The popular sessions fill in minutes
First come, first served rewards whoever opens the email first. Everyone else gets what's left, and the sessions they wanted most are gone.
Workshops
Fair seats for workshop and conference days
Attendees rank the sessions they want. When sign-ups close, everyone is placed at once, every session stays within its room size, and nobody wins a seat just by registering first.
For Conference organizers · Training and L&D teams · Community meetups · Professional development days
The problem
What makes it hard today
Rooms have hard limits
A hands-on lab might take 12 and a panel 30. Juggling those by hand across a morning and an afternoon takes hours.
People want to know why
When someone doesn't get their first choice, you need a clear answer that holds up.
How it works
From sign-up to final lists
Add your sessions
Give each session its seats. Add a morning and an afternoon as rounds, so nobody gets the same session twice.
Share one link
Attendees open it on any phone, enter their name and rank the sessions. No account and no app.
Close and place everyone
When sign-ups close, one click places everyone together, as close to their top choices as the seats allow.
Publish
Each person looks up their own sessions with their code, with a plain reason for each place. On an upgraded event, people who gave an email get it by email too.
Example
A typical setup
Pick the Workshop day template when you create an event. It fills in the options, seats, rounds and ranking rules for you to change. Several rounds need Pro or Large; on Free, the template keeps one.
| Option | Places | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Intro session | 20 seats | – |
| Hands-on lab | 12 seats | – |
| Panel discussion | 30 seats | – |
Rounds: Morning, Afternoon
- Rank your top 3, at least 2
- A place in each round when there are seats they can take, never the same session twice
Built in
The rules you need
Seat limits per round
Each session can have different seats in each round. Nobody is placed beyond them.
Several rounds, no repeats
People rank once and get a place in each round when there are seats they can take, never the same session twice. Several rounds are on Pro and Large.
Minimums
A session can need a minimum number of people to run. If it can't reach it, it doesn't run, and those people are placed elsewhere where there are seats they can take.
Rosters
Export rosters to Excel or CSV, or print one page per session for the door.
FAQ
Questions
Can we find out which workshops people want before we schedule them?
Yes. Run an interest check first. People rank the workshops you're considering, and you see how many put each one 1st and in their top 3. Keep the ones worth running, add seats, and turn it into the sign-up. People keep their link and their picks.
Does registering early help?
No. Nothing is decided while sign-ups are open, so ranking on day one or one minute before the deadline gives exactly the same chance.
What if a session is oversubscribed?
Everyone is considered together, and PickAndRank searches for the arrangement that works best for the whole group within every seat limit. When people ranked the same way, a secure random draw decides, and the organizer can't see it or change it.
Can I move someone after placing?
Yes. You can move people by hand, before or after publishing. Every move is recorded, with who made it and when.
Ready to try it for workshops?
Every event is free for up to 30 people. Set it up in five minutes.