Workflows
The other chapters explain each control. This one puts them together into the routines an events team actually runs, from creating an event to closing it after the fact.
The workflows
| Situation | Workflow |
|---|---|
| A free event, open to everyone | Free event workflow |
| An event that requires payment | Paid event workflow |
| An event with a fixed number of places | Limited capacity workflow |
| Running the queue when an event fills | Waiting list workflow |
| The day of the event | On-site check-in workflow |
| Everything after it ends | Post-event workflow |
| A repeating event, without recurrence | A recurring format without recurring data |
What every workflow shares
Set both dates. The end date removes the event from upcoming lists, closes registration and drives the calendar. Nothing works properly without it.
Classify the event. Types and categories are what the public filters offer. An unclassified event is invisible to every filter.
Check it signed out. An administration screen reporting success is not proof that a visitor sees what you intended.
Export before you change or delete anything. Attendee data lives on the event, and deletion is permanent.
Nothing is emailed. POM Events sends no confirmations, no reminders and no notifications. Every message to an attendee is a manual step, and every workflow below names where it belongs.
Assign the roles first
Most problems in event administration are unowned steps rather than missing features. Before the first event, name who does each of these:
| Responsibility | Why it needs an owner |
|---|---|
| Event content and dates | The spine of everything else |
| Attendee lists and status changes | Nothing moves on its own |
| Contacting attendees | The plugin sends nothing |
| Reading comments | They contain accessibility and dietary needs |
| The door list | It has to exist before the day |
| Reconciling paid orders | Enrollment can be missed |
| Data retention | Nothing is deleted automatically |
The minimum viable routine
For a site running a handful of events a year:
- Create the event, with both dates, a place, an image and its terms.
- Publish it and check it signed out.
- Watch the Assistants count as registrations arrive.
- Read the comments the week before.
- Export the attendee list the day before.
- Run the event from the export.
- Export again afterwards and file it.
- Leave the event published as a record.
Everything else in this chapter is a variation on those eight steps.