Break a college fest into a one-page work breakdown structure

A fest feels like one huge job. You are breaking it into areas and then into tasks small enough for one person in a day or two, so every task has an owner and nothing falls between two teams.

• What is the fest's end goal in one sentence, and which fest is it?
• What five or six big areas does it split into, such as venue, sponsors, food, events, publicity and safety?
• How small must a task be: can one person finish it in a day or two?
• Which tasks did a past organiser say were forgotten last time?

A one-page tree with the goal at the top, areas below, and small tasks under each, every task with one named owner role, and a note on the three tasks most likely to be forgotten, backed by a past organiser's memory.

Stopping at areas like 'Publicity' that still hide twenty tasks. If a box cannot be done by one person in a day or two, break it again.

• Last year's fest schedule, poster or committee list if your college has one
• A short chat with a past organiser about what was forgotten or done twice
• Your committee's roles, so owners can be named by role rather than by personal details

AI must not invent your college's rules, budget or past events. Tasks it suggests are kept only if they fit your fest, and the forgotten-tasks note comes from a real organiser, not from AI.

1. 3.1 Draft your own breakdown firstCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: Writing your version before asking keeps the structure yours; Claude then helps you tidy it.

   Write the goal and areas yourself, then ask Claude to help phrase each task as one clear action.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   Our college fest is [describe the fest, size and events]. Here is my first breakdown into areas and tasks:
   [paste]
   Rewrite each task as one short action starting with a verb. Flag any task that is too big for one person in a day or two, and ask me how I would split it. Do not add new areas yet.

2. 3.2 Compare with Claude's breakdownCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: A second breakdown shows tasks you may have missed, which you then judge against your college.

   Ask Claude for its own breakdown, compare it with yours, and add only tasks that fit your fest. Delete the rest.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   For a college fest like this: [one-line description], propose a work breakdown in five or six areas with small tasks under each. Then compare it with my version: [paste mine]. List tasks in yours that are missing from mine, and say why each might matter for a fest like ours.

3. 3.3 Assign owners and mark the risky threeCLAUDE PROJECTS

   Why this tool: A Project keeps the breakdown, the organiser's notes and the committee list together while you finalise.

   Add your breakdown, notes and roles to a Project. Give each task one owner role, then mark the three tasks the past organiser said slip most.

4. 3.4 Lay out the one-page chartCANVA

   Why this tool: A tree diagram on one page is easy to print and pin up in the committee room.

   Goal at the top, areas in a row, tasks in short columns under each, with the owner role on every task and the risky three highlighted.

• Every task has exactly one owner role, never 'everyone'
• No task is bigger than a day or two for one person
• The three forgotten tasks come from the past organiser, not from AI
• No task belongs to two areas at once
• Walk the map with someone who does the work
• Every step has an owner

AI produces a generic event breakdown with things your fest does not have, like ticketing systems or celebrity management. Delete what does not fit your college.

• Goal, areas and small tasks on one page
• One owner role per task
• Three most-forgotten tasks highlighted with a note
• No personal phone numbers on the shared version

A single landscape page tree, with the risky three in a contrasting colour and a short note in the corner.

Say how many tasks the fest really involves, which task you had forgotten until the organiser mentioned it, and how owners prevent overlap.