The Panel Experiment and Ignite DevOps

by Andrew Clay Shafer - 16 May, 2010

When we first started organizing DevOpsDays for the US, we all had slightly different visions about what we wanted to see and what we wanted to participate in.

On one hand, some of us really wanted to use Open Space Technology as the basis for some if not all of the program, while some of us really wanted to have presentations.
We all wanted to have a ‘community’ event, but we also wanted to leverage the expertise in that community. We came to realize that on almost any topic, no matter who was presenting, there would often be as much or more expertise in the audience as there could be on the stage. Those experts might have different opinions. We also planned from the beginning to do DevOpsDays right after the Velocity Conference and thought some people might be ‘presentationed’ out. The best idea we came up with is an experiment.
We’re going to have a conference that is all panels and ignite talks. We posted the themes for the panels and we’ll soon have the participants and short bios up as well. Audience participation will definitely be encouraged and facilitated as much as possible, but if you believe you or someone you know is ‘just perfect’ for one of those panels drops us a line and make a case.
If you have a strong devops related message that you really want to share with the DevOps world, we encourage you to send us a proposal for an Ignite presentation. These are 5 minute talks with 20 slides which auto-advance. If you aren’t familiar with the format, google is your friend (and I won’t question your geek cred… cough maybe you’ve just been busy… go check some out, we’ll still be here when you get back. ) Ignite is a fun way to introduce people to ideas and leave them wanting more.
We have 10 slots scheduled right now and half of those are filled, so you still have a good chance to share your ideas. Tell us about tools, processes, tips, tricks, war stories, whatever… make us laugh, make us cry, show us how to be more awesome…
The only rule is don’t give a straight pitch. That’s not even a rule we’ll enforce, everyone will just think you are lame… that is punishment enough.
Send an email to [email protected] with the following information