CHAPTER 2

THE EVENT MANAGEMET

PROCESS
 INTRODUCTION
 The central concepts of the baseline plan and
the event project life cycle are critical
considerations for event managers
 The project management methodology must be
mastered
 The concept of the scope of work and its
decomposition into manageable units must be
utilized
 The discussion of the scheduling tools of
project management must be incorporated and
used
EVENT PROJECT LIFE
CYCLE
 Planning – significant part of event
management
 It is a process of mentally fitting all the
components together
 Foreseeing any problems and their solutions
 It’s more realistic to regard event planning
as a method of reducing the no. of problems
 The aim is to plan all the task that can be
planned
EVENT PROJECT LIFE
CYCLE… Cont
 Any type of events begin with an idea or
concept
 1st question to ask : is it feasible?
 The answer is fed back into the concept
 Once the tools looks feasible, planning can
start
EVENT PROJECT LIFE
CYCLE… Cont
 During planning process, opportunities or
risk may be uncovered that require
modifying the event concept
 Some aspect of the plan may be
implemented while others aspects are still
in the planning phase
 Some aspects of shutdown may begin
during setup
EVENT PROJECT LIFE
CYCLE…Cont
 The only certainty is there will be change
 Predictable internal changes includes the
increase in the event staff and contract
management (as more suppliers become
involved)
 External change could involve the all-too-
common change of venue, or it could occur on
a grander scale (as with a fluctuation in the
foreign exchange rate)
EVENT PROJECT LIFE
CYCLE…Cont
 No matter what change occur, the event
will need to work within constraints set by
the client
 The client set constraints establish the
stated objectives within the event project
life cycle functions
 SCALE
 The written plan depend on such factors
as :
 Complexity of the corporate event
 Scale of the event
 Familiarity of the event management, staff
and suppliers with the particular type of
event
 Legal and stakeholders requirements
 Time and other resources allocated to the
planning task
PROJECT AND EVENT
MANAGEMENT
 Characteristics that projects:
 They are time based :every aspect has a
time constraint
 They are unique and involve either using
new resources
 They have start and finish dates
 The level of activity varies over the duration
of the project
FLOWCHART OF
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
PROCESSProject definition

Product breakdown structure

Scope of work

Work breakdown structure

Risk analysis Scheduling Costing

Control documents such as budget,

Gantt chart ,risk plan
Baseline plan
 ADVANTAGES

 Establishing a systematic approach to all

events
 Depersonalizing the event
 Facilitating clear communication
 Conforming to the methodology used by
other department
 Ensuring accountability
ADVANTAGES… Cont

 Increasing the visibility of event planning

 Facilitating training
 Developing transferable skills
 Establishing a diverse body of knowledge
GUIDELINE DOCUMENT
 Corporate event description-with mission
statement, vision and key objectives
 Roles and responsibilities of the principal parties
 List of stakeholders such as marketing,HR,PR and
etc.
 Scope of work
 Draft schedule with milestones
 Budget with cash flow
PRODUCT BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE
 Known as PBS
 Used to establish the organizational
structure
 Provide clear view of the overall event
requirements
 WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE
 Known as WBS
 The process of decomposition whereby a
complex project is broken up into smaller units
of work that can be easily managed
 Tasks analysis:
 Single purpose and manage as discrete entity
 It has specific start and finish times
 It requires clearly assigned resources
WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE..Cont
 An event may be divided into these units
according to various criteria, such as:
 Program elements(e.g.: what activities are
scheduled at the event-an exhibition, a
formal dinner or tours)
 On site location or position (e.g.: in front of
the building)
 Function (e.g.: finance,sound,entertainment,
awards, registration)
WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE..Cont
 A mixture of all three criteria is used, as the
aim is to identify small, manageable units that
can be assigned to subcontractor or the event
staff.
 WBS can also be used to create a coding
system for the whole event

 These codes can be similar to the process of

outlining: they define the levels of the structure
WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE…Cont
 SCORE CREEP
 Gradual expansion of the amount of work to
be done
 Occur after the WBS has been completed
and often goes unnoticed by the busy event
officer until it too late to change its cause or
limit the damage.
 Arise from the client changing an aspect of
the event-the client or sponsor suddenly
decides to change the venue (for example).
 SCORE CREEP…Cont
 This can result in an unrecognized increase
in the amount of work to be done by event
management
 Scope creep can have external causes such
as changes in the country’s law or
fluctuation in the exchange rate
 Internal causes can be controlled by
establishing procedures for any change in
scope
 This would include documentation such as a
change form that must be completed and
approved before made any changes
WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE…Cont
 WORK PACKAGE
 Once the event has been broken down into
activities or tasks, they have to be assigned
to a responsible person or group.
 Tasks may be grouped together to form a
work package
 A multistage event such as product launch
may have sound setup and operation as
different tasks for each stage
 WORK PACKAGE…Cont
 However, they would be grouped into the one
work package done by the contractor (a
sound company)
 They represent a continuous amount of work
for the contractor, which has the appropriate
resources with start and finish dates and
times
 This grouping of tasks with the overall start
and finish times is often indicated on a
document sent out to the contractors
SCHEDULING
 TASKS-PARALLEL AND SERIAL
 Once event tasks have been identified, the
next step is to place in the most efficient
order
 Some task can be done simultaneously
whereas others must be done sub
sequentially.
 For example: advertising for event can be
taking place at the same time as suppliers
are contracted, provided the same person
does not perform both tasks
 Tasks can be divided into:
 Parallel: can be performed at the same time,
as they required different resources and the
satisfaction of different preconditions
 Serial: must be performed in sequence due
to resource availability or necessary
preconditions
 Task must be sorted by immediate
predecessors
 Given a number of tasks that may be involved
in a complex event, this initial sorting process
can be a daunting task in itself
 For smaller event,
 planners often use a sticky notes (e.g.: post-it notes)
one to a task and place them on a large board
 The notes are then rearranged to get the optimum
sequence
 This system is very flexible and allows planners to
respond quickly to suddenly changing condition
 TIMELINES
 How long will each task take given the right
resources and preconditions?
 This duration called the estimated
completion time (ECT) . It often determined
by expert
 4 estimated value:
 Earliest start (ES)
earliest finish (EF)
 Latest start (LS)
 Latest finish (LF)
 Earliest start (ES)
 The earliest date/time that a task can be
started after its immediate predecessor
tasks has been finished
 Earliest finish (EF)
 The earliest date/time that the task can be
finished (thus, EF=ES=ECT)
 Latest start (LS)
 The latest date/time that the task can be
started without affecting the date of the
event
 Latest finish (LF)
 The latest date/time that the task can be
finished without affecting the date of the
event
THE GANTT CHART
 Gantt or bar chart is such a display
 Imparts information quickly across many
different work cultures
 If kept simple, it can show the major tasks and
when they need to be completed
 Combined with WBS, the Gantt Chart
demonstrates a management competency that
enhances any event proposal
END OF CHAPTER
2
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