Production Timeline
Definition
A show day follows a sequence of phases, commonly load-in, rigging and set-up, power and line-check, soundcheck, doors, the show and the strike. The order reflects dependencies: a system cannot be line-checked before it is fully patched, and a band cannot soundcheck through a PA that has not been tuned. The exact phases vary with the type of event and are set out in the production schedule.
The guide
Project management describes these dependencies with the critical path method. The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks, and it sets the shortest possible duration of the whole job. Tasks on that path have no float, so any delay on them moves every task that follows, while a task with float can slip by that amount without moving the end. On a show day the end is fixed by the doors time, so a delay on the critical path is usually absorbed by shortening the later phases, typically line-check and soundcheck, which are the time set aside for finding faults.
Common practice is to build float into the schedule, to start first the long tasks that block others, such as rigging, power distribution and long cable runs, and to base durations on times measured at previous events. A delay early in the day is easier to recover while float remains in the schedule.
The rule
A delay on the critical path of a show day is taken from the testing time before doors.
Sources
- PMI, Critical path method calculations : chemin critique, marge totale · pmi.org
- Critical path method (pointeur Wikipédia) : plus longue chaîne de tâches dépendantes, durée minimale du projet · en.wikipedia.org
- Project Management for Instructional Designers, 8.3 Critical Path and Float : tâches du chemin critique sans marge, marge libre et totale · saskoer.ca