Conferences: Not Your Grandmother’s Boondoggle

This week some of us will be attending the Open Group Architecture Conference in Austin, Tx.  We do so annually, and typically present.  This year Ben Sommer is presenting the third in our series on Investigative Architecture –  ”The Data Context Diagram.”  

Presenting at industry conferences is an enriching activity for many reasons -

1. Creating a good presentation requires distilling whatever finding you are presenting to its raw essence.  This is a worthwhile exercise, even if the presentation is not selected by the conference panel.
2. The conference provides a focus group for your topic and allows you to capture valuable feedback and additional insight, both in formal Q&A sessions, and less formal “meet and greet” conference opportunities.
3. Public presentations market both the authors’ and company’s capabilities to the specific audience and to others in the future seeing the presentation credential.

Of course, presenting is not the only value we find in an industry conference.  Other benefits include:

1. Knowledge Sharing. A rich opportunity is presented by conferences in formal presentations, references provided in presentations and handouts, and informal gatherings of peers to learn and hone your craft.
2. Professional Networking. A conference is a great place to expand your network of like-minded individuals.
3. Counseling. It is always comforting to learn that the challenges you are facing are not unique to your enterprise, but rather universal.  Helps put it all in perspective, makes you feel better, and empowers you with coping skills.

Well look at that, a complete blog entry on attending conferences and nary a mention of the mental health benefits of a week long boondoggle away from the daily grind!

Dan Hughes  is a principal consultant and partner at Systems Flow, Inc., where he leads the technology services practice. He has 20 years of software engineering experience spanning a broad range of technologies and techniques. Startup to enterprise, he has launched, managed, and executed all aspects of both product and enterprise life cycle, delivering complex, enterprise-scale architectures for clients in the public and private sector, in industries ranging from banking and insurance to international development. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. For more details, please visit Dan's LinkedIn profile Read more blogs by Dan Hughes

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