}/{year}`	Public	`get`	Get event (`?count`, `?users`)
`PATCH`	`/events/{id}/{year}`	Cognito	`update`	Update event
`DELETE`	`/events/{id}/{year}`	Cognito	`del`	Delete event
`GET`	`/events/getActiveEvent`	Public	`getActiveEvent`	Currently active event
`POST`	`/events/event-image-upload-url`	Cognito	`createThumbnailPicUploadUrl`	S3 presigned upload URL
`GET`	`/events/{id}/{year}/feedback/{formType}`	Public	`getFeedbackForm`	Feedback form config
`POST`	`/events/{id}/{year}/feedback/{formType}`	Public	`submitFeedback`	Submit feedback
`GET`	`/events/{id}/{year}/feedback/{formType}/submissions`	Cognito	`getFeedbackSubmissions`	List feedback submissions

Events System Overview — central event architecture and system dependencies
Event Data Model — complete field reference
Event Creation Flow — from admin form to DynamoDB
Events and Registrations — capacity, waitlisting, dynamic questions
Event Pricing and Payments — Stripe integration
Active Event Detection — how getActiveEvent works
Event Image Upload — thumbnail pipeline
Event Feedback — feedback system
Event Check-In — QR and manual check-in
Admin Event Management — admin dashboard
Events Service — backend endpoint reference