Agile Midwest 2019 Submissions - FAQ

IMPORTANT UPDATE

With the addition of new Women in Agile event as part of Agile Midwest 2019 - we've updated our FAQ to reflect how to submit for the Women in Agile event (on Tuesday, September 24, 2019) or the main conference (on Thursday, September 26, 2019).

How do I submit a Women In Agile Session in Sessionize:

For "Session Format" - select one of the following choices based on the format of your session:

• "Women In Agile - 45 minute session - Diversity + Inclusion"
• "Women in Agile - 12 minute session - Launching New Voices"

For "Track" - select the "Women in Agile" Option

Please Note - Women in Agile sessions will be presented on Tuesday afternoon, September 24, 2019.

How do I submit a Session for the Main Conference in Sessionize:

For "Session Format" - select one of the following choices based on the format of your session:

• "45 minute session"
• "75 minute workshop"

For "Track" select the most appropriate track for your session based on the 4 tracks featured at the 2019 Agile Midwest conference:

• "Coaching Agile Teams"
• "Agile Transformation"
• "Agile Technical Practices"
• "Business Agility"

Please Note - Main conference sessions will be presented on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

Is it possible to submit the same session to both the Main Conference and Women In Agile?

• Yes you can; however, you will need to complete two submissions - one submission needs to be marked as a session format for Women in Agile, the other submission needs to be session format for the main conference.

Can I change a prior non-selected submission to the main conference to be considered for the Women in Agile event?

• Yes you can - you'll just need to edit your submission and change the session format and track to reflect "Women in Agile" and then your existing submission will be evaluated for the Women in Agile event, not the main conference. 

What kinds of sessions are we looking for the main conference?

• We are looking for engaging sessions that span our 4 tracks – a session could be a talk, an exercise, a game, a demonstration, or a tutorial. 
• People attending the conference are looking for advice and insights that they can learn at the conference and then apply on their agile teams, so practical sessions are ideal.
• Sessions that make learning on agile topics interactive and fun.

What kinds of sessions are we NOT looking for (both main conference & Women in Agile)?

• As Agile Midwest is a learning focused conference, we are not looking for “sales pitch” sessions that focus exclusively on a demo of for-sale tool, methodology, or framework – we do have vendor sponsorship packages available if you’d like to exhibit to demo a tool.
• It is OK to provide a brief demonstration of a tool, but demos should support learning objectives agnostic of any specific tool or framework.
• Sessions that are NOT supportive of the intent of our code of conduct to "Be Kind & Professional to All" - non-professional and/or disrespectful behavior & activities will not be tolerated.

What makes a great session at Agile Midwest (both main conference & Women in Agile)?

• Highly interactive and engaging content – hands on, real coding / configuration / testing, agile games for learning. 
  
• Include practices & activities to reinforce learning objectives – have people work in groups/pairs, debrief activities, etc.
• As our conference sessions are short, be sure to provide references and ways that people can learn more after your session at the conference.

What makes a great submission (both main conference & Women in Agile)?

• The information you share about your session in your submission is the primary source of information by which your session will be evaluated, so it helps to be specific so that we can determine what you will focus on and how you will present / share it with those attending.
• State clear learning objectives that people will learn / experience by attending your session.
• Tell us how you will spend the time in your session – how much time will be spent presenting, how much time will people spend in activities, etc.
• Detail what kinds of activities people will experience in your session and how you will present / facilitate them to support your learning objectives.
• Tell us how you will debrief your session to ensure participants have a positive experience and achieve the session's learning outcomes.
• If you’ve presented this session before, what you have learned as you have presented it and how have you improved it?
• If you have a video of your session (or a video preview of your session), be sure to include a video link/URL in your submission and we will watch a few clips of your video when reviewing your session to determine how it might fit into the Agile Midwest 2019 program.

UPDATED Submission & Selection Timeline (inclusive of main conference & Women in Agile)

• 6/15/2019 - FIRST ROUND presenters Notified
• 6/19/2019 - Deadline for FIRST ROUND presenter acceptance
• 6/24/2019 - FIRST ROUND Program Sessions Posted - half of the conference sessions
• 7/31/2019 – Deadline for Sessions Submissions & Revisions for SECOND ROUND & Women in Agile – 11:59 PM Central Time
• Early August 2019 – SECOND ROUND & Women in Agile Presenters Notified of Acceptance
• Mid August 2019 – SECOND ROUND & Women in Agile sessions added to the conference program

Session Format Breakout (for the main conference)

The majority of sessions at Agile Midwest are 45 minutes long – the approximate breakout of session formats is noted below for reference:

• 45 minute sessions – ~32 sessions held on Thursday, September 26, 2018 
• 75 minute workshops – ~8 sessions held on Thursday, September 26, 2018

Presenter Compensation (for the main conference)

• Up to two presenters per session will receive complimentary admission to the conference on Thursday, September 26, 2019 and the open space on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.
  
• All session presenters will be invited to a presenter social held during the conference.