1. Project Proposal
Prepared for: SUNY Plattsburgh Field House
Prepared by: Taylor Manor, Project/Service Management Intern
May 7, 2015
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SUNY PLATTSBURGH

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Objective
The primary objective of this project is to develop strategies that will ensure a successful transition to a fully online
ticketing system. This will be accomplished by analyzing the current ticket purchasing process and providing
recommendations based upon this analysis. Enhancing ticketing functionality will:!
• shorten and simplify the process of purchasing tickets for Plattsburgh State hockey games;
• reduce the workload of the box office;
• increase customer satisfaction;
• ensure authenticity;!
• and simplify game day operations.!
Environmental Scan
• SUNY Plattsburgh students currently have the ability to purchase and print/electronically download their tickets
online via University Tickets
• Last season’s scanners lease is up at the end of August
• Online tickets for general admission through University Tickets is set to launch in the 2015-16 season
Key Result Areas (factors of success)
• Increase of number of customers who purchase their ticket online
• Decrease in the line at the box office before the game (if there is a box office)
• Ensure authenticity by having scanners to prevent fraud and duplicate tickets
• Increased level of customer satisfaction as measured by attendee satisfaction surveys
Next Actions
The primary challenge of this project is not the implementation but the transition. For this project to be successful
in the years to come the following steps needs to be taken:
• Creating a method of outreach promoting online tickets to your fan base
• Providing loyalty to your season ticket holders with easy access to games and playoffs
• Establishing a user friendly system of purchasing tickets
• Defining a process for game day that anticipates the upcoming service changes
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3. SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Waiting Line Model Box Office
Assumptions
1. Poisson Probability Distribution (reasonable approximation of arrival distribution)
2. Exponential Probability Distribution (reasonable approximation of service time)
3. Arrival rate is based upon the number of customers served not upon the number of tickets sold
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After observing the line and service at the box office, I determined a mean time per service of 37.89 seconds.
Relative to that mean (37.89 seconds) each server can serve 47.5 customers per 30 minutes. Two servers at the
box office allows you to serve 95 people in 30 minutes.
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Inputs
Unit of time 30 min
Arrival Rate (lambda) 84 customers per 30 min
Service Rate (mu) 47.5 customers per 30 min
Number of ‘identical’ servers 2 servers
Outputs
Mean time between arrivals 0.012 21.43
seconds
Mean time per service 0.021 37.89
seconds

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SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Waiting Line Model Box Office
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This waiting line model is based upon the
assumption of Poisson Probability Distribution which
is a reasonable approximation of arrival distribution.
This model shows the approximate number of fans
waiting if customers continuously arrived as opposed
to lining up and waiting an hour before the box office
opens. If customers did show up continuously there
would be on average 6.34 customers waiting in line
and 8.11 customers in the system (waiting in line
and being served). The average waiting time in line is
2.26 minutes and the average time in the system
(waiting in line and being served) is 2.89 minutes.
There is only a 6.15 percent chance that there are no
customers in the system and 83% of the time both
of the servers are busy. Online tickets and scanners
would help to eliminate the long waiting lines before
the game. Once all ticket holders buy online, arrival
to the game would be more continuous as opposed
to all at once.
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Summary Measures
Utilization rate of server 88.4%
Average number of customers waiting in line 6.33722 customers
Average number of customers in the system 8.10564 customers
Average time waiting in line 2.26 minutes
Average time in the system 2.89 minutes
Probability of no customers in the system 6.15%
Probability that all servers are busy 83%
DISTRIBUTION OF NUMBER OF
CUSTOMERS IN THE SYSTEM
Probability
0%
2.75%
5.5%
8.25%
11%
(n) customers in the system
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5. SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Shows how the current processes of the box office at Stafford Arena are operating through a process flow
diagram
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6. SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Shows how the current processes of the box office at Stafford Arena are operating through a service blueprint
diagram
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7. SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Shows how the current online ticket processes at Stafford Arena are operating through a process flow diagram
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8. SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Shows how the current online ticket processes at Stafford Area are operating through a service blueprint diagram
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PROJECT PERFORMANCE
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Key Performance Indicators
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LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Target: 1000
First Game
NUMBER OF TICKETS PURCHASED ONLINE
Mid-Season
Target: 2000
Last Game
Target: 1500
OVERALL SATISFACTION
PURCHASING ONLINE
TICKETS THROUGH
PLATTSBURGH.EDU
9%
21%
40%
20%
11%
Unsatisfied
Indifferent
Satisfied
Extremely Satisfied
Not Applicable
TARGET LEVEL OF
OVERALL CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
PURCHASING ONLINE
TICKETS THROUGH
PLATTSBURGH.EDU
24%
59%
12%
6%
Source of survey: Campus Event Ticketing
Student Evaluation

10. RISKS AND ISSUES
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1. Risks associated with scanner malfunction
2. Limited battery life
3. Possibility of network failure affecting scanners and University Tickets
4. Accidental scanner damage
CONTINGENCY/MITIGATION PLAN
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• Have a clear and defined back up plan to go to a paper system at the box office if necessary
• Optimize use of the extra scanners by having them charged at all times in the event a scanner dies
• On special events, such as all day tournaments, consider signing out the two extra scanners from the Center for
Student Involvement
• Purchase lanyards for your scanners to minimize accidents
• Have a list of technical contacts and phone numbers available to event staff so they know who to contact in the
event of a network failure
Probability
Risk
Scanner Damage
Network Failure
Battery Life
Scanner Malfunction

11. RECOMMENDATIONS
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1. Investment in at least 5 or potentially 6 scanners to ensure use of all four doors at games and provide backups
in case of emergency.
• Scanners are 850 dollars to buy and 300 dollars annually for updates
• Scanners are 750 dollars to rent for one year including updates
• In the long run choosing to buy versus lease is in your best interest. Although you suffer an initial loss of
2000 dollars the first year, by year 5 you save 7000.
• The major concern with buying as opposed to leasing is if University Tickets required an iPhone update
within the next 5 years.
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2. Create a method of outreach promoting online tickets to your fan base by considering the following:
• Develop a partnership with an area company promoting online tickets or use an existing sponsorship to do
so.
• Take opportunities to promote online tickets during exciting ice times like goals, power plays, and penalty
kills.
• Utilize social media outlets such as twitter and Facebook as much as possible to promote and provide the
link for online tickets.
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3. Provide loyalty incentives to your season ticket holders and easy game access by:
• Offering them wearable credentials that can be scanned in at each event and that allows them to easily
adds playoff games.
• The ability to hold and roll over seats for existing customers season to season eliminates costly ticket
books.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total
Lease (5) 3750 3750 3750 3750 3750 18750
Buy (5) 5750 1500 1500 1500 1500 11750
If you
chose to
buy vs
lease
-2000 250 2500 4750 7000

12. • Provide easy game access and eliminate line waiting by having a season ticket holder only line.
4. Establish a user friendly system of purchasing tickets by:
• Making necessary changes to the Cardinals Athletics homepage that provides easy to see and fast links to
buy online tickets. One link should be placed at the top of the page where the Men’s Sports, Women’s
Sports, Inside Athletics, and Cardinal Traditions links are located. Having a link here makes it more
noticeable and promotes other athletic teams that will be using online tickets such as basketball.
• Providing an easy to see link on the Cardinals Hockey homepage to buy tickets online, ideally placed on
the upper half of the page above the link to donate.
• Using social media to share the link to online tickets.
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5. Define a process for game day that anticipates the upcoming service changes by:
• Ensuring all employees and staff of the field house are properly trained and informed on new procedures
for game day. Example (scanner use, potential for malfunction, line direction, and knowledge of University
Tickets).
• Clearly identifying each line by student, general admission, and season ticket holders. Prevent confusion as
much as possible. The signs need to be large and moveable, so you might consider crowd control lines
and stanchions that allow for signage and that can be elevated for visibility
• Have a back up plan for customers who come to the game and did not purchase their tickets online
• Have a back up plan in the event of network or scanner failure.