Engagement snapshot
- Mandate
- Build an operational system for live event days, not just another planning dashboard.
- Timeline
- 13 weeks from venue workflow mapping to first season rollout.
- Team shape
- COO, operations lead, 2 engineers, and 5 venue managers.
The problem
Event days relied on radio calls, static run sheets, and message threads that made escalations slow and status visibility poor.
What we built
Delivered a control-center product with live run-of-show tracking, staffing coordination, incident logging, and vendor updates across venues.
Operating context
The operator already had planning documents, but the live operating layer was still fragmented. The cost showed up during incidents, vendor delays, and staffing changes when no one had a current shared picture.
Key constraints
- Different venues had different staffing models and event formats.
- The product had to remain usable on mobile devices under live-event conditions.
- Adoption depended on helping floor staff and supervisors, not just leadership reporting.
What we built
Live run-state model
Represented event timelines, tasks, incidents, and vendor statuses as current operational states.
Role-specific coordination surfaces
Tailored views for floor managers, staffing leads, and central operations so everyone saw the right level of detail.
Incident traceability
Logged escalations, owners, and resolutions in a form that could be reviewed after the event day.
Delivery path
Venue shadowing
Observed event-day operations to understand where run-of-show documents broke down in practice.
Single-venue pilot
Launched in one complex venue to tune mobile usability, incident flow, and staffing coordination.
Season rollout
Expanded venue by venue with configuration controls for local operating differences.
Why it mattered
The product made event-day work legible. Teams were able to escalate faster because they were working from shared operational states rather than from separate documents and radio context.
Implementation notes
- Live-ops products win on clarity under pressure, not on feature breadth.
- Event operators needed timeline visibility and responsibility visibility in the same surface.
- Venue-specific configuration mattered more than leadership first assumed.