Announcing Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions at PDC09
What are Birds-of-a-Feather sessions?
“Birds-of-a-Feather” (BOF) sessions are moderated, open discussions on technology-related topics proposed by PDC09 attendees. A topic may be related to PDC content, or any other technology topic that would be of interest to conference attendees. BOF sessions are not formal presentations with slides or software demonstrations. Instead, the format is casual and open. Facilitators will have a microphone and whiteboard to lead discussions. The BOF sessions are a great opportunity to meet with other attendees that have common interests and exchange ideas.
- When are the BOF sessions?
BOF sessions will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (November 17-19), during the daytime, in the same time slots as the regular conference sessions. There will be a room dedicated to BOF sessions throughout the conference. BOF schedule information will be included in the Schedule page, prior to the event.
- Who is organizing PDC BOFs?
The PDC09 BOF sessions are organized by volunteers from INETA www.ineta.org, the world-wide organization for .NET focused user groups.
- How Do I Propose to Host a BOF Session?
You do not have to be a subject matter expert in order to host a session, although you need to have a genuine interest in the topic. You may propose more than one session, however, preference will be given to other submitters so as many people as possible have the opportunity to host a session. Only conference attendees can submit session proposals. Microsoft employees are not eligible to submit a topic proposal.
BOF Session Hosts have our thanks and gratitude, however, we are unable to provide complimentary conference passes or any other compensation. You are responsible for your own PDC09 conference registration, travel and other expenses.
- How are the BOF Sessions Selected and Scheduled?
Session proposals will be evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis starting Tuesday September 1, 2009 through Friday, October 31, 2009 at 5:00 PM PDT, or until all available time slots are filled. Selections will be made on a rolling basis. Selection and scheduling of the sessions is done by a volunteer organizing team of developer community members from INETA: all decisions are final. Submitters will be notified by email when their proposal is received and no later than Monday November 1, 2009 whether their session was accepted or declined. You must be willing to host a session in any of the conference time slots. Your session will not be finalized until you are registered for the conference. Visit www.pdcbof.com for more information, or to submit a session proposal.
If you have any questions or comments about BOF sessions, please contact the volunteer organizing team at 2009@pdcbof.com
Follow all the latest news on www.twitter.com/pdcbof
UPDATE August 20 – BOF proposal process to open by September 1st.
5 Comments
Roland said
Aug 19 2009
I think it's a mistake to have the BOF sessions in parallel with the other regular sessions.
Let's look at it this way:
Only a certain percentage of the attendees is interested in a BOF session for a certain topic even it this BOF session is the only thing happening in a specific time slot. Now let multiple regular sessions compete with this BOF. It's often tough enough to choose one of several parallel sessions - why should I go to a BOF, knowing that there won't be many people anyway?
And one must not forget that if my company spends a lot of money on sending me to PDC (which this year is not very likely), there is a certain expectation that I attend the "real" sessions.
Stuart Celarier said
Aug 21 2009
Hi Roland, and thanks for your comments. I am one of the co-chairs of the Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) sessions at PDC09 and I welcome this opportunity to offer another perspective.
INETA started running BOF sessions at Microsoft conferences in 2003, if I recall my dates right. Back then they were late in the evening, hard to find, the buses from the conference center were no longer running, and still people attended the BOFs. That's a testament to their value right there.
I started volunteer work on the BOF sessions with TechEd 2005, and have watched Microsoft and conference sponsors increase their investment in BOF sessions. In that time BOFs have grown and been integrated into the conference, with BOFs running concurrent with breakout sessions, BOF sessions listed in the conference guide and on the conference website. The reason that Microsoft has supported and invested in BOFs at TechEd and PDC to such a degree is that the conference attendees have provided feedback that BOF sessions are a valuable part of their conference. Since daytime BOF sessions started in 2006, they have been quite well received and well attended: occasionally it has been standing room only.
There is a practical side to the BOF scheduling this year. With PDC09 running three days, there are only two evenings, and both of those have major events scheduled. Tuesday is the Partner Expo Reception and Wednesday is the Attendee Reception, which leaves no time for evening BOF sessions.
I think it is critical for conferences to offer a variety of opportunities to attendees, since different people learn and connect in different ways, and have widely different interests. At PDC09, in addition to keynote and breakout sessions, attendees will find Hands-On Labs, Ask the Experts, product pavilions, Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, and other activities. Sure, that means that you have to make the occasional hard decision: do I go to this breakout, that BOF, take some time to work a lab, or go connect with some product team members? I know I am fortunate when I can select from this "embarrassment of riches," and if something turns out to be the wrong fit for me I can move along to something else.
There is one last aspect of BOF sessions that I would like to call out. While it is easy to count attendance, and judge success by that metric; the true value to an attendee is the quality of the experience and that is harder to measure. I have participated in some BOF sessions that were relatively small, but intensely stimulating and very rewarding. It is about having a conversation with your peers on a topic that you are passionate about, the things that really matter to you, your work, and your career.
I hope this sheds some light on the BOF sessions at PDC09, and some of the thinking that has gone into this year's scheduling. I hope you are able to find your way to the conference, I am definitely looking forward to it!
Shane Milton said
Sep 3 2009
I'm curious - what were the pros and cons of doing BOF vs Open Spaces like at PDC08? I'm really looking forward to the "hallway conversation" experiences that I'll gain at these BOF but since we host all sorts of "alternative format" events here in Indy, I'm curious why BOF vs OS. :-)
Stuart Celarier said
Sep 7 2009
That’s a good question, Shane. I can’t profess to know all the reasons that PDC09 is running Birds-of-a-Feather sessions over Open Space (for those not familiar with Open Space, start here http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/wiki.cgi), but I can offer two personal insights.
First, the Open Space section at PDC08 wasn’t nearly as successful as they had hoped for. I think that was probably due to a combination of factors: publicity prior to the conference, visibility during the conference, location, people being unfamiliar with the format, and so on. OTOH, the BOF sessions have a track record of good attendance and positive feedback at PDC05 and TechEd North America since 2003.
The second insight I have is a bit more philosophical. I think that Open Space is a great format, but it is not going to work well running parallel to, and competing with, a major conference. It is better suited as the format for an entire conference. At the 2008 MVP Summit, they ran a modified Open Space format as a conference-within-a-conference with what I thought was great success: The Open Space portion of the conference was an entire afternoon with no other concurrent activities. (The modification was that topics were selected ahead of time, using a wiki to propose and discuss potential topics.)
That being said, the community volunteers (Bob, Chris, and I) working on the BOFs for PDC09 are always looking for ways to improve the quality of the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions. We want to keep the format fresh, the discussion lively, and the exchange of ideas relevant for attendees. We look to build on good ideas and elements we find in other experiences such as Open Space, Code Camp, Ignite events, and fishbowl conversations.
If anyone has an idea they’d like to contribute along these lines, please leave a comment here or on our blog at http://www.pdcbof.com.
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