Event app contingency checklist

This includes suggestions on how to plan for these issues and solutions to resolve them. Unfortunately, there are many variables with apps and events typically have a hard deadline. Unlike other apps where issues can be resolved as they arise, event apps ‘must work’ or alternatives must be offered.

We suggest you take these precautions before any event:

1. Explain to attendees the role the app will play and how much better their experience will be because of the app such as:

   1. Agenda with lots of information in it, more than you could print

   2. A complete list of attendees to help make networking easy

   3. Live polls so you can contribute

   4. Easy quick surveys to improve the event in the future

2. Registration staff should help attendees on how to access and explain how the app will be used. If registration staff do not check people can access and understand the app, your level of usage will be lower.

3. Do not offer alternatives to the app unless you want the app to be optional (e.g. do not give people a printed agenda). Therefore, users must have to access the app. This stops people from defaulting to using the paper agenda and not using the app.

4. If a user cannot open the app or has other problems, suggest they use the web app, backup devices you can lend to attendees to avoid resolving technical issues with user’s devices, or a paper agenda.

5. Ask presenters to reference the app. Your users may not be used to an app so the more people on stage can reference the app the better:

   1. You can find a copy of my slides in the app

   2. Please leave me feedback via the app

   3. Please give me your opinion via a live poll in the app

6. Have a backup plan in case the wifi has issues e.g. The wifi is down so please raise your hand to answer the poll question.