Event Planning Tools - Timelines

Timelines

This is probably one of the most important documents you'll learn to use. The best program to use for timelines is Excel (in my opinion). Other people use Microsoft Project for their overall project plan, but I'm not a huge fan of Project. Excel is a very important program to learn to use. It is capable of doing many, many things. Also, most people have Excel on their computers. The same is not true for Project. When creating a timeline, I start out by looking at the various functional areas and what the respective deliverables are. Work with your contacts in those functional areas to establish realistic deliverable dates.

For the format, moving left to right on the page, I usually have the following columns:

Days Out - meaning how many days before the event is the task due
Date Due - the date that this equals
Task - what needs to be done, in detail
Responsibility - either the person's name or the department's name
Notes - any special information
Sometimes I will add a Date Completed column. I will do this in a situation where it's a new event that will be a repeat event, and I don't know how long it will take to complete a lot of the tasks.

I also put an auto filter on the entire document to allow sorting to be much easier, especially for very detailed and long timelines.

If you're working on repeat events, you can set up a template timeline. Put in the number of days out that the an action needs to take place (e.g., signage ordered 30 days before the event). With Excel you can create a formula that allows you to simply enter the date of the event in a cell (I put this cell at the top of my timeline), and the due dates will fill in the second column based on the number of days out previously entered in the first column.

Timelines keep everyone on task and keep the project moving forward on a common schedule.

Event Planning Tools - Fast Facts and Checklists

There are some major tools that event managers use everyday. Three of the main ones are: fast fact sheets, checklists, and timelines. They're all very important for keeping the planning and management of events on track. Different people use different formats, and some may even have different names for some of these documents. This blog will cover fast facts and checklists. A later blog will cover timelines.


Event Fast Facts

This is usually 1-2 pages. It is a very high level summary of all the general information. This should be short, to the point, and unambiguous about the information it covers. This document is very helpful for people in the organization who answer the phones and/or email. They often get a lot of general, high level questions, and rather than calling you for the answer to every one of them, they should have the information at their fingertips.

Here are some of the standard types of information I include in my fast fact sheets:
- start and end times and loctions (both for internal setup and for participants)
- maps and diagrams
- transportation options and directions
- broadcast information
- registration times and locations
- website addresses
- travel booking contact numbers
- awards
- volunteer information
- contact numbers and email for event staff, both on race day and before


Checklists

Checklists can be used in pre-planning and for the day-of the event, but I primarily use them for the day-of. My timeline often acts as my pre-event checklist. For each area on event day (e.g., for a road race - start, course, finish, post-race, etc.), prepare a checklist of what needs to happen in each area by what time. Also, prepare an equipment checklist for the logistics team for packing and setup. For example, drop-off of specific equipment, volunteer arrival, participant arrival, etc. This helps the person managing that area help you by making sure nothing is missed.

These two tools will prove invaluable in your preparation for your events.