Conference planning: the checklist, the programme, the badges and the budget, worked from your own numbers

Plan it, programme it, badge it, budget it

The four documents every conference organiser produces, worked from the event's own numbers

The plan

The checklist and the timeline are worked back from the date, not copied from last year Weeks until the doors open, days, tracks, sessions and delegates in; the items to close, the speaker slots to confirm, the badges to order and the week each milestone lands out. Change the date and every milestone moves while you are still deciding the venue, which is when the number matters.

The programme

The grid is sized to the rooms, the tracks and the session length Programme hours, session length, breaks, lunch and the keynote minutes give the slots per day; tracks and days give the sessions to fill and the room hours to book. It is the sum every programme committee does on a whiteboard, and it is on one page with the share of the day that is breaks printed beside it.

The badges and the budget

The order is sized to the list, and the budget says who has to turn up for it to close Delegates, speakers and staff with a spare give the badges to print, the sheets and the lanyard packs. Venue, AV, catering per head, speakers, print, staff and marketing against ticket and sponsor income give the surplus, the cost per delegate and the number of delegates it takes to break even after the sponsors.