The Board v0.1.1: First Client, First Release
Two years ago I started CS50 with no coding experience. I was working full-time as a crew dispatcher at IATSE Local 118 in Vancouver, spending my days texting, and copy pasting into spreadsheets trying to get the right people to the right shows. This week, The Board shipped its first tagged release to its first paying client.
This post is about what I built, what shipped in v0.1.1, and where it's going.
The problem
If you work in live entertainment, you already know: crew dispatch is a mess. A venue needs 12 stagehands for a load-in tomorrow. The dispatcher opens a spreadsheet, checks seniority, cross-references skills and availability, then starts texting — one by one. Someone declines, you go to the next person on the list. Repeat for every position, every show, every day.
Union rules add complexity. Seniority matters. Skill qualifications matter. Conflict detection matters. And the whole thing needs an audit trail because the collective bargaining agreement says so.
That's the world I was living in. So I built a tool to fix it.
What The Board does
The Board is crew dispatch software built specifically for IATSE locals and similar union operations. It replaces the spreadsheet-and-texting workflow with a system that actually understands union rules.
- Bulk SMS dispatch with automatic seniority enforcement
- Skill matching across thousands of qualification records
- Real-time conflict detection and availability tracking
- Response parsing — workers reply by text, The Board updates automatically
- Full audit trail for every assignment decision
It's been running live at Local 118 for over a year — hundreds of events, thousands of SMS messages, 3,400+ workers managed.
What shipped in v0.1.1
This release represents the first formal version tag on what's been a continuously deployed production system. The changelog tells the scale: 150+ features, 100+ bug fixes, and a handful of performance improvements. Here are the highlights.
Dispatch & Assignment
- Auto-assignment engine with seniority-based ranking
- Batch crew calls with calendar view and direct assignment
- Draft position system for editing crew calls before sending
- Dispatch event sourcing for full offer lifecycle tracking
Worker Portal
- Bidding system — workers can express interest in posted jobs
- Career dashboard with assignment history and skill tracking
- Global availability toggle with return-date scheduling
- ICS calendar sync for confirmed assignments
Communications
- Unified dispatcher inbox — email and SMS in one place
- AI-powered PDF crew call parsing from incoming emails
- Job-scoped communication hub for per-show coordination
- Structured PPE requirements in SMS notifications
Operations
- Timesheet tracking with overtime approval workflow
- Attendance tracking system
- Dispatcher scheduling and leave management
- Executive dashboard with operational reports
Plus: Stripe billing integration, comprehensive accessibility improvements (WCAG 2.1 AA), automated database backups, CVE patches for Next.js, and a complete house roster system with venue-specific worker management.
First client
The Board started as something I built for myself. Having a local sign on as a paying client is a different milestone — someone looked at this and said "I trust this to run my dispatch." If you're at an IATSE local and crew dispatch is eating your day, take a look.
What's next
This release is a foundation. Here's what's coming:
- Expanding the Worker Portal — more self-service tools for crew members
- Multi-local support — built for one local, scaling to many
- Deeper reporting — workforce analytics, utilization tracking, permit hour management
- Mobile improvements — better experience for workers on the go
Meanwhile, The Guild — my casting and audition management tool — is in preview. Same philosophy: less admin, more art.
The light stays on.