Agile 2011
Wow! Another Agile conference under my belt. This year was a visit to Salt Lake City and two talks at the conference. Both of these talks are continuations of my sessions from the Amsterdam Scrum Gathering in 2011.
- Powerful Questions – this was one of the largest sessions about Powerful Questions that I ever ran. I think there were more than 40+ people in the room and people were standing along the walls. Even though it was a large group, I felt the interaction was good, the main points were communicated and the participants “got it”. There are two good write-ups on the session from Kenji Haranbe (the stage manager) and Sam Laing. For more on Powerful Questions check out this really great PDF from The World Cafe to get you started.
- Removing Impediments with Drawings – this session is based on Dan Roam’s visual framework, Back of the Napkin, as a way to share ideas that stick. This session was HUGE!! When I walked in the room, I immediately knew I did not have enough materials for my session – I had brought enough materials for 70 and I needed about 50 more! At some point, I had to tell the proctors that we cannot accept anymore people and I know some people were angry about that. Since the room was so large with so many people, it was not as interactive as I hoped and the next time I run this session, I would have a co-presenter. Craig Smith wrote up a really great review with awesome pictures on his blog. Thanks!!
Next year, I will remember not to spend so much time with consulting work while at the conference. I felt like I spent the whole time on conference calls, did my sessions and then went home. Not that much fun :(
