How I removed a buying barrier for customers with CPE management
Event organizers could run sessions in Zuddl, but they needed another system to manage continuing professional education (CPE) credits. Some chose a different event platform because it could handle both.
Problem
Some customers were rejecting Zuddl because it had no built-in system to manage CPE credits. They wanted one platform for events and credits, rather than two systems to manage.
Zuddl could host their sessions and workshops, but organizers could not set credit rules, track attendee progress and issue proof of earned credits through a complete workflow. This missing capability became a reason to choose another platform.
The goal was to let organizers manage credits without leaving Zuddl, while giving attendees a clear way to understand what they had earned.
Root cause
I traced the flow from organizer setup through session activity, credit calculation, certificates, emails and reports. Zuddl had attendance and poll data, but no consistent way to turn that activity into credits across the product. That showed two gaps:
- Organizers had no single place to define how attendance and poll responses counted toward credits. Those inputs lived in different parts of the event.
- Attendees could not track their progress. A final credit total did not explain how they earned it or what they still needed to do.
I needed to connect the rules, attendee activity and final credit total, so each part of the flow gave people the same information.
Decision
I considered two options:
-
Use a separate credit system
I considered this because the current need was limited to some customers. A separate system could meet that need with less product work in Zuddl and offer a detailed audit trail. But customers would still manage two platforms, so the reason some were rejecting Zuddl would remain.
-
Manage credits inside Zuddl
I considered this because CPE could also become a requirement for future customers. Organizers could manage events and credits together, while attendees could track their progress and receive proof of what they earned. The cost was more rules and states to design, with consistent credit totals across progress, certificates, emails and reports.
I chose the second option to address current buying objections and prepare for customers who might need CPE later. I accepted more design work up front to give them a complete credit workflow inside Zuddl.
Design
I designed three parts of the workflow, each focused on a task organizers or attendees needed to complete.
1. Organizers set the rule
Organizers could choose watch time, poll responses or both as credit criteria. They set the thresholds and configured certificate and email actions.I put the criteria and credit values together in the setup view. Organizers could check how their rules would award credits before publishing the event.
Organizers could check how their rules would award credits before publishing the event.
2. Attendees saw progress
The attendee view showed credits earned against the total available. Session tasks showed which requirements were still incomplete.This made the calculation easier to understand during the event. Attendees could see their progress and what they needed to do next, instead of waiting for a final total.
Attendees could see their progress and what they needed to do next.
3. The same record became proof
After the event, the final credit record supplied the total for the certificate, email and report.I designed these views around that record so the credits an attendee tracked during the event matched the total they received afterward.
The final credit record supplied the total for the certificate, email and report.
Trade-offs
I kept the scope focused on setting credit rules, showing progress and issuing proof.
A credit workflow, without a separate compliance product
I ruled out a separate compliance product because it would expand the project beyond the core credit tasks. This meant leaving broader compliance needs outside the scope of this work.
Fewer setup steps, with fewer email controls
I also ruled out extra manual CPE email setup. Another control would give organizers more to configure, but it would add another task to event setup. I chose the simpler flow over that extra control.
Outcome
Organizers could manage credit criteria inside Zuddl. Attendees could track what they earned, and their final credit total carried through to the certificate, email and report.
Repeat use was the clearest sign that the feature served an ongoing need. Product analytics also showed its reach:
Source: Zuddl product analytics.