Overview
The Meeting Program supports two parallel timelines for any session:
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System timeline — the platform's built-in timeline, which reflects the real internal stages of the matchmaking and booking process.
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Platform timeline — an optional custom timeline that organisers can build to show end users a curated set of milestones, designed to encourage engagement.
When a Platform timeline is configured, it replaces the System timeline on the frontend for that Meeting Program. If no Platform timeline is configured, the System timeline is shown as before.
Why use a custom Platform timeline?
Organisers may not want to expose every internal stage and exact time to end users (for example, internal placement runs or technical cut-offs). A Platform timeline lets the organiser show a simpler, friendlier set of dates and labels — for example, "Browse profiles", "Send meeting requests", "Final schedule available" — that nudges users to act at the right moments without revealing the underlying process.
Admin Panel — Configuring the timeline
In the Meeting Program creation or edit screen, the timeline configuration is split across two subtabs.
1. System timeline subtab
This subtab contains the existing system timeline. Its behaviour is unchanged — these are the platform's internal stages and times for matchmaking, booking, and so on. No changes are required here for the Platform timeline to work.
2. Platform timeline subtab
By default, this subtab is empty. From here the organiser can build a custom timeline by adding, editing, and removing timepoints.
Each timepoint has three required fields:
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Label — the short, user-friendly name of the milestone (e.g. "Browse profiles").
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Date — the date the milestone applies to.
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Time — the time the milestone takes effect.
Validation rules:
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A timepoint cannot be saved with any field empty — all three fields are required.
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Timepoints must be saved in chronological order — a later timepoint cannot have a date/time earlier than a previous one.
Frontend — What end users see
The display logic is automatic, based on whether the Platform timeline has any timepoints:
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If the Platform timeline is empty (no timepoints configured) → users see the System timeline on the frontend, as before.
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If the Platform timeline has at least one timepoint → users see the Platform timeline (the custom, organiser-built version) for that Meeting Program.
The Platform timeline completely replaces the System timeline on the frontend when it is active. The two timelines do not appear side by side.
Tips
Tip: Start the Platform timeline with a small number of clear milestones (3–5 is typical). Each timepoint should map to a user action you want to encourage — for example "Open booking", "Booking deadline", "Final schedule sent". Avoid mirroring every internal stage; the goal is a clearer experience for users, not a duplicate of the System timeline.
Tip: Because timepoints must be chronological, plan the order before entering them. To re-order an existing timeline, edit the dates and times of the timepoints rather than recreating them.