Event planning checklist: set your milestones.

Start with the date and required decisions.

Record the proposed period, attendance times and known constraints. Then work backwards through required decisions: venue selection, programme approval, final headcount, technical requirements and arrival arrangements.

Each milestone needs an owner, expected information and a date to confirm. Lead times depend on the project and supplier conditions; a standard timeline guarantees neither availability nor time needed to secure approval.

• Distinguish preferred and confirmed dates.
• Identify who can approve each service.
• Clarify deadlines with suppliers.

Connect tasks that depend on each other.

The venue determines some access, equipment and catering possibilities. The programme specifies simultaneous rooms and service times. Map these dependencies before setting deadlines: missing information can block several services.

ADEME presents responsible event organisation as a process from design to evaluation. Include transport, catering and waste questions during preparation, then allow time for a review after the event.

Reference: ADEME · Responsible events.

• List information needed before each decision.
• Include existing suppliers in the timeline.
• Plan technical tests and the post-event review.

Separate provisional holds, approval and commitment.

Keep the exact wording of a provisional hold, its expiry date and the venue conditions. A team preference and a received proposal do not confirm a service. Services can progress separately: the venue may be handled before catering.

In the Sourcing Force arrangement, BME acts as the single supplier; confirming an order requires receipt of the corresponding official purchase order. The brief and AI summary help define requirements: they create neither a purchase requisition nor an order.

• Check hold conditions and duration in writing.
• Track a separate status for each service.
• Identify the required document and approval owner.

Prepare adjustments and handovers.

Ask when to confirm headcount, menus, room layout and final times. Record change conditions and consequences to clarify, without assuming that changes will be accepted free of charge.

Share a dated programme version with relevant contacts. CNIL highlights limiting personal data to the purpose: use useful headcounts and practical requirements for planning, without named lists or confidential information in the AI brief.

Reference: CNIL · Six GDPR principles.

• Identify a reference version of the programme.
• Assign an owner to each handover.
• Check open questions before final coordination.

Adapt this sequence to your project.

Fictional example: a corporate retreat day includes a plenary session, two workshops and lunch. The team first approves objectives and required spaces, then reviews venue and catering proposals. Technical tests are prepared once the configuration is confirmed.

Complete dates with suppliers and authorised approvers. If the venue is already chosen, keep that decision and prepare only remaining services. Record dependencies and open questions in your brief.

• Keep existing choices.
• Confirm deadlines rather than applying universal lead times.
• Plan a review and the documents expected after the event.