
A producer's job is to make it easy for an audience to gather knowledge, exchange information, network and move through the venue safely. Almost every one of those tasks now passes through a badge, a reader or a phone. When the technology works, nobody mentions it. When it does not, it is the only thing they mention.
Every event is as individual as a thumbprint, yet plenty of systems are built on the idea of "develop once, apply many". Before signing, ask a vendor to show you how their system handles your awkward cases: a late name change, a session with limited seats, a walk-in who wants to pay by invoice. The answers will tell you more than any feature list.
The articles below cover registration, badge choices, access control and credits, written from the producer's side of the desk. They are independent of any vendor, and the aim is simply to help you ask better questions.
Printed codes are cheap and everywhere. Chips are quick and harder to copy. How to choose for the event you actually run.
Most queues at the front door are designed in months earlier. Planning, staffing and printing choices that keep people moving.
Professionals need proof they attended. How to scan session entry and exit, issue certificates and avoid a long queue at the door.
Photos on this page via Wikimedia Commons: Arild VĂ¥gen (CC BY-SA 4.0); CCDBarcodeScanner (CC BY-SA 4.0); Ranjithsiji (CC BY-SA 4.0); Chris McKenna (CC BY-SA 4.0).