AAOSConf 2012 – The Retrospective

September 22, 2012, AAOSConf 2012 Conferences

Okay, I’ll start this post with the conclusion; the AAOSConf 2012 exceeded my expectations. In a previous post, I outlined my expectations ahead of the AAOSConf 2012. Reviewing these I found that the conference exceeded my expectations. Let my explain this.

The venue was at some conference facilities at the University of Århus. There were three conference rooms assigned for the AAOSConf. The largest of the three rooms facilitated a projector for the code sessions. My overall impression of the facilities was that they were adequate for a conference of this size and type. Catering included breakfast,lunch, and cake in the afternoon. All day there were coffee and tea. Nothing to point my finger at here.

I’d suppose 20 individuals gathered in largest of the conference rooms. Unfortunately, a number of participants, who were registered, did not show up. This is not just an unfortunate side-effect of free events like this, it’s bad morale. The organizer had put a significant amount of time into organizing this event, so at least you can expect is that registrants decline the event, instead of just not showing up. Okay, I’ve already spend too many lines on these individuals, let’s focus on the remaining participants.

After a short breakfast we were encouraged to write a number of topics on post-its. These outlined the topics of the conference. The same procedure repeated on Friday. During the two day conference I participated in the following sessions:

And two code sessions:

What really surprised me during this conference was the level of participation from attendees, so honest and willing to share their experiences. I didn’t get the feeling that these guys were trying to sell a book or a service. They were telling true war-stories from real projects. This created an atmosphere were every participant could join the discussions, despite different backgrounds and experience. I’m truly surprised how well this open space setting excels. The knowledge gained from these sessions has multiple perspectives, you get the full package when the participants are willing to share their experiences and their opinions on different matters.

This conference experience exceeded my expectations because I got much more in the bag, than was covered by the sessions. Thank you. I’d encourage everyone who takes software development seriously to participate in this small conference in Århus, it will expand your horizon. 

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