Agile2010 has come and gone. Hopefully, so did the rain. But what exactly have you gotten out of it ?
- As an attendee, you might have attended a few sessions which did not meet your expectations, but also hopefully a couple of eye opening ones.
- As a presenter, you might have conquered your crowd or failed miserably to spark their interest.
- As a sponsor, you might have had the chance to meet a few potential customers or have realized that no one is interested in your offering.
Where do you go from here ? Having attended a couple of these conferences, here are a few tips we have gathered throughout the years.
Attendees
- Don’t worry too much about the sessions you found less inspiring. Focus on what interested you in the first place and try to get more information on the subject. Your favorite search engine is your friend here.
- If you met a great presenter, feel free to try and contact them. You’d be surprised to see a lot of them have a blog and/or use Twitter. Many of them will answer some of your questions. Keep the presenter’s name in store to help you select the sessions you want to take part of at Agile 2011.
- You’ve certainly missed a couple of interesting presentations. You cannot be everywhere at once. You can always go back through the schedule and see what you missed. Once again, a lot of presenters will put their slides on the net. Plus you might be able to exchange with them online.
- Remember, attending is often just a way to spark interest. You’re the one who has to do the research afterwards.
Presenters
- Many many thanks for sharing your experience with the community ! You are the essence of this conference, make sure you start collecting ideas for next year!
- Read the feedback forms ! Got aspects you need to improve ? Ask around for help. Getting better is always easier when done in teams.
- Have a blog ? Ask people for feedback. Publish you slides. The more you open up for feedback, the better you will become.
- First time presenting at a conference ? Present again. Soon. The more you do it, the more feedback you will get and the more you will develop a natural “feel” for crowds and how to handle them.
Sponsors
- You’ve seen the interest in your offering. Good. That was the easy part. Now is the time to make something so good that people will enjoy it year after year after year. When they come back for more, then you know you’ve got something great in your hands.
- You’ve seen that people do not like your offering ? Excellent ! You’ve just saved tons of money. How much more would you have spent if you had not met with your real customers ? You are now armed with a lot of valuable information. Use it !
