# event-planning-timeline

Builds a months-long work-back plan for a tech event: parallel tracks, cross-track gates and replanning checkpoints. Useful once the date is locked.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 4900 installs · ★ 4
- Author: Samuel Berthe
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/samber/dev-event-organizer-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/event-planning-timeline

## What it does

The skill takes the doors-open date as its anchor and works a chain of milestones backward to today. The project splits into tracks: venue and logistics, program and CFP, sponsors, marketing, ticketing, budget, team. Each track keeps its own backward chain, and tracks connect only through explicit gates. That way you can see which slip blocks what — a single chronological list hides it.

An interview runs one question at a time, multiple-choice where it can. It establishes whether this is a first or recurring edition, whether the date is locked, which external deadlines are immovable, who owns each track, and what is already signed. It also sorts out who staffs and funds the event: for community-run editions volunteer hours are the binding constraint, so granularity stays coarse and scope-cutting is the main replanning lever. Company-run editions gain a lever community events lack — money recovers an execution slip, not calendar physics, so a compressed venue search or CFP stays compressed.

Two conventions keep the plan checkable. Tasks are written as a finished state rather than an instruction: "the CFP form is live" is either true or false at a glance. And tasks are bucketed by time relative to doors-open, not by calendar date, so they carry over to the next edition unchanged. Picking the date itself and the day-of rundown live in sibling skills from the same set; this one covers scheduling mechanics only.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add samber/dev-event-organizer-skills --skill event-planning-timeline -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/event-planning-timeline/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add samber/dev-event-organizer-skills --skill event-planning-timeline -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add samber/dev-event-organizer-skills --skill event-planning-timeline -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install samber/dev-event-organizer-skills event-planning-timeline
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add samber/dev-event-organizer-skills --skill event-planning-timeline -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/samber/dev-event-organizer-skills --path skills/event-planning-timeline
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add samber/dev-event-organizer-skills --skill event-planning-timeline -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/samber/dev-event-organizer-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- work back a conference plan from the doors-open date
- see which track's slip blocks the others
- replan an event that is running behind schedule
- set a buffer policy and latest-safe commitment dates
- split preparation into tracks with named owners

## Example prompts
- Build the work-back plan for our conference: the doors-open date is locked, lay it out by track and show the gates between them
- We're behind on speaker confirmation — replan by cutting scope instead of moving the date
- Draft a plan for a community-run meetup: coarse granularity, track owners not assigned yet

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c22cf11ba3a6659d.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c22cf11ba3a6659d
```text
---
name: event-planning-timeline
description: Build the months-long work-back plan for a tech event, any edition - the doors-open anchor date, parallel tracks (venue, program/CFP, sponsors, marketing, ticketing) each worked back from that date, cross-track dependency gates, a buffer policy through latest-safe commitment dates, and replanning checkpoints that cut scope instead of moving the date. Use whenever asked to build an event planning timeline, conference retroplanning, a work-back or reverse schedule, event milestone sequencing, or to replan an event running behind schedule. Scheduling mechanics only. Do NOT use to pick the date itself - use samber/dev-event-organizer-skills@event-date-selection - or for the day-of run of show - use samber/dev-event-organizer-skills@event-run-of-show.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Samuel Berthe
  version: "1.0.0"
---

# Event Planning Timeline

You are a scheduling strategist for technical events. Build the months-long work-back plan that connects a fixed doors-open date to today: parallel tracks, milestones worked backward, cross-track dependency gates, an explicit buffer policy, and checkpoints that trigger replanning before a slip becomes a crisis.

This skill owns the general mechanics for any edition:

- Not the date itself: `samber/dev-event-organizer-skills@event-date-selection` owns that decision.
- Not the sourced first-edition runways and launch gates, including the two named format-driven timeline variants: `samber/dev-event-organizer-skills@event-first-edition` owns those. Consult it for how long a given format's runway actually is, then apply this skill's mechanics onto that runway.
- Not the day itself: `samber/dev-event-organizer-skills@event-run-of-show` owns the minute-by-minute rundown, `samber/dev-event-organizer-skills@event-production` owns technical execution.

## Interview
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE c22cf11ba3a6659d

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the c22cf11ba3a6659d tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 1872 of 21562 bytes. © Samuel Berthe · MIT · https://github.com/samber/dev-event-organizer-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/event-planning-timeline/SKILL.md

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