The objectives must be measurable ,in terms of being able to know whether they are being achieved ,or whether progress is being made towards them .This high-lights the need for progress meetinga and schedule deadlines. The objectives must be achievable; it must be genuinely possible to put on the event ,especially given the limitations of money ,staff management or volunteer expertise that the event co-ordinator might have to contend with .Similarly ,the objectives must be realistic,irrespective of whatever flights of fancy (or fantasy)the clients may want you to achieve.Finally, the objectives must be timely , taking into account what can be done in the time available , what the deadlines are and the natural tendency for timescales for timescales for timescales to slip . We can plan to put on a party in a tent a week from now , but are we being realistic ? Is the timing possible? On the computer plan we have prepared it may seem so , but in reality , the weather may be bad , the tenters may take frequent coffee breaks, the ground may be wet, the tent
Figure 10.1
Event and project activities
Event Management Activities Project Management Activities
Objectives and getting started Conception
Planning Definition
Organizing and preparing the event Production
Lmplement : running the event Operations
Divestment/legacy Handover or divestments
may be dirty and need scrubbing , the lorry delivering the poles may get stuck in the mud … who would want to be an event co-ordinator?
Having tested the objectives, techniques that can be adapted from project management include:
• The use of work breakdown structures
• Project planning ,including identification of critical tasks and external dependencies
• Gantt charting (related to Critical Path Analysis )
• Risk assessment
The are only a few of the possible techniques that an event organizer can adopt ,or easily obtain suitable software to help deal with , and if the event is going to be huge ,then hire a project manager and get in all the computer software and gizmos you need .
Work Breakdown Structures
A work breakdown is just what it says it is ,the job broken into its rough component parts, At this stage detail is not needed or expected, as the work breakdown is simply the first stage in looking at what has to be done,identified in its respective component parts by the work that one person or a related team of people can do . It looks rather like an organization chart, in so far as it is hierarchical . It starts at the top , with the event , or major event activity, and flows down the chart to the point where the one person or team has been arrived at.
Project planning techniques
There are various project planning techniques which an event co-ordinator could usefully adopt , including the identification of critical tasks and external dependencies. Once a work breakdown structure has been drawn up, it should be possible to identify those activities that are critical to the event s success. Critical tasks are essentially those functions that must be completed first, in any sequence of activities, for the activity to proceed. This not only helps to concentrate