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User Personas

Define all user types who interact with PBS.

Primary Users (MVP)​

1. Susanne - Project Manager / Admin​

Role: ADMIN

Company: NCP (New Century Production)

Age: 38

Background:

  • 12 years in broadcast production
  • Manages 15-20 projects per year
  • Team of 5 PMs reporting to her
  • Tech-savvy but not a developer

Responsibilities:

  • Manages all projects (Eurovision, sports broadcasts, conferences)
  • Creates projects and defines staffing needs
  • Negotiates rates with freelancers
  • Sends offers and confirms bookings
  • Books travel and hotels
  • Generates reports for clients
  • Manages staff directory

Pain Points (Current System):

  • Uses Excel spreadsheets - prone to errors
  • Email chains for offers - lost messages
  • No conflict detection - double-books people
  • Manual report generation - takes hours
  • Can't track offer status easily
  • Rate negotiation happens in email - no record

Goals with PBS:

  • Reduce time spent on admin work from 60% to 30%
  • Eliminate double-booking errors
  • Track all offers and responses in one place
  • Generate reports in minutes, not hours
  • Have audit trail for all rate negotiations

Typical Day with PBS:

  • Morning (9:00-11:00):

    • Logs in, checks dashboard
    • Reviews pending offers (3 new responses)
    • Confirms 2 assignments, withdraws 1 offer
    • Responds to rate negotiation from freelancer

  • Midday (11:00-13:00):

    • Creates new project: "Summer Festival 2025"
    • Defines 25 required roles across 4 teams
    • Searches for crew, checks conflicts
    • Sends 15 offers with individual rates

  • Afternoon (13:00-17:00):

    • Books travel for 8 confirmed crew
    • Uploads 5 signed contracts
    • Generates crew list for client (2 minutes)
    • Exports meal list for caterer
    • Reviews 3 new staff pool submissions

  • Evening (17:00-18:00):

    • Final check on offer expiration (2 expire tomorrow)
    • Sends reminder to 2 freelancers
    • Reviews project budget vs actual costs

Tech Setup:

  • MacBook Pro
  • Primarily uses Chrome
  • Phone: iPhone (checks notifications)
  • Also uses: Slack, Google Workspace, Dropbox

Quote:

"I need a system that works as fast as I think. No time for complicated workflows - just show me who's available, let me make offers, and track everything automatically."

2. Lisa - EVS Operator (Freelancer)​

Role: CREW (self-service portal user)

Profile Type: staff (freelancer)

Age: 29

Background:

  • Professional EVS (instant replay) operator for 6 years
  • Works 180+ days/year across multiple clients (sports broadcasts mainly)
  • Senior level, specialized in live sports production
  • Owns EVS workstation and backup equipment

Responsibilities:

  • Keeps her profile up to date (new skills, availability)
  • Responds to job offers quickly
  • Confirms or negotiates rates
  • Uploads documents (passport, photos)
  • Views upcoming assignments
  • Downloads contracts and travel info

Pain Points (Current System):

  • Receives offers via email - sometimes misses them
  • Has to email back availability and rates
  • No central place to see all upcoming work
  • Can't remember which PM offered what rate
  • Travel details come in separate emails - gets lost
  • No easy way to update her profile when something changes

Goals with PBS:

  • Receive instant notifications for new offers
  • See all offers in one dashboard
  • Respond to offers in one click
  • Keep track of all confirmed work
  • Update her profile easily when she learns new skills
  • Download all documents in one place

Typical Interaction with PBS:

  • Monday morning:

    • Receives email: "New offer from NCP for Champions League"
    • Clicks link, logs in to PBS
    • Sees offer: EVS Operator, May 10-15, 5,500 SEK/day
    • Checks her calendar - available!
    • Clicks "Accept"
    • Done in 2 minutes

  • Tuesday:

    • Gets notification: "Offer confirmed! Contract sent"
    • Logs in, downloads contract
    • Signs PDF, uploads signed version
    • 5 minutes total

  • Wednesday:

    • Learned new skill: VAR (Video Assistant Referee) operations
    • Logs in, goes to "My Profile"
    • Adds: VAR Operator (advanced level)
    • Updates equipment list
    • 3 minutes

  • Before project:

    • Logs in to check assignment details
    • Views: Travel details (flight SAS SK1234)
    • Views: Hotel info (Scandic Malmö, check-in May 10)
    • Downloads: Road book PDF
    • All info in one place

Tech Setup:

  • iPhone 14 (primary device)
  • iPad Pro (for contracts)
  • Occasionally uses MacBook
  • Gets push notifications
  • Prefers mobile-first design

Quote:

"I'm always on location, working 12-hour days. I need to manage offers and assignments from my phone, quickly, between takes."

3. Johan - Multi-Camera Producer & Admin (Dual Role)​

Role: ADMIN + CREW (dual persona - critical for MVP!)

Company: NCP (New Century Production)

Age: 42

Background:

  • 15 years in broadcast production
  • Multi-camera producer (technical director)
  • Also manages projects and coordinates crew
  • Works both as crew member AND admin
  • Owns his own production company gear

Dual Responsibilities:

As ADMIN:

  • Creates smaller projects (sports broadcasts, conferences)
  • Sends offers to freelancers for projects he manages
  • Books travel and manages logistics
  • Generates crew lists

As CREW (Crew Member):

  • Receives offers from OTHER project managers (like Susanne)
  • Works as Multi-Camera Producer on larger projects
  • Updates his own availability
  • Responds to offers like any freelancer

Pain Points (Current System):

  • Wears two hats - confusing in Excel/email
  • When working as crew, still has admin access (sees too much)
  • Might accidentally see offers sent to him by other PMs
  • No clear separation between "admin mode" and "crew mode"
  • Calendar conflicts between his own projects and when he's crew

Goals with PBS:

  • Clear separation: "Admin mode" vs "My Assignments mode"
  • When viewing offers TO HIM, shouldn't see admin details
  • Can manage his projects efficiently
  • Can respond to offers from others professionally
  • System prevents him from accidentally assigning himself

Typical Week with PBS:

  • Monday (Admin hat):

    • Creates project: "Football Match Weekend"
    • Defines needed roles: 2× EVS Ops, 1× Graphics
    • Sends offers to Lisa and others

  • Tuesday (Crew hat):

    • Receives offer from Susanne for "Champions League"
    • Checks his calendar (no conflict with his Football project)
    • Accepts offer as Multi-Camera Producer

  • Wednesday (Admin hat):

    • Reviews responses for his Football project
    • Confirms Lisa for EVS Op
    • Books her travel

  • Thursday (Crew hat):

    • Views his assignment for Champions League
    • Downloads contract from Susanne's project
    • Updates his profile (new equipment)

Key System Requirements for Johan:

  • ✅ One account with profile linked (profile_id on user)
  • ✅ Can switch context: "Manage Projects" vs "My Assignments"
  • ✅ When viewing offers TO HIM: Simple crew view (no admin features visible)
  • ✅ When managing HIS projects: Full admin capabilities
  • ✅ Conflict detection shows both: his projects AND when he's assigned as crew
  • ✅ Cannot send offers to himself (system prevents this)

UI/UX for Dual Role:

Dashboard shows:
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Welcome, Johan                         │
├────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🎬 My Projects (Admin)            [3] │
│ • Football Match Weekend (managing)    │
│ • Corporate Event (managing)           │
│                                        │
│ 👤 My Assignments (Crew)          [2] │
│ • Champions League (Multi-Cam Prod)    │
│ • Sports Gala (Technical Director)     │
│                                        │
│ 🔔 Notifications                  [4] │
│ • New offer: Ice Hockey Finals         │
│ • Response: Lisa accepted your offer   │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘

Tech Setup:

  • MacBook Pro + iPad (dual screens on location)
  • Uses both desktop and mobile
  • Needs quick switching between roles

Quote:

"I'm both gamekeeper and poacher - I hire crew for my projects, but I'm also crew on bigger projects. I need the system to keep these roles separate but in one login."

Future Users (Post-MVP)​

4. Ken - Team Lead​

Role: TEAM_LEAD

Age: 45

Background:

  • 20 years in OB (Outside Broadcast) production
  • Leads OB Team 1 (15-20 people)
  • Technical expert, not administrative
  • Reports to Maria

Responsibilities (Future):

  • Manages OB Team 1 assignments
  • Updates assignment statuses for his team
  • Uploads documents for his crew
  • Communicates with team members
  • Can't create projects or send offers (Susanne does that)
  • Limited to his team's data only

Why Needed Later:

  • Large projects (100+ crew) need delegation
  • Susanne can't manage every status update
  • Team leads know their crew best
  • Need limited access (not full admin)

Use Cases:

  • Views only OB Team 1 assignments
  • Updates: "Team member X arrived on site" (active status)
  • Uploads: Crew photos, local documents
  • Cannot: Create offers, see other teams, access budget

5. Jonas - Finance Viewer​

Role: VIEWER

Age: 41

Background:

  • Finance manager at NCP
  • Not involved in operations
  • Needs to track project costs
  • Creates financial reports for management

Responsibilities (Future):

  • Views projects and budget status
  • Cannot edit anything
  • Cannot see staff personal details (GDPR)
  • Exports financial reports
  • Tracks cost vs budget per project

Why Needed Later:

  • Finance team needs visibility
  • Can't give them full admin access
  • Compliance: Audit trail access
  • Management reports

Use Cases:

  • Views: Project list with budget status
  • Exports: Cost report (project-level only)
  • Cannot: See staff names, contact details (just costs)
  • Cannot: Create or edit anything

User Role Comparison​

FeatureADMIN (Susanne)CREW (Lisa)ADMIN+CREW (Johan)TEAM_LEAD (Ken)VIEWER (Jonas)
MVP✓ Yes✓ Yes✓ Yes✗ Future✗ Future
Create projects✓✗✓ (admin mode)✗✗
Send offers✓✗✓ (admin mode)✗✗
Respond to offers✗✓✓ (crew mode)✗✗
Confirm assignments✓✗✓ (admin mode)✗✗
Update own profile✓✓✓✓✗
View own assignments✓✓✓ (both modes)✓✗
Update assignment status✓ All✗✓ Own projects✓ Own team✗
Book travel/hotel✓✗✓ (admin mode)✗✗
Generate reports✓ All✗✓ Own projects✓ Team only✓ Finance only
View budget✓✗✓ Own projects✗✓
Manage staff directory✓✗✓ (admin mode)✗✗
Access staff personal data✓✓ Own only✓ Own + managed✓ Team only✗
Special: Context switchingN/AN/A✓ Admin ↔ CrewN/AN/A
Special: Prevent self-assignmentN/AN/A✓ System blocksN/AN/A

User Journey Maps​

Susanne's Daily Workflow​

Morning:          Check offers → Review responses → Confirm bookings
Midday:           Create projects → Define roles → Send new offers
Afternoon:        Operations (travel, contracts, documents)
End of day:       Reports → Status checks → Tomorrow's prep

Lisa's Monthly Workflow​

Week 1:           Receives 3 offers → Accepts 2, declines 1
Week 2:           Confirmed! → Signs contracts → Updates profile
Week 3:           Pre-project prep → Downloads travel details
Week 4:           On project → Works
Post-project:     Invoicing (outside PBS for MVP)

Johan's Weekly Workflow (Dual Role)​

Admin hat:        Manages his small projects → Sends offers → Tracks responses
Crew hat:         Receives offers from others → Responds → Views assignments
Context switch:   Dashboard clearly separates both roles
Conflict check:   System warns if his projects overlap with crew assignments

Success Metrics by Persona​

Susanne (Admin) Success:​

  • Time to create project: < 10 minutes
  • Time to send 10 offers: < 15 minutes
  • Time to generate report: < 2 minutes
  • Offer response rate: > 80% within 24h
  • Double-booking incidents: 0

Lisa (Staff) Success:​

  • Time to respond to offer: < 3 minutes
  • App usage: Mobile > 80%
  • Profile update frequency: Monthly
  • Missed offer rate: < 5%
  • Satisfaction: "Easy to use" > 90%

Johan (Dual Role) Success:​

  • Context switching time: < 5 seconds
  • Accidental self-assignment attempts: 0 (system prevents)
  • Clarity on "which hat": 100% (always clear which mode)
  • Manages both roles in one system: No need for separate accounts
  • Conflict detection accuracy: 100% (catches both admin project dates + crew assignments)

Accessibility Considerations​

Susanne (Power User)​

  • Keyboard shortcuts for common actions
  • Bulk operations support
  • Fast search and filters
  • Dashboard customization

Lisa (Mobile-First)​

  • Responsive design (mobile priority)
  • Push notifications
  • One-click actions
  • Minimal data entry
  • Offline viewing of confirmed assignments

Johan (Dual Role)​

  • Clear visual indicators (👤 Crew mode / 🎬 Admin mode)
  • Fast context switching (one click)
  • Separate notification channels for each role
  • Dashboard shows both views simultaneously
  • System prevents confusion (can't see admin details when viewing offers TO him)