Developing an Event Scorecard Tool for 360 Live Media

360 Live Media is an award-winning marketing, strategy, and experience agency specialized in helping industry associations reach their target audiences. Known for their innovative guides and tools, the agency identified a need for a new resource: an event scorecard to assist associations in evaluating and improving their event management practices.

Objective

The primary goal was to develop an easy-to-use event scorecard tool that would allow industry associations to identify strengths and areas for improvement in their event management processes. The tool needed to be integrated into 360 Live Media’s existing WordPress site and provide seamless functionality for both users and administrators.

Process Overview

  1. Requirement Analysis and Planning
  2. Leveraging WordPress and Gravity Forms
  3. Custom Functionality Development
  4. Admin Interface Creation
  5. Testing and Deployment
  6. User Training and Support

Detailed Steps

Requirement Analysis and Planning

  • Initial Consultation: Conducted meetings with 360 Live Media to understand their requirements, including user needs, goals, and design specifications.
  • Project Scope: Defined the scope of the project, breaking down the tasks into manageable components such as survey creation, custom calculator development, and admin interface setup.
  • Timeline and Milestones: Established a project timeline with key milestones to ensure timely delivery.

Leveraging WordPress and Gravity Forms

  • Platform Decision: Chose to build the tool on 360 Live Media’s existing WordPress site to maintain consistency and ease of integration.
  • Gravity Forms: Utilized the Gravity Forms plugin to create the survey component. This plugin was selected for its robust features and ease of customization.
  • Survey Design: Created a user-friendly survey form based on client-provided designs, ensuring that all necessary questions and input fields were included.

Custom Functionality Development

  • Custom Calculator: Developed custom functionality to tally scores based on user input. This involved writing PHP and JavaScript code to calculate results dynamically as users completed the survey.
  • Real-Time Feedback: Implemented features to provide real-time feedback to users, displaying their scores and offering insights on areas for improvement.
  • Data Storage: Ensured that all survey responses and calculated scores were securely stored in the WordPress database for further analysis.

Admin Interface Creation

  • Admin Dashboard: Designed an admin interface using PHP and JavaScript to enable 360 Live Media’s team to view and analyze survey results.
  • Statistical Analysis: Included functionality to calculate various statistics from both individual entries and groups of entries, providing valuable insights for the agency and their clients.
  • User Management: Added features to manage survey entries, including options to export data for offline analysis.

Testing and Deployment

  • Functionality Testing: Conducted thorough testing to ensure all features, including the survey, custom calculator, and admin interface, worked as expected.
  • Deployment: Deployed the tool on the live WordPress site, ensuring a smooth transition and minimal downtime.

User Training and Support

  • Training Sessions: Provided training sessions for 360 Live Media’s team to familiarize them with the new tool and its admin interface.
  • Documentation: Created comprehensive user guides and documentation to assist both administrators and end users in navigating and utilizing the tool effectively.
  • Ongoing Support: Offered ongoing technical support to address any issues and make iterative improvements based on user feedback.

Results

  • User-Friendly Tool: Delivered a user-friendly event scorecard tool that enabled industry associations to easily evaluate their event management practices.
  • Real-Time Calculations: The custom calculator provided real-time feedback, helping users quickly identify strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Insightful Analytics: The admin interface allowed 360 Live Media to analyze survey data and generate valuable insights for their clients.
  • Positive Feedback: Received positive feedback from both the agency and end users, highlighting the tool’s ease of use and practical value.
  • Professional Development: The project provided valuable experience in integrating advanced functionality into WordPress, leveraging plugins like Gravity Forms, and developing custom PHP and JavaScript solutions.

Conclusion

The development of the event scorecard tool for 360 Live Media successfully addressed the need for a comprehensive resource to help industry associations improve their event management practices. By leveraging the existing WordPress site and utilizing the Gravity Forms plugin, the project delivered a robust, user-friendly tool that provided real-time feedback and insightful analytics. The collaboration not only met the client’s needs but also contributed to professional growth and technical expertise in custom WordPress development.