Key Takeaways

  • Context: Archive.org hosts an annual conference that brings together 500+ attendees for an engaging, volunteer-led event featuring 400+ sessions.
  • Challenges: Archive.org had outgrown paper schedules and physically-printed boards that literally blew away in the wind.
  • Why Sched? Sched was chosen for its speaker tools, intuitive design and ease of use.
  • Results:
    • No more windblown, lost paper schedules!
    • Last-minute updates were seamless and accessible to everyone
    • Speakers managed their own content, cutting admin time in half
    • Event maintained a strong visual identity with easy customization
    • Planning team worked more efficiently, using all available admin spots

Archive.org Goes From Flying Schedules to a Seamless Event

Archive.org hosts an annual conference that brings together 500+ attendees for an engaging, volunteer-led event featuring 400+ sessions. 

Since 2019, Archive.org has relied on Sched to power their event scheduling, enhance team collaboration, and create a seamless experience for both attendees and organizers.

But it wasn’t always this easy and stress-free…

The Challenge: Managing Events with a Printed Schedule

Before adopting Sched, the Archive.org team relied on printed physical boards to display the event schedule. Organizers would physically tape schedules to boards, but this method proved unreliable…

  • Wind and weather constantly knocked over boards, making key information fly away.
  • Last-minute changes were a logistical nightmare.
  • Manual updates required excessive time and effort.

“It was very scrappy in 2019,” organizers remember. “It was pretty disorganized. We were essentially using these big boards with the session information taped on and the venue that we had was on the coast of California. So there was wind and fog and they were flying off! It was a disaster.”

Frustrated with this cumbersome process, the team explored better options and was referred to Sched by a trusted connection. Although they typically prefer open-source tools, the overwhelming recommendation convinced them to give Sched a try.

They’re glad they did.

The Solution: Sched’s Impact on Archive.org’s Conference

Sched transformed how Archive.org managed their event, providing an intuitive and efficient solution that addressed their biggest pain points. Here’s what they loved most:

1. Ease of Use & Intuitive Design

Sched’s interface is designed with event planners in mind, making it easy for both organizers and attendees to navigate.

“As of the last two years, at least, we’ve had 400 sessions in Sched, including things like breakfast, lunch, dinner karaoke, nighttime, the framework events as well as the actual content. Sched has made that so much easier to organize across the different spaces, across the times, with color coding for each type of talk – it is really great. Because people are able to select a certain thing and see all the things they need to see. It’s been awesome to be able to have.”

2. Speaker & Participant Tools: Saving Time Through Delegation

With Sched’s speaker and participant tools, the event team was able to delegate profile and session updates. This alone saved 50% of their time, as speakers could independently update their own:

  • Profiles
  • Session descriptions
  • Profile pictures

“It just takes a lot off of us because we’re still doing the event organizing,” say the planners. “If we had to make every little change, that would be doubling, tripling the amount of work we had to do. So it helps to have these little ways where the speakers can just take control of their sessions and make little edits without throwing everything into chaos.”

3. Visual Identity & Custom Branding

Archive.org appreciated that Sched allowed them to maintain their visual identity and seamlessly integrate the schedule into their website. With features like:

  • Custom color-coding for easy navigation
  • Brand consistency across platforms
  • Embedded schedules for a professional look

Sched helped keep the event visually cohesive while enhancing usability.

4. Collaborative Planning with Full Team Access

With 10 admins connected through Sched, the team could effectively divide and conquer the workload for their 400+ sessions. This made the planning process far more efficient and less stressful for everyone involved.

“It functions the way I think and just logically makes sense,” Archive.org planners say.

Final Thoughts: Why Archive.org Recommends Sched

For Archive.org, adopting Sched was a game-changer in event management. Despite their preference for open-source solutions, Sched’s ease of use, delegation capabilities, branding flexibility, and planning collaboration won them over.

Now, instead of worrying about schedules flying away in the breeze, the team focuses on what matters most—delivering an incredible event experience for their attendees.

Thinking about how to reduce the workload of your event management process? Sched might just be the tool you need.