Why CronoVent was created: from Google Sheets to a shared schedule

The starting point: years of schedules in Google Sheets

CronoVent grew out of a practical need identified by Andrea Matteo Bassi of REC Eventi: after years of preparing production schedules in Google Sheets, he felt something more was needed.

The spreadsheet was the starting point: a flexible space to organise days, timings and venues. But an event programme is more than a collection of cells. Around every session there is a crew, technical requirements, rehearsals and documents to consult.

CronoVent starts with a simple question: how can the people working at an event get more direct access to the information they need?

From a list of times to the work of the crews

A title and a start time only tell part of the story. Preparation needs precise answers: which venue? Which microphones? Will there be a remote contribution? Does it need recording? Is anything still awaiting confirmation?

CronoVent collects this information in the session details. Day, time and venue remain the backbone of the schedule; notes, requirements and attachments are available by opening the activity.

That is the direction of the project: making it easier to move from the overall schedule to production details, without turning every technical sheet into another spreadsheet column.

An overall view and a view for your own venue

Event coordinators need to read the schedule as a whole. People working at a particular venue need to focus on their own day.

That led to two views: the schedule places sessions by time and venue; “My venue” collects activities for the selected space. Venues are also identified by city, so similar spaces in different towns can be distinguished.

General venue information opens with “Venue info”, while equipment lists and diagrams are in “Venue documents”. The schedule stays readable and the details stay within reach.

The schedule needs to work in the field too

Production schedules are also read on phones. That is why days wrap onto more rows when needed, and documents can be downloaded from the venue view.

Viewers enter using the event link or code and the viewing password, if required. People editing the schedule use the appropriate editing access. The coordinator can share the schedule with the crew while keeping roles distinct.

A project shaped by use

Portal design decisions are refined through testing and feedback on individual features: the order of fields in a session, where documents sit, or the space taken up by venue information.

This is the journey from Google Sheets to CronoVent: building a tool dedicated to schedules, people and technical activities. To see how it works day to day, start with the festival production scheduling guide or explore the demo.