THE EVENT MANUAL
The Generic Manual
The manual can serve as both a list of procedures to successfully plan and implement the event, and a record of the procedures. It is part of the intellectual capital of an event organisation. The discipline involved in creating a manual can assist in the systematic planning of event operations. Many large companies have a generic operation and logistic manual that can be used in similar events organised around the world. Of all the areas of event management, the exhibition industry has created the most comprehensive event operation manuals. These manuals can take the event manager from the idea of an exhibition through the suggested marketing schedule to sourcing venues and creating floor plans. As they are going to be used with different operation teams, such areas as common terms and definitions and a plan for the filing system (both digital and paper) become an important section of the manual. These manuals can be set up on the web or the company intranet and become part of their knowledge management system.
There are many kinds of event manuals, depending on who is to read them. This section is primarily concerned with the manual used by the event management and staff for the event operations. Even the operation manuals will have a different emphasis according to the type of event. The manuals for the Sydney Olympics, for example, stress acceptable methods of interacting with people of different cultural backgrounds.
In general the manual is the document outcome of the project management process. Each of the functional areas can contribute an aspect to the manual as shown in the slides below:
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This slide shows the various functional areas of event project management. Whether it is a sporting competition, a seminar or an arts festival, these areas need constant control. |
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The documents represent the written form of this control. They act as a record of the event as well as a method of communication. A systematic approach to this enables the event manager to learn from each event. A system enables comparison and therefore improvement. |
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The outputs - the documents -can form the material version of the knowledge of the event. They do not necessarily make up the event manual. The contents of the manual would depend on its purpose. A manual used for the operations of the event would be different to the manual given to the sponsors. |
The event operation manual can vary in its content. It is the result of the project management process combined with experience and advice- no matter how informal or unstated. This process is illustrated below.
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The operation manual is not an end in itself. It is a means of communication. The terms used may be very different to those used in project management. |
The checklist below is for a specific event operation manual - it is the manual to be used on the day of the event.
Design
Contacts
Production
The Event Operations Manual - in detail on CDROM
The event operations manual is a communication medium from the event management to the event staff and volunteers setting out the information for the smooth operation of the event. As with all communication it is the responsibility of the event management to make sure that the content is accessible and understood by the reader...............
© W.J.
O'Toole