Resources · Glossary
The Words for the Work.
The vocabulary of experiential production, defined plainly by the people who produce it. 29 of these terms are XPMS 2.6 canon: the nine gated phases, the three acts, the ten department classes and the coordinate system that ties them together.
A
- ActXPMS canon
- The three presentation groupings of the XPMS 2.6 lifecycle. Act I, Plan covers Discover, Design and Advance: everything before money is committed. Act II, Build covers Procure, Build and Install: money committed and the thing made real. Act III, Show covers Operate, Amplify and Close: doors open and everything downstream of doors. Acts are a grouping, not an authorization boundary. Gates are the only control points, and nothing gates on an act.Also: Plan, Build (act), Show
Act II is named Build and contains the Build phase at gate 5. That is deliberate, on the film convention where the Production stage contains principal photography. Write Act II · Build and Gate 5 · Build when it needs disambiguating.
Where this is used → - Activation Footprint
- The total physical space and spatial layout a brand activation occupies on a site, including the public-facing build, back of house, queueing and the circulation around it.Where this is used →
- AdvanceXPMS canon
- Gate 3, code ADV, Act I. Contracts, permits, insurance, the risk register and the PO baseline. The paperwork phase that makes the build real and insurable. Exits when contracts are executed, permits are filed and the PO baseline is set.
Distinct from the touring sense of the word. On the road, to advance a date means to confirm technical requirements, hospitality, schedules and settlement terms with the venue and promoter before arrival. See Venue Advance.
Where this is used → - AmplifyXPMS canon
- Gate 8, code AMP, Act III. Content capture, media and press, broadcast and livestream delivery, social amplification and post-event campaigns. The experience gets a second life on every screen it did not happen on. Exits when capture assets are delivered and archived, press and media distribution is complete, broadcast masters are delivered, and post-event campaigns are launched or formally handed off.
Added as the ninth gated phase in XPMS 2.5. Before that, amplification was assumed rather than gated.
Where this is used → - Archive HandoverXPMS deliverable
- The transfer of a completed build's full record at Close: drawings, as-builts, permits, contracts, settlement, capture assets and the final cost report. What lets the next build start from evidence instead of memory.Where this is used →
- As-BuiltXPMS deliverable
- A drawing corrected to reflect what was actually installed rather than what was designed. Filed at the close of Install, and the reason a venue can be re-entered a year later without re-surveying it.Where this is used →
- ATLVS Coordinate MatrixXPMS canon
- The task-management lens over the XPMS lifecycle: ten department classes as latitude, the nine gated phases as longitude, giving 90 coordinates. Every task and work item on a build resolves to exactly one. It is a computed view, never a taxonomy: it introduces no new codes and no new level in the tree.Also: Coordinate MatrixWhere this is used →
- AtomXPMS canon
- The smallest catalogued unit of work or material in XPMS, addressed by a URID and priced by a band. The catalog holds 624 of them across the ten department classes.Where this is used →
B
- Brand Activation
- A live, experiential marketing engagement that brings a brand into physical space so an audience can walk into it rather than watch it.Where this is used →
- Budget EnvelopeXPMS deliverable
- The approved outer bound of spend, set in Discover before design begins. Not an estimate and not a quote: the number the build has to fit inside, agreed before anyone draws anything.Where this is used →
- BuildXPMS canon
- Gate 5, code BLD, Act II. Fabrication, scenic, staging and technical production, pre-built and tested off site. Exits when fabrication is complete, QC has passed and the punch list is opened.
The phase, not the act. Act II is also called Build and contains this phase.
Where this is used →
C
- Call Time
- The time a crew member or performer is required on site, distinct from door time or show time. The unit the day is actually built from.Where this is used →
- CloseXPMS canon
- Gate 9, code CLS, Act III. Reconciliation, the final cost report and archive handover. Exits when the build is reconciled, the final cost report is filed and the archive is handed over.Where this is used →
- CommissioningXPMS deliverable
- Proving an installed system performs to specification under real conditions, not just that it powers on. Happens in Install, before the punch list can close.Where this is used →
- CoordinateXPMS canon
- A single cell of the ATLVS Coordinate Matrix, written
class × phase— for example 3000xAMP for Marketing work in the Amplify phase. Gives every deliverable an address, so nothing falls between departments.Where this is used → - CreativeXPMS canon
- Department class 1000. Concept, creative direction, art direction, content and the design language a build is made from.Where this is used →
D
- Dark Day
- A day with no public programming inside an otherwise live run. Used for maintenance, changeover, or crew rest, and planned rather than lost.Where this is used →
- Department ClassXPMS canon
- The latitude of the ATLVS Coordinate Matrix and the first segment of every URID. There are ten, stable since XPMS 2.0: 0000 Executive · 1000 Creative · 2000 Talent · 3000 Marketing · 4000 Build · 5000 Production · 6000 Operations · 7000 Experience · 8000 Hospitality · 9000 Technology.Where this is used →
- DesignXPMS canon
- Gate 2, code DSN, Act I. Concept, development and engineering in one phase, absorbing what other models split into Concept, Develop and Engineering. The idea gets pressure-tested until it can be priced and made. Exits when scope is locked and spec drawings and sample approvals are complete.Where this is used →
- DisciplineXPMS canon
- The second segment of a URID, below department class. Seventy-nine of them across the ten classes — Production alone carries ten.Where this is used →
- DiscoverXPMS canon
- Gate 1, code DIS, Act I. Brief intake, feasibility, budget envelope and stakeholder alignment. The consultation that works out what is being built and whether it can be. Exits when the go/no-go decision is ratified and the budget envelope is approved.Where this is used →
E
- ExecutiveXPMS canon
- Department class 0000. Client relationship, commercial terms, governance and the decisions that sit above the build.Where this is used →
- ExperienceXPMS canon
- Department class 7000. Show technology and the audience-facing layer: projection, playback, LED, show control, sensors and real-time content.Where this is used →
- Experiential Production
- The end-to-end creative and physical production of live experiences: concept, design, fabrication, installation, and the crew who run it.Where this is used →
- Experiential Technology
- The software and integrated systems that run live experience production, from the operator console to the show control on the floor.Where this is used →
F
- FeasibilityXPMS deliverable
- The Discover-phase read on whether a brief can be built at all, on the site, in the time, for the envelope. The answer that saves the most money is the early no.Where this is used →
- Front of House
- Everything on the audience side of the line: the guest experience, the service standard, and the mix position the show is run from.Also: FOHWhere this is used →
G
- GateXPMS canon
- The control point at the end of each XPMS phase. Nine of them, numbered 1 to 9. A build does not move to the next phase until its gate exit condition is met, and gates are the only authorization boundary in the standard.Where this is used →
- Gate Exit ConditionXPMS canon
- The written test a phase must pass before its gate opens. Stated as facts about deliverables rather than opinions about readiness — "permits filed, PO baseline set" rather than "Advance looks good".Where this is used →
H
- Hold
- A date reserved with a venue but not yet contracted, ranked first hold, second hold and so on. Releases if it is not confirmed by the challenge deadline.Where this is used →
- HospitalityXPMS canon
- Department class 8000. Food and beverage, bars and catering, VIP and premium hospitality, and the front-of-house standards a guest feels on arrival.Where this is used →
I
- Immersive Experience
- A designed environment audiences step inside and move through, using narrative, spatial design and interactive technology to surround them rather than face them.Where this is used →
- InstallXPMS canon
- Gate 6, code INS, Act II. Logistics, load-in, commissioning and punch closure. Exits when everything is installed and commissioned, the punch list is closed and as-builts are filed.Where this is used →
L
- Load-In
- The scheduled process of transporting, installing and assembling all production elements — staging, scenic, audio, lighting, video and rigging — at a venue ahead of a live event.Also: Bump-InWhere this is used →
- Load-Out
- The removal of production elements from a venue after a run. The physical half of Strike.Also: Bump-OutWhere this is used →
- Long-Lead OrderXPMS deliverable
- An order placed in Procure whose delivery time, not its price, drives the schedule. Missing a long-lead date moves the show, which is why they are locked before anything else is bought.Where this is used →
M
- MarketingXPMS canon
- Department class 3000. Campaign, content, press, social and the amplification work that carries a build beyond the people who attended it.Where this is used →
O
- OperateXPMS canon
- Gate 7, code OPR, Act III. The run plus the strike: live operations, dispatch, and incident and daily reporting. Exits when the show is closed, strike is complete and operating acceptance is signed.
Strike lives inside Operate. It is never a phase of its own.
Where this is used → - OperationsXPMS canon
- Department class 6000, the largest in the catalog at 161 atoms. Logistics, workforce, vendor coordination, safety, compliance and day-of running.Where this is used →
P
- PO BaselineXPMS deliverable
- The locked set of purchase orders a build is measured against from Advance onward. Every later change is a variance to this, which is what makes a final cost report meaningful.Where this is used →
- ProcureXPMS canon
- Gate 4, code PRC, Act II. Vendor award, deposits, long-lead orders, rate-card lock and submittals. The buying phase: who is building what, at what rate, and what has to be ordered now. Exits when all awards are issued, deposits are paid and long-lead orders are confirmed.Where this is used →
- ProductionXPMS canon
- Department class 5000. Staging, rigging, audio, lighting, video, power and the technical production that makes a show happen.Where this is used →
- Production LifecycleXPMS canon
- The structured, repeatable phases a live experience moves through from first consultation to archive handover. GHXSTSHIP runs the nine gated phases of XPMS 2.6: Discover, Design, Advance, Procure, Build, Install, Operate, Amplify, Close.Where this is used →
- Punch ListXPMS deliverable
- The running list of defects and unfinished items opened at the end of Build and closed during Install. Gate 6 does not open while it is open.Also: Punch ClosureWhere this is used →
R
- Rate-Card LockXPMS deliverable
- Fixing labour and equipment rates with a vendor for the duration of an engagement, so the schedule can move without the price moving with it.Where this is used →
- ReconciliationXPMS deliverable
- Settling actuals against the PO baseline at Close: what was ordered, what was delivered, what was charged, and what the variance was. The step that turns a build into a number you can trust next time.Where this is used →
- Rider
- The technical and hospitality requirements attached to an artist's contract. Advancing a date is largely the work of reconciling the rider with the room.Where this is used →
- Risk RegisterXPMS deliverable
- The live list of what could go wrong on a build, who owns each item, and what the mitigation is. Opened in Advance and worked until Close, not written once and filed.Where this is used →
- Run of Show
- The minute-by-minute master document that sequences every cue, transition and responsibility across departments during a live event, used by the show caller to run the event.Also: ROSWhere this is used →
S
- SettlementXPMS deliverable
- Closing the financial position on a single date with the promoter or venue: box office against the deal, costs against the budget, signed the same night or the morning after.Where this is used →
- Shop QCXPMS deliverable
- Quality control performed on fabricated elements in the shop, before they ship. Catching a fault in Build costs a day; catching it in Install costs the load-in.Where this is used →
- Show Caller
- The person who directs a live event in real time, calling cues to audio, lighting, video and stage departments from the run of show.Where this is used →
- Site Survey
- Measuring and documenting a venue or site before design commits to it: dimensions, power, rigging points, access, load paths and the things drawings never show.Where this is used →
- Strike
- The controlled teardown, removal and load-out of all production elements after a live event concludes, including reconciliation and site restoration. In the XPMS 2.6 lifecycle, strike lives inside the Operate phase; it is never a phase of its own.Where this is used →
- SubmittalsXPMS deliverable
- Vendor documents issued for approval before fabrication starts: shop drawings, samples, product data, method statements. Approving them is the last chance to change something cheaply.Where this is used →
T
- TalentXPMS canon
- Department class 2000. Artists, performers, hosts and crew-facing talent relations, including routing, advancing and settlement.Where this is used →
- Tech Rehearsal
- The rehearsal run for the technical departments rather than the performers: cues, transitions, timings and failure modes, worked until the run of show holds.Where this is used →
- TechnologyXPMS canon
- Department class 9000. The platforms, integrations, data pipeline and reporting that a build runs on, plus the show technology specified and installed under it.Where this is used →
U
- URIDXPMS canon
- The identifier every catalogued atom carries, in the grammar
DEPARTMENT.DISCIPLINE.CATEGORY— for example 4000.02.01 for a Build-class item. Load-bearing on every budget line, assignment and coordinate, which is why the grammar has never changed.Where this is used →
V
- Venue Advance
- Confirming technical requirements, hospitality riders, schedules, credentials, security and settlement terms with the local promoter and venue before a date. Done for every city on a routing, not once for the tour.Where this is used →
W
- Wrap
- The end of production on a build or a shoot day. Distinct from Close, which is the XPMS phase that reconciles and archives what wrapped.Where this is used →
X
- XPMSXPMS canon
- The Experiential Production Management Standard, the GHXSTSHIP methodology every engagement runs on. Currently at version 2.6: nine gated phases in three acts, ten department classes, 90 coordinates, and a catalog of 624 priced atoms. Governance is append-only, so nothing that has ever been issued is retired.Also: Experiential Production Management Standard, XPMS 2.6Where this is used →
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