https://citconf.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Robpark&feedformat=atom
CitconWiki - User contributions [en]
2024-03-28T18:41:46Z
User contributions
MediaWiki 1.35.11
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Role_of_E2E_Tests_in_Microservices_Architectures&diff=16685
The Role of E2E Tests in Microservices Architectures
2023-02-05T01:14:04Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "* Are E2E tests needed? * Another option is to run more elaborate integration tests not with all services but a small subset. * There's a very small user base, canary'ing isn'..."</p>
<hr />
<div>* Are E2E tests needed?<br />
* Another option is to run more elaborate integration tests not with all services but a small subset.<br />
* There's a very small user base, canary'ing isn't a great option.<br />
* Already utilizing PACT contract testing<br />
* Reframing E2E tests as smoke tests to minimize the number of them, since they are expensive to maintain, but they are definitely catching stuff at the moment.<br />
* A team can own many services, but a service only belongs to 1 team.<br />
* Should risky releases be done off hours?<br />
* Do you have a way to grade which are risky? e.g. infrastructure upgrades have been problematic<br />
** Infrastructure is actually a shared resource. All services are running a shared K8S cluster.<br />
* Each team has a QA champion... but not specifically a test automation specialist.<br />
* Tangent: Cucumber "actually not bad with this project"<br />
* "In a microservices architecture whee you are having E2E problems, there is a monolith hiding in there somewhere. You just have to find it."</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2023Sessions&diff=16684
CITCONNA2023Sessions
2023-02-05T00:32:56Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10am<br />
<br />
# [[Beyond XP]] (Story of Pivotal Cloud Foundry post VMware acquisition)<br />
# [[Impact Driven Testing and Gap Analysis]]<br />
<br />
11am<br />
<br />
# [[Testing Microservices]] (Queen's gambit)<br />
# [[ADRs, Guardrails and Golden Paths]] (Bojack Horseman)<br />
<br />
2pm<br />
# [[Monitoring driven development]]<br />
<br />
3:15p<br />
# [[Program Management]]<br />
<br />
4:30p<br />
# [[The Role of E2E Tests in Microservices Architectures]]</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ADRs,_Guardrails_and_Golden_Paths&diff=16678
ADRs, Guardrails and Golden Paths
2023-02-04T21:58:31Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) <br />
* [https://cognitect.com/blog/2011/11/15/documenting-architecture-decisions Documenting Architecture Decisions] by Michael Nygard<br />
* [https://martinfowler.com/articles/scaling-architecture-conversationally.html#adr Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally]<br />
** There's also a great ADR template in there.<br />
* ADRs need to be documented at the time the decision is made<br />
* Include the reasoning behind why the decision was made at the time<br />
* A lot of recommendations are to author in markdown and check in to version control<br />
** I think it should live in the repo for which the decision applies<br />
* Problems<br />
** I have seen many cases of making general blanket architecture decisions (or suggestions) and labeling them as ADRs<br />
* Encourage people to author ADRs as an opportunity towards career growth<br />
* They could certainly act as an aid when outsourcing a project especially when there is the possibility of the code and maintenance coming back to you at some point.<br />
<br />
Guardrails<br />
* Another type of documentation I've been promoting are "guardrails" which are constraints that are put in place by some central team (e.g. CTO, Security team, etc).<br />
* These are not ADRs in that they are general constraints that all architectures of the org are expected to be adhered to.<br />
<br />
Golden Paths<br />
* The 3rd type of document I've been promoting is a Golden Path or well-documented, potentially with tooling support, but repeatable path for a specific implementation. <br />
* [https://engineering.atspotify.com/2020/08/how-we-use-golden-paths-to-solve-fragmentation-in-our-software-ecosystem/ Golden Paths at Spotify]<br />
** Aside: there is a system available from Spotify for managing a related developer portal for golden paths: [https://backstage.spotify.com/ Backstage]<br />
* AKA [https://netflixtechblog.com/how-we-build-code-at-netflix-c5d9bd727f15 Paved Roads at Netflix]</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ADRs,_Guardrails_and_Golden_Paths&diff=16677
ADRs, Guardrails and Golden Paths
2023-02-04T21:51:12Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) <br />
* [https://cognitect.com/blog/2011/11/15/documenting-architecture-decisions Documenting Architecture Decisions] by Michael Nygard<br />
* [https://martinfowler.com/articles/scaling-architecture-conversationally.html#adr Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally]<br />
** There's also a great ADR template in there.<br />
* ADRs need to be documented at the time the decision is made<br />
* Include the reasoning behind why the decision was made at the time<br />
* A lot of recommendations are to author in markdown and check in to version control<br />
** I think it should live in the repo for which the decision applies<br />
* Problems<br />
** I have seen many cases of making general blanket architecture decisions (or suggestions) and labeling them as ADRs<br />
* Encourage people to author ADRs as an opportunity towards career growth<br />
<br />
Guardrails<br />
* Another type of documentation I've been promoting are "guardrails" which are constraints that are put in place by some central team (e.g. CTO, Security team, etc).<br />
* These are not ADRs in that they are general constraints that all architectures of the org are expected to be adhered to.</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ADRs,_Guardrails_and_Golden_Paths&diff=16670
ADRs, Guardrails and Golden Paths
2023-02-04T20:01:35Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "..."</p>
<hr />
<div>...</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2023Sessions&diff=16669
CITCONNA2023Sessions
2023-02-04T20:00:49Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10am<br />
<br />
# [[Beyond XP]] (Story of Pivotal Cloud Foundry post VMware acquisition)<br />
# [[Impact Driven Testing and Gap Analysis]]<br />
<br />
11am<br />
<br />
# [[Testing Microservices]] (Queen's gambit)<br />
# [[ADRs, Guardrails and Golden Paths]] (Bojack Horseman)</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Impact_Driven_Testing_and_Gap_Analysis&diff=16660
Impact Driven Testing and Gap Analysis
2023-02-04T19:07:25Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "* Discussion about feature flags * If you have to PR with feature branches, try to merge incomplete features in order to get to something closer to "continuous" (re: CI) * Aut..."</p>
<hr />
<div>* Discussion about feature flags<br />
* If you have to PR with feature branches, try to merge incomplete features in order to get to something closer to "continuous" (re: CI)<br />
* Auto-rollback? what about database changes<br />
* Dealing with technical debt... measuring it in a pre-commit pipeline with Sonar?<br />
*</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2023Sessions&diff=16656
CITCONNA2023Sessions
2023-02-04T18:41:35Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10am<br />
<br />
1. [[Beyond XP]]<br />
<br />
2. [[Impact Driven Testing and Gap Analysis]]<br />
<br />
11am</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2023Sessions&diff=16655
CITCONNA2023Sessions
2023-02-04T18:40:23Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10am<br />
- [[Beyond XP]]<br />
- [[Impact Driven Testing and Gap Analysis]]<br />
<br />
11am</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Code_as_a_crime_scene&diff=16503
Code as a crime scene
2019-05-28T01:19:14Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>== Your Code as a Crime Scene ==<br />
by Adam Tornhill<br />
<br />
Use Forensic Techniques to Arrest Defects, Bottlenecks, and Bad Design in Your Programs<br />
<br />
[https://pragprog.com/book/atcrime/your-code-as-a-crime-scene The book at pragmatic programmers]<br />
<br />
[https://codescene.io/ Codescene.io]<br />
<br />
----<br />
Other notes: [[User:Robpark]]<br />
<br />
* Unfortunately, no one had fully read the book or used the codescene.io app directly, but it was still a very interesting and useful discussion that only makes me want to finally get to reading the book.<br />
* I had worked with a team that did use the app.. it fostered team communication IMO.. got everyone on the team to see the one file each was changing with most commits <br />
** [https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Daniel_Wellman Dan Wellman] is the guy to contact IMO<br />
* There was a theme of what are the facts (vs opinions), meaning focusing on facts about your codebase can be a very useful exercise<br />
* We discussed code complexity.. not many felt they found a lot of actionable value .. maybe combining with commit history would be more useful🤔<br />
* Code coverage — we all seemed to know how it can be used against us ( i.e. can be dangerous) — but what if you’ve been TDDing as much as possible maybe check coverage to see what you missed?<br />
* 100% coverage is dumb... or is it? Most of us preferred a 100% green unit test suite (with 1 reasonable exception), so why not ignore things to keep your coverage “green” (at 100%)?</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CI/CD_in_a_Serverless_context&diff=16502
CI/CD in a Serverless context
2019-05-28T01:11:05Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "1. Why not just roll your own CI server with serverless? * Looks like there’s a github project repo that does that. (Anybody have that link?) * Build vs buy discussion 2..."</p>
<hr />
<div>1. Why not just roll your own CI server with serverless?<br />
* Looks like there’s a github project repo that does that. (Anybody have that link?)<br />
* Build vs buy discussion<br />
2. How can we run our serverless app locally pre merge (given TBD)<br />
* `sam local invoke` perhaps?<br />
* Create a sub account per dev to isolate them and allow spin up of whatever services</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=TCR:_Test_and_Commit_or_Revert&diff=16496
TCR: Test and Commit or Revert
2019-05-20T18:10:17Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Slides''': https://speakerdeck.com/islomar/tcr-workshop?slide=5<br />
<br />
'''Code (including the commits we made in the session)''': https://github.com/alexconlin/tcr-workshop<br />
<br />
'''Kent Beck's original blog post on the topic''': https://medium.com/@kentbeck_7670/test-commit-revert-870bbd756864<br />
<br />
'''Hanselminutes - Fresh Talk and Tech for Developers''': ''test && commit || revert with Kent Beck'', December 20, 2018 <br /><br />
https://overcast.fm/+BVNcXTjM<br />
<br />
Other notes: [[User:Robpark]]<br />
* Do you squash all these little commits?<br />
* Context matters .. if open source project for pr submission then yes .. if for internal work on a team, you should probably merge every commit every time.<br />
* We (as from the example repo) hacked the rules to only revert the prod code not the test code<br />
* There’s also another viable modification to simply revert (everything) every n minutes where n <= 5 <br />
* Makes you think .. do you need to over design? .. under think? .. or be calm and not worry so much about the revert ;) ... the point I believe we mostly equally concluded was look to make small changes and small commits and small merges wherever possible <br />
* The one downside with a “simple” problem is we actually never had a revert (other than as a test ) yes, we were that good at Fibonacci ;)</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Techniques_Flows_and_Resources_for_creating_test_strategies&diff=16494
Techniques Flows and Resources for creating test strategies
2019-05-20T16:41:09Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "My notes: User:Robpark * Test pipelines and integration strategies across teams * Architecture is important * Hardware complicates matters * Required slow delivery cadence..."</p>
<hr />
<div>My notes: [[User:Robpark]]<br />
* Test pipelines and integration strategies across teams<br />
* Architecture is important<br />
* Hardware complicates matters<br />
* Required slow delivery cadence causes a wrinkle in continuous delivery <br />
* Customers demand stability<br />
* But customers don’t upgrade much (what’s the opposite of evergreen?)<br />
* How many versions do you support?<br />
* Can you whittle down your test matrix with mix panel metrics?<br />
* What if you only have one broadcast a week? For a weekly spike in traffic.. (can emulate with mock broadcasts?)<br />
* Recording event streams now .. in hope of being able to replay them .. focus on fixing problems quickly on the fly (over trying to handle/solve every problem)<br />
* It’s so important to assume you will miss something .. so MTTR is critical</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2016Sessions&diff=16334
CITCONNA2016Sessions
2016-12-10T19:09:14Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10:00<br />
[[Microservices Don't Continuously Integrate]]<br />
<br />
11:15<br />
[[Resiliency]]<br />
<br />
12:30<br />
[[The Roman Republic]]<br />
<br />
2:00<br />
[[A Serverless Website]]</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2016Sessions&diff=16333
CITCONNA2016Sessions
2016-12-10T17:41:10Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10:00<br />
[[Microservices Don't Continuously Integrate]]<br />
<br />
11:15<br />
[[Resiliency]]</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2016Sessions&diff=16332
CITCONNA2016Sessions
2016-12-10T17:40:54Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>10:00<br />
[[Microservices Don't Continuously Integrate]]<br />
11:15<br />
[[Resiliency]]</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2016Sessions&diff=16331
CITCONNA2016Sessions
2016-12-10T16:35:00Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "11:15 [Resiliency]"</p>
<hr />
<div>11:15<br />
[Resiliency]</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ConferencePlanning&diff=16307
ConferencePlanning
2016-09-02T15:13:15Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>For details on administering this wiki and website, look at [[Administering the CITCONF.COM website]]<br />
==How to Run a CITCON==<br />
The organizers use a pretty straight forward process for running the CITCON conferences. Below are the details.<br />
<br />
JTF and PJ are known for their classic opening speech for the conference. They have been doing the same speech since nearly the inception of CITCON. [[Opening Speech|More details...]]<br />
<br />
==Date & Location selection==<br />
<br />
* happens on the organization mailing lists<br />
* location requirements:<br />
** should have good (international) connections (airport, international railway stations, etc.)<br />
* date considerations<br />
** check for other conferences happening in the area - could hurt if there is a similar event just a week ago (or even on the same day), both when competing for sponsors & attendees. Impossible to achieve perfect schedule, but some places to check are<br />
*** meetup.com<br />
*** lanyard<br />
<br />
==Marketing for attendees==<br />
<br />
Our goal is to "sell out" the conference at 150 registrations.<br />
<br />
Expect at least a 1/3 no-show rate. We believe around 100 in actual attendance is the right size for a great event. That's why we limit to 150 registrations.<br />
<br />
'''IMPORTANT''': Advertise, advertise, advertise. Get the word out. Push the committee to help you advertise!!!<br />
<br />
In order to sell out registrations and get a broad and diverse mix of attendees, these are some channels for advertising the conference:<br />
<br />
* email usergroup/meetup leaders to announce on their groups ([http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ permission marketing a'la Seth Godin])<br />
* Linkedin, xing (in German speaking areas the latter is more popular)<br />
* reach out to other events' hosts (e.g.: coderetreat, devopsdays, etc.)<br />
* past relevant conferences in the area (see how far to reach out below)<br />
* exchange advertisments/mentions with other upcoming conferences in the area<br />
* twitter - always make it personal, and take it offline (email) once rapport is established<br />
* reach out to topical podcasts (e.g.: [https://twitter.com/foodfightshow @foodfightshow], [https://twitter.com/ShipShowPodcast @ShipShowPodcast], and probably a ton of others)<br />
Some of the groups & communities above are the same as the ones mentioned in the venue search - not surprisingly :)<br />
<br />
it requires a bit more work than just broadcasting your message (aka tweeting into the void), but not much much more, and once you get the hang of it, you can do a lot in a week, even if you make a daily quota of reaching out to 2-3 people<br />
<br />
===How far to reach out for attendees?===<br />
<br />
Not sure about the rest of the world, but in Europe people are quite happy to travel, so having people from Finland attend the conference in Budapest is normal. Starting with the venue location, advertise in an ever growing radius<br />
<br />
==Venue Search==<br />
Finding a suitable venue for CITCON can be challenging. It takes some creative searching. As a non-profit conference, we try to minimize the venue cost as much as possible. That tends to be the biggest hurdle. Here are the criteria for a venue that would typically be good for hosting a CITCON event.<br />
<br />
===Physical requirements===<br />
<br />
* One larger room, and 3 or 4 smaller rooms<br />
** We usually have one large room that can accomodate everyone at the conference (125) with 3 or 4 smaller rooms for breakout sessions that run in parallel.<br />
** We arrange the chairs in circles, instead of traditional classroom style. That changes the number of people that fit into one room.<br />
** We frequently use concentric circles to increase the capacity in the room.<br />
<br />
===Where to find to find no cost/very low cost venues===<br />
Frequently we try to seek out a venue that would be "sponsored" by the company that owns the space. For example, [http://www.citconf.com/singapore2012/ Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Singapore].<br />
<br />
* Look at existing communities and the venues they have used<br />
** coderetreat.org<br />
** meetup.com<br />
** classic user groups<br />
** free to attend conferences<br />
** etc.<br />
* educational institutions<br />
** Second tier but upcoming universities - established leading colleges are not only renting place, but also endorse you via their reputation, and thus for a(n often significan) cost. It works in the reverse with the next group of unis that would benefit from hosting a conference<br />
** high schools with an emphasis on IT in their curriculum<br />
* (tech) training companies - they already have the venue & the experience and hosting is a kind of advertisement for them<br />
* big companies with big offices that are keen on hiring/building a cool IT company image<br />
* startup hubs/centers, coworking spaces - especially ones that already run events<br />
* might be worth asking headhunters if you know any that are more than just staffing agencies if they know of such a company<br />
* ask local commerce chambers and/or municipal/governmental Tourism, Events and Economic Development offices if they have any suggestions<br />
<br />
===Nice to haves for a venue===<br />
<br />
* they have run events before<br />
* they have an established catering firm they work with<br />
<br />
===Choosing a venue===<br />
<br />
* probably any venue you consider describing to the list is gonna be good enough. <br />
* having a floor plan helps the committee<br />
* choosing between multiple potential venues (unless the price difference is enermous): go with the one<br />
** where the venue people have been more enthusiastic about hosting the conference<br />
** which felt more responsive during the talks/emails<br />
<br />
<br />
===Once a venue has been confirmed===<br />
<br />
* establish a point of contact at the venue for logistics.<br />
* have local venue coordinator send and introductory email to the logistical point of contact and the sponsor@citconf.com mailing list, including the conference organizers. <br />
* conference organizers will send the following email to the logistical contact at the venue:<br />
<br />
Thanks for hosting CITCON (Year and City)! <br />
<br />
We are excited to work with you on this event. As a venue sponsor (Venue Name) receives all of the benefits of a full conference sponsor. <br />
<br />
Could you please send us both a web ready logo (jpeg, tif, or gif) and a print quality logo (eps or ai)? We will use these on the conference website, posters, and T- shirts. Also, can you please lets us know what web address you would like your logo to link to. <br />
<br />
Here are a few things we would like to check on to get started:<br />
<br />
1. Do you have any preferred catering vendors? <br />
<br />
2. Are you willing to receive delegate give away items from event sponsors and hold them until the event? (They wouldn't arrive until shortly before the day of the event.) If so, to what address and to whose attention should these item be sent?<br />
<br />
3. What items A/V and other items are available for conference use? i.e. projectors, microphone/sound system, white boards, ect. <br />
<br />
4. Is access to the building limited, is there security, will we need cards or pass codes? Is security aware that we are going be there (e.g.: if normally they don't provide weekend personnel, they might need to do so 'coz of the conf. See Helsinki)<br />
<br />
Thanks again for your help!<br />
<br />
==Catering==<br />
<br />
The easiest solution is when the venue already has a catering firm they routinely work with. <br />
<br />
If that's not the case, just search for location name & catering, and ask them for a quote.<br />
<br />
Also, while the word "catering" is used, it doesn't have to mean waiters - delivered food with plastic utensils can be just as OK<br />
<br />
While it helps if the vendor's people speak English, as long as one of the CITCON volunteers can communicate with them, it's OK. <br />
<br />
For examples, see [[Menu from CITCON Sydney 2013]] and [[Menu from CITCON Budapest 2012]].<br />
<br />
===Quotes===<br />
<br />
* give them our budget - confirm budget on CITCON-committee mailing list - be sure to explicitly say whether the amount is net or gross<br />
* also, emphasize that you want the quote with the final number - most firms do this, but just to be on the safe side<br />
* tell them that registration only closes about a week before the event, and its implications<br />
** ask for multiple quote variations (different menus) - tell them the current number of registrants and the maximum amount of people<br />
** you'll finalize the order amounts one week prior to the event<br />
** ask for a complete breakdown of items included, have them specify any potential food allergy items i.e. shell fish, gluten free, peanuts, tree nuts, etc.<br />
* what we need the quote for<br />
** Friday evening reception (19:30-21:00)<br />
***delivery time 19:30<br />
*** i.e. finger-food, canapés, hors d'ourves, pizza <br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks, coffee, water<br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
*** beers (and maybe some wine)<br />
**** glasses need to be provided<br />
** Saturday morning breakfast (9:00-10:00)<br />
*** delivery time 8:30<br />
*** i.e. danishes, croissants, muffins, fruit<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** coffee, tea, juices, water <br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
** Saturday beverage service - all day<br />
*** coffee and tea<br />
**** cups need to be included<br />
*** snacks are a plus but not required<br />
** Saturday lunch (12:30-14:00)<br />
*** delivery time 12:00<br />
*** i.e. sandwiches, pizza, full catering including hot food<br />
**** a full meal is required, i.e. chips/crisps or fruit should be included with sandwiches<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks<br />
**** ice needs to be included<br />
<br />
===Invoices, Payment===<br />
<br />
* non-English invoices are fine<br />
* Invoices should be addressed to the OIF (Open Information Foundation, PO Box 1812, North Sioux City, SD 57049)<br />
* available payment options are PayPal, credit card, bank transfer, cash (in this order of preference)<br />
<br />
===Event logistics===<br />
<br />
* make sure the catering and the venue people know each others contact details (get permission from both sides)<br />
* be sure they have discussed the logistics (will there be someone in the morning at the venue when the catering people show up? Or can they enter the building?)<br />
<br />
==Swag==<br />
<br />
* traditionally, there have only been T-shirts<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
** color voting happens on the organization mailing list (everyone on the list can vote, not just the current organizers)<br />
* stickers<br />
** from 2015 on<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
<br />
==During the event==<br />
<br />
===Tweetwall===<br />
<br />
In the main hall. Normally we use visible tweets, using the following link [http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1 http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1]<br />
<br />
==Conference Registration==<br />
Once the website has been setup, for example [http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/ the Sydney 2013 site], the organizers decide when to open registration. Once agreed upon, the following steps are followed to create the [http://www.eventwax.com/ EventWax] event and link it in to the CITCON conference site.<br />
<br />
===Create Event===<br />
# Log in to https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin/account/login<br />
#* For obvious reasons, the username and password are not included on this page. Email the committee mailing list to get authorization to do this.<br />
# Click the "Events" drop down and select "New Event".<br />
# Fill in the Event Name, e.g. "CITCON Sydney 2013".<br />
# Fill in the Venue, e.g. "Sydney Marriott".<br />
# Fill the Capacity, e.g. 150<br />
#* We have traditionally always set the capacity to 150. That allows 150 people to register. We expect about one-third no-show. So, we expect about 100 people to attend the conference. Sometimes it is more. Sometimes it is less.<br />
# Set the Currency, e.g. "Australian Dollars"<br />
# Status should be defaulted to "Open".<br />
# Set the Timezone, e.g. "Australia - Sydney".<br />
# Set the Start Date, e.g. "Feb 8, 2013".<br />
# Set the End Date, e.g. "Feb 9, 2013".<br />
# Set the Start Time, e.g. "18:00".<br />
# Set the End Time, e.g. "19:00".<br />
# Click Create Event.<br />
#* The new event should now be listed in the upcoming events on the [https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin admin page].<br />
<br />
===Create Tickets===<br />
# Click on the link for the new event.<br />
# Click the Edit Event tab.<br />
# Click the Ticket Setup tab.<br />
# Change the name for the "Standard Ticket" to "Registration Only".<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Generous Amount - Cover Costs Plus Some" set to $100 (local currency units, i.e. 100 pounds, 100 Australia dollars, etc).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Full Costs of One Participant" set to $65 (...see note above about currency units...).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Food Costs of One Participant" set to $32.<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover TShirt Cost of One Participant" set to $9.<br />
# For all tickets, set the start time to the time when you want people to begin being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. Now.<br />
# For all tickets, set the end time to the time when you want people to stop being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. the Friday one week prior to the start of the conference at 23:45.<br />
# Add any details you like to the "Fine Print", e.g. "* Note that the date for the event MAY change. In the event of a date change, the organizers will attempt to notify all ticket holders as soon as possible."<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Adjust Promotional Pages===<br />
# Click the Promotional Webpages tab.<br />
# Set "Use EventWax hosted landing page?" to No.<br />
# Change the Return URL to an appropriate page on the CITCON conference site, e.g. http://citconf.com/sydney2013/register_success.php<br />
# In the Ticket Order Form section, click Add Field.<br />
# Name it "Tshirt Size (USA Sizes)".<br />
# Change the Type to Drop Down.<br />
# Check the Required box.<br />
# Set the Options to "Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large, XXX-Large, No Shirt"<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Change the Logo===<br />
# Click the Event Dashboard tab.<br />
# Under Upload New Logo click the Choose File button.<br />
# Upload the logo found at http://citconf.com/_Images/logos/001.png<br />
<br />
===Link the Event Registration to the Conference Site===<br />
This section assumes that you are familiar with editing the website. If not, then email the committee mailing list for help.<br />
# Copy the contents of the file "register.wasopen.php" and paste it into "register.php".<br />
# Confirm that the registration URL matches what was listed on on the EventWax Promotional Webpages, e.g. https://citcon.eventwax.com/citcon-sydney-2013/register<br />
# Double check the rest of the page. Add any comments that are important, e.g. <code>&lt;p&gt;NOTE: The venue for CITCON Syndey has NOT been finalized...</code><br />
# Commit the change and double check the live site, e.g. http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/register.php</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ConferencePlanning&diff=16306
ConferencePlanning
2016-09-02T15:12:08Z
<p>Robpark: /* Marketing for attendees */</p>
<hr />
<div>For details on administering this wiki and website, look at [[Administering the CITCONF.COM website]]<br />
==How to Run a CITCON==<br />
The organizers use a pretty straight forward process for running the CITCON conferences. Below are the details.<br />
<br />
JTF and PJ are known for their classic opening speech for the conference. They have been doing the same speech since nearly the inception of CITCON. [[Opening Speech|More details...]]<br />
<br />
==Date & Location selection==<br />
<br />
* happens on the organization mailing lists<br />
* location requirements:<br />
** should have good (international) connections (airport, international railway stations, etc.)<br />
* date considerations<br />
** check for other conferences happening in the area - could hurt if there is a similar event just a week ago (or even on the same day), both when competing for sponsors & attendees. Impossible to achieve perfect schedule, but some places to check are<br />
*** meetup.com<br />
*** lanyard<br />
<br />
==Venue Search==<br />
Finding a suitable venue for CITCON can be challenging. It takes some creative searching. As a non-profit conference, we try to minimize the venue cost as much as possible. That tends to be the biggest hurdle. Here are the criteria for a venue that would typically be good for hosting a CITCON event.<br />
<br />
===Physical requirements===<br />
<br />
* One larger room, and 3 or 4 smaller rooms<br />
** We usually have one large room that can accomodate everyone at the conference (125) with 3 or 4 smaller rooms for breakout sessions that run in parallel.<br />
** We arrange the chairs in circles, instead of traditional classroom style. That changes the number of people that fit into one room.<br />
** We frequently use concentric circles to increase the capacity in the room.<br />
<br />
===Where to find to find no cost/very low cost venues===<br />
Frequently we try to seek out a venue that would be "sponsored" by the company that owns the space. For example, [http://www.citconf.com/singapore2012/ Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Singapore].<br />
<br />
* Look at existing communities and the venues they have used<br />
** coderetreat.org<br />
** meetup.com<br />
** classic user groups<br />
** free to attend conferences<br />
** etc.<br />
* educational institutions<br />
** Second tier but upcoming universities - established leading colleges are not only renting place, but also endorse you via their reputation, and thus for a(n often significan) cost. It works in the reverse with the next group of unis that would benefit from hosting a conference<br />
** high schools with an emphasis on IT in their curriculum<br />
* (tech) training companies - they already have the venue & the experience and hosting is a kind of advertisement for them<br />
* big companies with big offices that are keen on hiring/building a cool IT company image<br />
* startup hubs/centers, coworking spaces - especially ones that already run events<br />
* might be worth asking headhunters if you know any that are more than just staffing agencies if they know of such a company<br />
* ask local commerce chambers and/or municipal/governmental Tourism, Events and Economic Development offices if they have any suggestions<br />
<br />
===Nice to haves for a venue===<br />
<br />
* they have run events before<br />
* they have an established catering firm they work with<br />
<br />
===Choosing a venue===<br />
<br />
* probably any venue you consider describing to the list is gonna be good enough. <br />
* having a floor plan helps the committee<br />
* choosing between multiple potential venues (unless the price difference is enermous): go with the one<br />
** where the venue people have been more enthusiastic about hosting the conference<br />
** which felt more responsive during the talks/emails<br />
<br />
<br />
===Once a venue has been confirmed===<br />
<br />
* establish a point of contact at the venue for logistics.<br />
* have local venue coordinator send and introductory email to the logistical point of contact and the sponsor@citconf.com mailing list, including the conference organizers. <br />
* conference organizers will send the following email to the logistical contact at the venue:<br />
<br />
Thanks for hosting CITCON (Year and City)! <br />
<br />
We are excited to work with you on this event. As a venue sponsor (Venue Name) receives all of the benefits of a full conference sponsor. <br />
<br />
Could you please send us both a web ready logo (jpeg, tif, or gif) and a print quality logo (eps or ai)? We will use these on the conference website, posters, and T- shirts. Also, can you please lets us know what web address you would like your logo to link to. <br />
<br />
Here are a few things we would like to check on to get started:<br />
<br />
1. Do you have any preferred catering vendors? <br />
<br />
2. Are you willing to receive delegate give away items from event sponsors and hold them until the event? (They wouldn't arrive until shortly before the day of the event.) If so, to what address and to whose attention should these item be sent?<br />
<br />
3. What items A/V and other items are available for conference use? i.e. projectors, microphone/sound system, white boards, ect. <br />
<br />
4. Is access to the building limited, is there security, will we need cards or pass codes? Is security aware that we are going be there (e.g.: if normally they don't provide weekend personnel, they might need to do so 'coz of the conf. See Helsinki)<br />
<br />
Thanks again for your help!<br />
<br />
==Catering==<br />
<br />
The easiest solution is when the venue already has a catering firm they routinely work with. <br />
<br />
If that's not the case, just search for location name & catering, and ask them for a quote.<br />
<br />
Also, while the word "catering" is used, it doesn't have to mean waiters - delivered food with plastic utensils can be just as OK<br />
<br />
While it helps if the vendor's people speak English, as long as one of the CITCON volunteers can communicate with them, it's OK. <br />
<br />
For examples, see [[Menu from CITCON Sydney 2013]] and [[Menu from CITCON Budapest 2012]].<br />
<br />
===Quotes===<br />
<br />
* give them our budget - confirm budget on CITCON-committee mailing list - be sure to explicitly say whether the amount is net or gross<br />
* also, emphasize that you want the quote with the final number - most firms do this, but just to be on the safe side<br />
* tell them that registration only closes about a week before the event, and its implications<br />
** ask for multiple quote variations (different menus) - tell them the current number of registrants and the maximum amount of people<br />
** you'll finalize the order amounts one week prior to the event<br />
** ask for a complete breakdown of items included, have them specify any potential food allergy items i.e. shell fish, gluten free, peanuts, tree nuts, etc.<br />
* what we need the quote for<br />
** Friday evening reception (19:30-21:00)<br />
***delivery time 19:30<br />
*** i.e. finger-food, canapés, hors d'ourves, pizza <br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks, coffee, water<br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
*** beers (and maybe some wine)<br />
**** glasses need to be provided<br />
** Saturday morning breakfast (9:00-10:00)<br />
*** delivery time 8:30<br />
*** i.e. danishes, croissants, muffins, fruit<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** coffee, tea, juices, water <br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
** Saturday beverage service - all day<br />
*** coffee and tea<br />
**** cups need to be included<br />
*** snacks are a plus but not required<br />
** Saturday lunch (12:30-14:00)<br />
*** delivery time 12:00<br />
*** i.e. sandwiches, pizza, full catering including hot food<br />
**** a full meal is required, i.e. chips/crisps or fruit should be included with sandwiches<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks<br />
**** ice needs to be included<br />
<br />
===Invoices, Payment===<br />
<br />
* non-English invoices are fine<br />
* Invoices should be addressed to the OIF (Open Information Foundation, PO Box 1812, North Sioux City, SD 57049)<br />
* available payment options are PayPal, credit card, bank transfer, cash (in this order of preference)<br />
<br />
===Event logistics===<br />
<br />
* make sure the catering and the venue people know each others contact details (get permission from both sides)<br />
* be sure they have discussed the logistics (will there be someone in the morning at the venue when the catering people show up? Or can they enter the building?)<br />
<br />
==Swag==<br />
<br />
* traditionally, there have only been T-shirts<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
** color voting happens on the organization mailing list (everyone on the list can vote, not just the current organizers)<br />
* stickers<br />
** from 2015 on<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
<br />
==During the event==<br />
<br />
===Tweetwall===<br />
<br />
In the main hall. Normally we use visible tweets, using the following link [http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1 http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1]<br />
<br />
==Conference Registration==<br />
Once the website has been setup, for example [http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/ the Sydney 2013 site], the organizers decide when to open registration. Once agreed upon, the following steps are followed to create the [http://www.eventwax.com/ EventWax] event and link it in to the CITCON conference site.<br />
<br />
===Create Event===<br />
# Log in to https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin/account/login<br />
#* For obvious reasons, the username and password are not included on this page. Email the committee mailing list to get authorization to do this.<br />
# Click the "Events" drop down and select "New Event".<br />
# Fill in the Event Name, e.g. "CITCON Sydney 2013".<br />
# Fill in the Venue, e.g. "Sydney Marriott".<br />
# Fill the Capacity, e.g. 150<br />
#* We have traditionally always set the capacity to 150. That allows 150 people to register. We expect about one-third no-show. So, we expect about 100 people to attend the conference. Sometimes it is more. Sometimes it is less.<br />
# Set the Currency, e.g. "Australian Dollars"<br />
# Status should be defaulted to "Open".<br />
# Set the Timezone, e.g. "Australia - Sydney".<br />
# Set the Start Date, e.g. "Feb 8, 2013".<br />
# Set the End Date, e.g. "Feb 9, 2013".<br />
# Set the Start Time, e.g. "18:00".<br />
# Set the End Time, e.g. "19:00".<br />
# Click Create Event.<br />
#* The new event should now be listed in the upcoming events on the [https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin admin page].<br />
<br />
===Create Tickets===<br />
# Click on the link for the new event.<br />
# Click the Edit Event tab.<br />
# Click the Ticket Setup tab.<br />
# Change the name for the "Standard Ticket" to "Registration Only".<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Generous Amount - Cover Costs Plus Some" set to $100 (local currency units, i.e. 100 pounds, 100 Australia dollars, etc).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Full Costs of One Participant" set to $65 (...see note above about currency units...).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Food Costs of One Participant" set to $32.<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover TShirt Cost of One Participant" set to $9.<br />
# For all tickets, set the start time to the time when you want people to begin being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. Now.<br />
# For all tickets, set the end time to the time when you want people to stop being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. the Friday one week prior to the start of the conference at 23:45.<br />
# Add any details you like to the "Fine Print", e.g. "* Note that the date for the event MAY change. In the event of a date change, the organizers will attempt to notify all ticket holders as soon as possible."<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Adjust Promotional Pages===<br />
# Click the Promotional Webpages tab.<br />
# Set "Use EventWax hosted landing page?" to No.<br />
# Change the Return URL to an appropriate page on the CITCON conference site, e.g. http://citconf.com/sydney2013/register_success.php<br />
# In the Ticket Order Form section, click Add Field.<br />
# Name it "Tshirt Size (USA Sizes)".<br />
# Change the Type to Drop Down.<br />
# Check the Required box.<br />
# Set the Options to "Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large, XXX-Large, No Shirt"<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Change the Logo===<br />
# Click the Event Dashboard tab.<br />
# Under Upload New Logo click the Choose File button.<br />
# Upload the logo found at http://citconf.com/_Images/logos/001.png<br />
<br />
===Link the Event Registration to the Conference Site===<br />
This section assumes that you are familiar with editing the website. If not, then email the committee mailing list for help.<br />
# Copy the contents of the file "register.wasopen.php" and paste it into "register.php".<br />
# Confirm that the registration URL matches what was listed on on the EventWax Promotional Webpages, e.g. https://citcon.eventwax.com/citcon-sydney-2013/register<br />
# Double check the rest of the page. Add any comments that are important, e.g. <code>&lt;p&gt;NOTE: The venue for CITCON Syndey has NOT been finalized...</code><br />
# Commit the change and double check the live site, e.g. http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/register.php<br />
<br />
<br />
==Marketing for attendees==<br />
<br />
Our goal is to "sell out" the conference at 150 registrations.<br />
<br />
Expect at least a 1/3 no-show rate. We believe around 100 in actual attendance is the right size for a great event. That's why we limit to 150 registrations.<br />
<br />
'''IMPORTANT''': Advertise, advertise, advertise. Get the word out. Push the committee to help you advertise!!!<br />
<br />
In order to sell out registrations and get a broad and diverse mix of attendees, these are some channels for advertising the conference:<br />
<br />
* email usergroup/meetup leaders to announce on their groups ([http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ permission marketing a'la Seth Godin])<br />
* Linkedin, xing (in German speaking areas the latter is more popular)<br />
* reach out to other events' hosts (e.g.: coderetreat, devopsdays, etc.)<br />
* past relevant conferences in the area (see how far to reach out below)<br />
* exchange advertisments/mentions with other upcoming conferences in the area<br />
* twitter - always make it personal, and take it offline (email) once rapport is established<br />
* reach out to topical podcasts (e.g.: [https://twitter.com/foodfightshow @foodfightshow], [https://twitter.com/ShipShowPodcast @ShipShowPodcast], and probably a ton of others)<br />
Some of the groups & communities above are the same as the ones mentioned in the venue search - not surprisingly :)<br />
<br />
it requires a bit more work than just broadcasting your message (aka tweeting into the void), but not much much more, and once you get the hang of it, you can do a lot in a week, even if you make a daily quota of reaching out to 2-3 people<br />
<br />
===How far to reach out for attendees?===<br />
<br />
Not sure about the rest of the world, but in Europe people are quite happy to travel, so having people from Finland attend the conference in Budapest is normal. Starting with the venue location, advertise in an ever growing radius</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ConferencePlanning&diff=16305
ConferencePlanning
2016-09-02T15:05:09Z
<p>Robpark: /* Marketing for attendees */</p>
<hr />
<div>For details on administering this wiki and website, look at [[Administering the CITCONF.COM website]]<br />
==How to Run a CITCON==<br />
The organizers use a pretty straight forward process for running the CITCON conferences. Below are the details.<br />
<br />
JTF and PJ are known for their classic opening speech for the conference. They have been doing the same speech since nearly the inception of CITCON. [[Opening Speech|More details...]]<br />
<br />
==Date & Location selection==<br />
<br />
* happens on the organization mailing lists<br />
* location requirements:<br />
** should have good (international) connections (airport, international railway stations, etc.)<br />
* date considerations<br />
** check for other conferences happening in the area - could hurt if there is a similar event just a week ago (or even on the same day), both when competing for sponsors & attendees. Impossible to achieve perfect schedule, but some places to check are<br />
*** meetup.com<br />
*** lanyard<br />
<br />
==Venue Search==<br />
Finding a suitable venue for CITCON can be challenging. It takes some creative searching. As a non-profit conference, we try to minimize the venue cost as much as possible. That tends to be the biggest hurdle. Here are the criteria for a venue that would typically be good for hosting a CITCON event.<br />
<br />
===Physical requirements===<br />
<br />
* One larger room, and 3 or 4 smaller rooms<br />
** We usually have one large room that can accomodate everyone at the conference (125) with 3 or 4 smaller rooms for breakout sessions that run in parallel.<br />
** We arrange the chairs in circles, instead of traditional classroom style. That changes the number of people that fit into one room.<br />
** We frequently use concentric circles to increase the capacity in the room.<br />
<br />
===Where to find to find no cost/very low cost venues===<br />
Frequently we try to seek out a venue that would be "sponsored" by the company that owns the space. For example, [http://www.citconf.com/singapore2012/ Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Singapore].<br />
<br />
* Look at existing communities and the venues they have used<br />
** coderetreat.org<br />
** meetup.com<br />
** classic user groups<br />
** free to attend conferences<br />
** etc.<br />
* educational institutions<br />
** Second tier but upcoming universities - established leading colleges are not only renting place, but also endorse you via their reputation, and thus for a(n often significan) cost. It works in the reverse with the next group of unis that would benefit from hosting a conference<br />
** high schools with an emphasis on IT in their curriculum<br />
* (tech) training companies - they already have the venue & the experience and hosting is a kind of advertisement for them<br />
* big companies with big offices that are keen on hiring/building a cool IT company image<br />
* startup hubs/centers, coworking spaces - especially ones that already run events<br />
* might be worth asking headhunters if you know any that are more than just staffing agencies if they know of such a company<br />
* ask local commerce chambers and/or municipal/governmental Tourism, Events and Economic Development offices if they have any suggestions<br />
<br />
===Nice to haves for a venue===<br />
<br />
* they have run events before<br />
* they have an established catering firm they work with<br />
<br />
===Choosing a venue===<br />
<br />
* probably any venue you consider describing to the list is gonna be good enough. <br />
* having a floor plan helps the committee<br />
* choosing between multiple potential venues (unless the price difference is enermous): go with the one<br />
** where the venue people have been more enthusiastic about hosting the conference<br />
** which felt more responsive during the talks/emails<br />
<br />
<br />
===Once a venue has been confirmed===<br />
<br />
* establish a point of contact at the venue for logistics.<br />
* have local venue coordinator send and introductory email to the logistical point of contact and the sponsor@citconf.com mailing list, including the conference organizers. <br />
* conference organizers will send the following email to the logistical contact at the venue:<br />
<br />
Thanks for hosting CITCON (Year and City)! <br />
<br />
We are excited to work with you on this event. As a venue sponsor (Venue Name) receives all of the benefits of a full conference sponsor. <br />
<br />
Could you please send us both a web ready logo (jpeg, tif, or gif) and a print quality logo (eps or ai)? We will use these on the conference website, posters, and T- shirts. Also, can you please lets us know what web address you would like your logo to link to. <br />
<br />
Here are a few things we would like to check on to get started:<br />
<br />
1. Do you have any preferred catering vendors? <br />
<br />
2. Are you willing to receive delegate give away items from event sponsors and hold them until the event? (They wouldn't arrive until shortly before the day of the event.) If so, to what address and to whose attention should these item be sent?<br />
<br />
3. What items A/V and other items are available for conference use? i.e. projectors, microphone/sound system, white boards, ect. <br />
<br />
4. Is access to the building limited, is there security, will we need cards or pass codes? Is security aware that we are going be there (e.g.: if normally they don't provide weekend personnel, they might need to do so 'coz of the conf. See Helsinki)<br />
<br />
Thanks again for your help!<br />
<br />
==Catering==<br />
<br />
The easiest solution is when the venue already has a catering firm they routinely work with. <br />
<br />
If that's not the case, just search for location name & catering, and ask them for a quote.<br />
<br />
Also, while the word "catering" is used, it doesn't have to mean waiters - delivered food with plastic utensils can be just as OK<br />
<br />
While it helps if the vendor's people speak English, as long as one of the CITCON volunteers can communicate with them, it's OK. <br />
<br />
For examples, see [[Menu from CITCON Sydney 2013]] and [[Menu from CITCON Budapest 2012]].<br />
<br />
===Quotes===<br />
<br />
* give them our budget - confirm budget on CITCON-committee mailing list - be sure to explicitly say whether the amount is net or gross<br />
* also, emphasize that you want the quote with the final number - most firms do this, but just to be on the safe side<br />
* tell them that registration only closes about a week before the event, and its implications<br />
** ask for multiple quote variations (different menus) - tell them the current number of registrants and the maximum amount of people<br />
** you'll finalize the order amounts one week prior to the event<br />
** ask for a complete breakdown of items included, have them specify any potential food allergy items i.e. shell fish, gluten free, peanuts, tree nuts, etc.<br />
* what we need the quote for<br />
** Friday evening reception (19:30-21:00)<br />
***delivery time 19:30<br />
*** i.e. finger-food, canapés, hors d'ourves, pizza <br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks, coffee, water<br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
*** beers (and maybe some wine)<br />
**** glasses need to be provided<br />
** Saturday morning breakfast (9:00-10:00)<br />
*** delivery time 8:30<br />
*** i.e. danishes, croissants, muffins, fruit<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** coffee, tea, juices, water <br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
** Saturday beverage service - all day<br />
*** coffee and tea<br />
**** cups need to be included<br />
*** snacks are a plus but not required<br />
** Saturday lunch (12:30-14:00)<br />
*** delivery time 12:00<br />
*** i.e. sandwiches, pizza, full catering including hot food<br />
**** a full meal is required, i.e. chips/crisps or fruit should be included with sandwiches<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks<br />
**** ice needs to be included<br />
<br />
===Invoices, Payment===<br />
<br />
* non-English invoices are fine<br />
* Invoices should be addressed to the OIF (Open Information Foundation, PO Box 1812, North Sioux City, SD 57049)<br />
* available payment options are PayPal, credit card, bank transfer, cash (in this order of preference)<br />
<br />
===Event logistics===<br />
<br />
* make sure the catering and the venue people know each others contact details (get permission from both sides)<br />
* be sure they have discussed the logistics (will there be someone in the morning at the venue when the catering people show up? Or can they enter the building?)<br />
<br />
==Swag==<br />
<br />
* traditionally, there have only been T-shirts<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
** color voting happens on the organization mailing list (everyone on the list can vote, not just the current organizers)<br />
* stickers<br />
** from 2015 on<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
<br />
==During the event==<br />
<br />
===Tweetwall===<br />
<br />
In the main hall. Normally we use visible tweets, using the following link [http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1 http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1]<br />
<br />
==Conference Registration==<br />
Once the website has been setup, for example [http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/ the Sydney 2013 site], the organizers decide when to open registration. Once agreed upon, the following steps are followed to create the [http://www.eventwax.com/ EventWax] event and link it in to the CITCON conference site.<br />
<br />
===Create Event===<br />
# Log in to https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin/account/login<br />
#* For obvious reasons, the username and password are not included on this page. Email the committee mailing list to get authorization to do this.<br />
# Click the "Events" drop down and select "New Event".<br />
# Fill in the Event Name, e.g. "CITCON Sydney 2013".<br />
# Fill in the Venue, e.g. "Sydney Marriott".<br />
# Fill the Capacity, e.g. 150<br />
#* We have traditionally always set the capacity to 150. That allows 150 people to register. We expect about one-third no-show. So, we expect about 100 people to attend the conference. Sometimes it is more. Sometimes it is less.<br />
# Set the Currency, e.g. "Australian Dollars"<br />
# Status should be defaulted to "Open".<br />
# Set the Timezone, e.g. "Australia - Sydney".<br />
# Set the Start Date, e.g. "Feb 8, 2013".<br />
# Set the End Date, e.g. "Feb 9, 2013".<br />
# Set the Start Time, e.g. "18:00".<br />
# Set the End Time, e.g. "19:00".<br />
# Click Create Event.<br />
#* The new event should now be listed in the upcoming events on the [https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin admin page].<br />
<br />
===Create Tickets===<br />
# Click on the link for the new event.<br />
# Click the Edit Event tab.<br />
# Click the Ticket Setup tab.<br />
# Change the name for the "Standard Ticket" to "Registration Only".<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Generous Amount - Cover Costs Plus Some" set to $100 (local currency units, i.e. 100 pounds, 100 Australia dollars, etc).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Full Costs of One Participant" set to $65 (...see note above about currency units...).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Food Costs of One Participant" set to $32.<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover TShirt Cost of One Participant" set to $9.<br />
# For all tickets, set the start time to the time when you want people to begin being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. Now.<br />
# For all tickets, set the end time to the time when you want people to stop being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. the Friday one week prior to the start of the conference at 23:45.<br />
# Add any details you like to the "Fine Print", e.g. "* Note that the date for the event MAY change. In the event of a date change, the organizers will attempt to notify all ticket holders as soon as possible."<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Adjust Promotional Pages===<br />
# Click the Promotional Webpages tab.<br />
# Set "Use EventWax hosted landing page?" to No.<br />
# Change the Return URL to an appropriate page on the CITCON conference site, e.g. http://citconf.com/sydney2013/register_success.php<br />
# In the Ticket Order Form section, click Add Field.<br />
# Name it "Tshirt Size (USA Sizes)".<br />
# Change the Type to Drop Down.<br />
# Check the Required box.<br />
# Set the Options to "Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large, XXX-Large, No Shirt"<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Change the Logo===<br />
# Click the Event Dashboard tab.<br />
# Under Upload New Logo click the Choose File button.<br />
# Upload the logo found at http://citconf.com/_Images/logos/001.png<br />
<br />
===Link the Event Registration to the Conference Site===<br />
This section assumes that you are familiar with editing the website. If not, then email the committee mailing list for help.<br />
# Copy the contents of the file "register.wasopen.php" and paste it into "register.php".<br />
# Confirm that the registration URL matches what was listed on on the EventWax Promotional Webpages, e.g. https://citcon.eventwax.com/citcon-sydney-2013/register<br />
# Double check the rest of the page. Add any comments that are important, e.g. <code>&lt;p&gt;NOTE: The venue for CITCON Syndey has NOT been finalized...</code><br />
# Commit the change and double check the live site, e.g. http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/register.php<br />
<br />
<br />
==Marketing for attendees==<br />
<br />
Our goal is to "sell out" the conference at 150 registrations.<br />
<br />
Expect at least a 1/3 no-show rate. We believe around 100 in actual attendance is the right size for a great event. That's why we limit to 150 registrations.<br />
<br />
Some of the groups & communities below are the same as the ones mentioned in the venue search - not surprisingly :)<br />
<br />
* email usergroup/meetup leaders to announce on their groups ([http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ permission marketing a'la Seth Godin])<br />
* Linkedin, xing (in German speaking areas the latter is more popular)<br />
* reach out to other events' hosts (e.g.: coderetreat, devopsdays, etc.)<br />
* past relevant conferences in the area (see how far to reach out below)<br />
* exchange advertisments/mentions with other upcoming conferences in the area<br />
* twitter - always make it personal, and take it offline (email) once rapport is established<br />
* reach out to topical podcasts (e.g.: [https://twitter.com/foodfightshow @foodfightshow], [https://twitter.com/ShipShowPodcast @ShipShowPodcast], and probably a ton of others)<br />
<br />
it requires a bit more work than just broadcasting your message (aka tweeting into the void), but not much much more, and once you get the hang of it, you can do a lot in a week, even if you make a daily quota of reaching out to 2-3 people<br />
<br />
===How far to reach out for attendees?===<br />
<br />
Not sure about the rest of the world, but in Europe people are quite happy to travel, so having people from Finland attend the conference in Budapest is normal. Starting with the venue location, advertise in an ever growing radius</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ConferencePlanning&diff=16304
ConferencePlanning
2016-09-02T14:55:39Z
<p>Robpark: /* Invoices, Payment */</p>
<hr />
<div>For details on administering this wiki and website, look at [[Administering the CITCONF.COM website]]<br />
==How to Run a CITCON==<br />
The organizers use a pretty straight forward process for running the CITCON conferences. Below are the details.<br />
<br />
JTF and PJ are known for their classic opening speech for the conference. They have been doing the same speech since nearly the inception of CITCON. [[Opening Speech|More details...]]<br />
<br />
==Date & Location selection==<br />
<br />
* happens on the organization mailing lists<br />
* location requirements:<br />
** should have good (international) connections (airport, international railway stations, etc.)<br />
* date considerations<br />
** check for other conferences happening in the area - could hurt if there is a similar event just a week ago (or even on the same day), both when competing for sponsors & attendees. Impossible to achieve perfect schedule, but some places to check are<br />
*** meetup.com<br />
*** lanyard<br />
<br />
==Venue Search==<br />
Finding a suitable venue for CITCON can be challenging. It takes some creative searching. As a non-profit conference, we try to minimize the venue cost as much as possible. That tends to be the biggest hurdle. Here are the criteria for a venue that would typically be good for hosting a CITCON event.<br />
<br />
===Physical requirements===<br />
<br />
* One larger room, and 3 or 4 smaller rooms<br />
** We usually have one large room that can accomodate everyone at the conference (125) with 3 or 4 smaller rooms for breakout sessions that run in parallel.<br />
** We arrange the chairs in circles, instead of traditional classroom style. That changes the number of people that fit into one room.<br />
** We frequently use concentric circles to increase the capacity in the room.<br />
<br />
===Where to find to find no cost/very low cost venues===<br />
Frequently we try to seek out a venue that would be "sponsored" by the company that owns the space. For example, [http://www.citconf.com/singapore2012/ Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Singapore].<br />
<br />
* Look at existing communities and the venues they have used<br />
** coderetreat.org<br />
** meetup.com<br />
** classic user groups<br />
** free to attend conferences<br />
** etc.<br />
* educational institutions<br />
** Second tier but upcoming universities - established leading colleges are not only renting place, but also endorse you via their reputation, and thus for a(n often significan) cost. It works in the reverse with the next group of unis that would benefit from hosting a conference<br />
** high schools with an emphasis on IT in their curriculum<br />
* (tech) training companies - they already have the venue & the experience and hosting is a kind of advertisement for them<br />
* big companies with big offices that are keen on hiring/building a cool IT company image<br />
* startup hubs/centers, coworking spaces - especially ones that already run events<br />
* might be worth asking headhunters if you know any that are more than just staffing agencies if they know of such a company<br />
* ask local commerce chambers and/or municipal/governmental Tourism, Events and Economic Development offices if they have any suggestions<br />
<br />
===Nice to haves for a venue===<br />
<br />
* they have run events before<br />
* they have an established catering firm they work with<br />
<br />
===Choosing a venue===<br />
<br />
* probably any venue you consider describing to the list is gonna be good enough. <br />
* having a floor plan helps the committee<br />
* choosing between multiple potential venues (unless the price difference is enermous): go with the one<br />
** where the venue people have been more enthusiastic about hosting the conference<br />
** which felt more responsive during the talks/emails<br />
<br />
<br />
===Once a venue has been confirmed===<br />
<br />
* establish a point of contact at the venue for logistics.<br />
* have local venue coordinator send and introductory email to the logistical point of contact and the sponsor@citconf.com mailing list, including the conference organizers. <br />
* conference organizers will send the following email to the logistical contact at the venue:<br />
<br />
Thanks for hosting CITCON (Year and City)! <br />
<br />
We are excited to work with you on this event. As a venue sponsor (Venue Name) receives all of the benefits of a full conference sponsor. <br />
<br />
Could you please send us both a web ready logo (jpeg, tif, or gif) and a print quality logo (eps or ai)? We will use these on the conference website, posters, and T- shirts. Also, can you please lets us know what web address you would like your logo to link to. <br />
<br />
Here are a few things we would like to check on to get started:<br />
<br />
1. Do you have any preferred catering vendors? <br />
<br />
2. Are you willing to receive delegate give away items from event sponsors and hold them until the event? (They wouldn't arrive until shortly before the day of the event.) If so, to what address and to whose attention should these item be sent?<br />
<br />
3. What items A/V and other items are available for conference use? i.e. projectors, microphone/sound system, white boards, ect. <br />
<br />
4. Is access to the building limited, is there security, will we need cards or pass codes? Is security aware that we are going be there (e.g.: if normally they don't provide weekend personnel, they might need to do so 'coz of the conf. See Helsinki)<br />
<br />
Thanks again for your help!<br />
<br />
==Catering==<br />
<br />
The easiest solution is when the venue already has a catering firm they routinely work with. <br />
<br />
If that's not the case, just search for location name & catering, and ask them for a quote.<br />
<br />
Also, while the word "catering" is used, it doesn't have to mean waiters - delivered food with plastic utensils can be just as OK<br />
<br />
While it helps if the vendor's people speak English, as long as one of the CITCON volunteers can communicate with them, it's OK. <br />
<br />
For examples, see [[Menu from CITCON Sydney 2013]] and [[Menu from CITCON Budapest 2012]].<br />
<br />
===Quotes===<br />
<br />
* give them our budget - confirm budget on CITCON-committee mailing list - be sure to explicitly say whether the amount is net or gross<br />
* also, emphasize that you want the quote with the final number - most firms do this, but just to be on the safe side<br />
* tell them that registration only closes about a week before the event, and its implications<br />
** ask for multiple quote variations (different menus) - tell them the current number of registrants and the maximum amount of people<br />
** you'll finalize the order amounts one week prior to the event<br />
** ask for a complete breakdown of items included, have them specify any potential food allergy items i.e. shell fish, gluten free, peanuts, tree nuts, etc.<br />
* what we need the quote for<br />
** Friday evening reception (19:30-21:00)<br />
***delivery time 19:30<br />
*** i.e. finger-food, canapés, hors d'ourves, pizza <br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks, coffee, water<br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
*** beers (and maybe some wine)<br />
**** glasses need to be provided<br />
** Saturday morning breakfast (9:00-10:00)<br />
*** delivery time 8:30<br />
*** i.e. danishes, croissants, muffins, fruit<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** coffee, tea, juices, water <br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
** Saturday beverage service - all day<br />
*** coffee and tea<br />
**** cups need to be included<br />
*** snacks are a plus but not required<br />
** Saturday lunch (12:30-14:00)<br />
*** delivery time 12:00<br />
*** i.e. sandwiches, pizza, full catering including hot food<br />
**** a full meal is required, i.e. chips/crisps or fruit should be included with sandwiches<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks<br />
**** ice needs to be included<br />
<br />
===Invoices, Payment===<br />
<br />
* non-English invoices are fine<br />
* Invoices should be addressed to the OIF (Open Information Foundation, PO Box 1812, North Sioux City, SD 57049)<br />
* available payment options are PayPal, credit card, bank transfer, cash (in this order of preference)<br />
<br />
===Event logistics===<br />
<br />
* make sure the catering and the venue people know each others contact details (get permission from both sides)<br />
* be sure they have discussed the logistics (will there be someone in the morning at the venue when the catering people show up? Or can they enter the building?)<br />
<br />
==Swag==<br />
<br />
* traditionally, there have only been T-shirts<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
** color voting happens on the organization mailing list (everyone on the list can vote, not just the current organizers)<br />
* stickers<br />
** from 2015 on<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
<br />
==During the event==<br />
<br />
===Tweetwall===<br />
<br />
In the main hall. Normally we use visible tweets, using the following link [http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1 http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1]<br />
<br />
==Conference Registration==<br />
Once the website has been setup, for example [http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/ the Sydney 2013 site], the organizers decide when to open registration. Once agreed upon, the following steps are followed to create the [http://www.eventwax.com/ EventWax] event and link it in to the CITCON conference site.<br />
<br />
===Create Event===<br />
# Log in to https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin/account/login<br />
#* For obvious reasons, the username and password are not included on this page. Email the committee mailing list to get authorization to do this.<br />
# Click the "Events" drop down and select "New Event".<br />
# Fill in the Event Name, e.g. "CITCON Sydney 2013".<br />
# Fill in the Venue, e.g. "Sydney Marriott".<br />
# Fill the Capacity, e.g. 150<br />
#* We have traditionally always set the capacity to 150. That allows 150 people to register. We expect about one-third no-show. So, we expect about 100 people to attend the conference. Sometimes it is more. Sometimes it is less.<br />
# Set the Currency, e.g. "Australian Dollars"<br />
# Status should be defaulted to "Open".<br />
# Set the Timezone, e.g. "Australia - Sydney".<br />
# Set the Start Date, e.g. "Feb 8, 2013".<br />
# Set the End Date, e.g. "Feb 9, 2013".<br />
# Set the Start Time, e.g. "18:00".<br />
# Set the End Time, e.g. "19:00".<br />
# Click Create Event.<br />
#* The new event should now be listed in the upcoming events on the [https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin admin page].<br />
<br />
===Create Tickets===<br />
# Click on the link for the new event.<br />
# Click the Edit Event tab.<br />
# Click the Ticket Setup tab.<br />
# Change the name for the "Standard Ticket" to "Registration Only".<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Generous Amount - Cover Costs Plus Some" set to $100 (local currency units, i.e. 100 pounds, 100 Australia dollars, etc).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Full Costs of One Participant" set to $65 (...see note above about currency units...).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Food Costs of One Participant" set to $32.<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover TShirt Cost of One Participant" set to $9.<br />
# For all tickets, set the start time to the time when you want people to begin being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. Now.<br />
# For all tickets, set the end time to the time when you want people to stop being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. the Friday one week prior to the start of the conference at 23:45.<br />
# Add any details you like to the "Fine Print", e.g. "* Note that the date for the event MAY change. In the event of a date change, the organizers will attempt to notify all ticket holders as soon as possible."<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Adjust Promotional Pages===<br />
# Click the Promotional Webpages tab.<br />
# Set "Use EventWax hosted landing page?" to No.<br />
# Change the Return URL to an appropriate page on the CITCON conference site, e.g. http://citconf.com/sydney2013/register_success.php<br />
# In the Ticket Order Form section, click Add Field.<br />
# Name it "Tshirt Size (USA Sizes)".<br />
# Change the Type to Drop Down.<br />
# Check the Required box.<br />
# Set the Options to "Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large, XXX-Large, No Shirt"<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Change the Logo===<br />
# Click the Event Dashboard tab.<br />
# Under Upload New Logo click the Choose File button.<br />
# Upload the logo found at http://citconf.com/_Images/logos/001.png<br />
<br />
===Link the Event Registration to the Conference Site===<br />
This section assumes that you are familiar with editing the website. If not, then email the committee mailing list for help.<br />
# Copy the contents of the file "register.wasopen.php" and paste it into "register.php".<br />
# Confirm that the registration URL matches what was listed on on the EventWax Promotional Webpages, e.g. https://citcon.eventwax.com/citcon-sydney-2013/register<br />
# Double check the rest of the page. Add any comments that are important, e.g. <code>&lt;p&gt;NOTE: The venue for CITCON Syndey has NOT been finalized...</code><br />
# Commit the change and double check the live site, e.g. http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/register.php<br />
<br />
<br />
==Marketing for attendees==<br />
<br />
Some of the groups & communities below are the same as the ones mentioned in the venue search - not surprisingly :)<br />
<br />
* email usergroup/meetup leaders to announce on their groups ([http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ permission marketing a'la Seth Godin])<br />
* Linkedin, xing (in German speaking areas the latter is more popular)<br />
* reach out to other events' hosts (e.g.: coderetreat, devopsdays, etc.)<br />
* past relevant conferences in the area (see how far to reach out below)<br />
* exchange advertisments/mentions with other upcoming conferences in the area<br />
* twitter - always make it personal, and take it offline (email) once rapport is established<br />
* reach out to topical podcasts (e.g.: [https://twitter.com/foodfightshow @foodfightshow], [https://twitter.com/ShipShowPodcast @ShipShowPodcast], and probably a ton of others)<br />
<br />
it requires a bit more work than just broadcasting your message (aka tweeting into the void), but not much much more, and once you get the hang of it, you can do a lot in a week, even if you make a daily quota of reaching out to 2-3 people<br />
<br />
===How far to reach out for attendees?===<br />
<br />
Not sure about the rest of the world, but in Europe people are quite happy to travel, so having people from Finland attend the conference in Budapest is normal. Starting with the venue location, advertise in an ever growing radius</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=ConferencePlanning&diff=16303
ConferencePlanning
2016-09-02T14:52:49Z
<p>Robpark: /* Quotes */</p>
<hr />
<div>For details on administering this wiki and website, look at [[Administering the CITCONF.COM website]]<br />
==How to Run a CITCON==<br />
The organizers use a pretty straight forward process for running the CITCON conferences. Below are the details.<br />
<br />
JTF and PJ are known for their classic opening speech for the conference. They have been doing the same speech since nearly the inception of CITCON. [[Opening Speech|More details...]]<br />
<br />
==Date & Location selection==<br />
<br />
* happens on the organization mailing lists<br />
* location requirements:<br />
** should have good (international) connections (airport, international railway stations, etc.)<br />
* date considerations<br />
** check for other conferences happening in the area - could hurt if there is a similar event just a week ago (or even on the same day), both when competing for sponsors & attendees. Impossible to achieve perfect schedule, but some places to check are<br />
*** meetup.com<br />
*** lanyard<br />
<br />
==Venue Search==<br />
Finding a suitable venue for CITCON can be challenging. It takes some creative searching. As a non-profit conference, we try to minimize the venue cost as much as possible. That tends to be the biggest hurdle. Here are the criteria for a venue that would typically be good for hosting a CITCON event.<br />
<br />
===Physical requirements===<br />
<br />
* One larger room, and 3 or 4 smaller rooms<br />
** We usually have one large room that can accomodate everyone at the conference (125) with 3 or 4 smaller rooms for breakout sessions that run in parallel.<br />
** We arrange the chairs in circles, instead of traditional classroom style. That changes the number of people that fit into one room.<br />
** We frequently use concentric circles to increase the capacity in the room.<br />
<br />
===Where to find to find no cost/very low cost venues===<br />
Frequently we try to seek out a venue that would be "sponsored" by the company that owns the space. For example, [http://www.citconf.com/singapore2012/ Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Singapore].<br />
<br />
* Look at existing communities and the venues they have used<br />
** coderetreat.org<br />
** meetup.com<br />
** classic user groups<br />
** free to attend conferences<br />
** etc.<br />
* educational institutions<br />
** Second tier but upcoming universities - established leading colleges are not only renting place, but also endorse you via their reputation, and thus for a(n often significan) cost. It works in the reverse with the next group of unis that would benefit from hosting a conference<br />
** high schools with an emphasis on IT in their curriculum<br />
* (tech) training companies - they already have the venue & the experience and hosting is a kind of advertisement for them<br />
* big companies with big offices that are keen on hiring/building a cool IT company image<br />
* startup hubs/centers, coworking spaces - especially ones that already run events<br />
* might be worth asking headhunters if you know any that are more than just staffing agencies if they know of such a company<br />
* ask local commerce chambers and/or municipal/governmental Tourism, Events and Economic Development offices if they have any suggestions<br />
<br />
===Nice to haves for a venue===<br />
<br />
* they have run events before<br />
* they have an established catering firm they work with<br />
<br />
===Choosing a venue===<br />
<br />
* probably any venue you consider describing to the list is gonna be good enough. <br />
* having a floor plan helps the committee<br />
* choosing between multiple potential venues (unless the price difference is enermous): go with the one<br />
** where the venue people have been more enthusiastic about hosting the conference<br />
** which felt more responsive during the talks/emails<br />
<br />
<br />
===Once a venue has been confirmed===<br />
<br />
* establish a point of contact at the venue for logistics.<br />
* have local venue coordinator send and introductory email to the logistical point of contact and the sponsor@citconf.com mailing list, including the conference organizers. <br />
* conference organizers will send the following email to the logistical contact at the venue:<br />
<br />
Thanks for hosting CITCON (Year and City)! <br />
<br />
We are excited to work with you on this event. As a venue sponsor (Venue Name) receives all of the benefits of a full conference sponsor. <br />
<br />
Could you please send us both a web ready logo (jpeg, tif, or gif) and a print quality logo (eps or ai)? We will use these on the conference website, posters, and T- shirts. Also, can you please lets us know what web address you would like your logo to link to. <br />
<br />
Here are a few things we would like to check on to get started:<br />
<br />
1. Do you have any preferred catering vendors? <br />
<br />
2. Are you willing to receive delegate give away items from event sponsors and hold them until the event? (They wouldn't arrive until shortly before the day of the event.) If so, to what address and to whose attention should these item be sent?<br />
<br />
3. What items A/V and other items are available for conference use? i.e. projectors, microphone/sound system, white boards, ect. <br />
<br />
4. Is access to the building limited, is there security, will we need cards or pass codes? Is security aware that we are going be there (e.g.: if normally they don't provide weekend personnel, they might need to do so 'coz of the conf. See Helsinki)<br />
<br />
Thanks again for your help!<br />
<br />
==Catering==<br />
<br />
The easiest solution is when the venue already has a catering firm they routinely work with. <br />
<br />
If that's not the case, just search for location name & catering, and ask them for a quote.<br />
<br />
Also, while the word "catering" is used, it doesn't have to mean waiters - delivered food with plastic utensils can be just as OK<br />
<br />
While it helps if the vendor's people speak English, as long as one of the CITCON volunteers can communicate with them, it's OK. <br />
<br />
For examples, see [[Menu from CITCON Sydney 2013]] and [[Menu from CITCON Budapest 2012]].<br />
<br />
===Quotes===<br />
<br />
* give them our budget - confirm budget on CITCON-committee mailing list - be sure to explicitly say whether the amount is net or gross<br />
* also, emphasize that you want the quote with the final number - most firms do this, but just to be on the safe side<br />
* tell them that registration only closes about a week before the event, and its implications<br />
** ask for multiple quote variations (different menus) - tell them the current number of registrants and the maximum amount of people<br />
** you'll finalize the order amounts one week prior to the event<br />
** ask for a complete breakdown of items included, have them specify any potential food allergy items i.e. shell fish, gluten free, peanuts, tree nuts, etc.<br />
* what we need the quote for<br />
** Friday evening reception (19:30-21:00)<br />
***delivery time 19:30<br />
*** i.e. finger-food, canapés, hors d'ourves, pizza <br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks, coffee, water<br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
*** beers (and maybe some wine)<br />
**** glasses need to be provided<br />
** Saturday morning breakfast (9:00-10:00)<br />
*** delivery time 8:30<br />
*** i.e. danishes, croissants, muffins, fruit<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** coffee, tea, juices, water <br />
**** cups and ice need to be included<br />
** Saturday beverage service - all day<br />
*** coffee and tea<br />
**** cups need to be included<br />
*** snacks are a plus but not required<br />
** Saturday lunch (12:30-14:00)<br />
*** delivery time 12:00<br />
*** i.e. sandwiches, pizza, full catering including hot food<br />
**** a full meal is required, i.e. chips/crisps or fruit should be included with sandwiches<br />
**** plates, napkins and utensils need to be included<br />
*** soft drinks<br />
**** ice needs to be included<br />
<br />
===Invoices, Payment===<br />
<br />
* non-English invoices are fine<br />
* Invoices should be addressed to the OIF (Open Information Foundation, PO Box 1812, North Sioux City, SD 57049)<br />
* available payment options are credit card, bank transfer, cash (in this order of preference)<br />
<br />
===Event logistics===<br />
<br />
* make sure the catering and the venue people know each others contact details (get permission from both sides)<br />
* be sure they have discussed the logistics (will there be someone in the morning at the venue when the catering people show up? Or can they enter the building?)<br />
<br />
==Swag==<br />
<br />
* traditionally, there have only been T-shirts<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
** color voting happens on the organization mailing list (everyone on the list can vote, not just the current organizers)<br />
* stickers<br />
** from 2015 on<br />
** taken care of by PJ/Amy<br />
<br />
==During the event==<br />
<br />
===Tweetwall===<br />
<br />
In the main hall. Normally we use visible tweets, using the following link [http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1 http://visibletweets.com/#query=citcon&animation=1]<br />
<br />
==Conference Registration==<br />
Once the website has been setup, for example [http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/ the Sydney 2013 site], the organizers decide when to open registration. Once agreed upon, the following steps are followed to create the [http://www.eventwax.com/ EventWax] event and link it in to the CITCON conference site.<br />
<br />
===Create Event===<br />
# Log in to https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin/account/login<br />
#* For obvious reasons, the username and password are not included on this page. Email the committee mailing list to get authorization to do this.<br />
# Click the "Events" drop down and select "New Event".<br />
# Fill in the Event Name, e.g. "CITCON Sydney 2013".<br />
# Fill in the Venue, e.g. "Sydney Marriott".<br />
# Fill the Capacity, e.g. 150<br />
#* We have traditionally always set the capacity to 150. That allows 150 people to register. We expect about one-third no-show. So, we expect about 100 people to attend the conference. Sometimes it is more. Sometimes it is less.<br />
# Set the Currency, e.g. "Australian Dollars"<br />
# Status should be defaulted to "Open".<br />
# Set the Timezone, e.g. "Australia - Sydney".<br />
# Set the Start Date, e.g. "Feb 8, 2013".<br />
# Set the End Date, e.g. "Feb 9, 2013".<br />
# Set the Start Time, e.g. "18:00".<br />
# Set the End Time, e.g. "19:00".<br />
# Click Create Event.<br />
#* The new event should now be listed in the upcoming events on the [https://citcon.eventwax.com/admin admin page].<br />
<br />
===Create Tickets===<br />
# Click on the link for the new event.<br />
# Click the Edit Event tab.<br />
# Click the Ticket Setup tab.<br />
# Change the name for the "Standard Ticket" to "Registration Only".<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Generous Amount - Cover Costs Plus Some" set to $100 (local currency units, i.e. 100 pounds, 100 Australia dollars, etc).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Full Costs of One Participant" set to $65 (...see note above about currency units...).<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover Food Costs of One Participant" set to $32.<br />
# Add another ticket type named "Registration + Donation - Cover TShirt Cost of One Participant" set to $9.<br />
# For all tickets, set the start time to the time when you want people to begin being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. Now.<br />
# For all tickets, set the end time to the time when you want people to stop being able to purchase those tickets, e.g. the Friday one week prior to the start of the conference at 23:45.<br />
# Add any details you like to the "Fine Print", e.g. "* Note that the date for the event MAY change. In the event of a date change, the organizers will attempt to notify all ticket holders as soon as possible."<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Adjust Promotional Pages===<br />
# Click the Promotional Webpages tab.<br />
# Set "Use EventWax hosted landing page?" to No.<br />
# Change the Return URL to an appropriate page on the CITCON conference site, e.g. http://citconf.com/sydney2013/register_success.php<br />
# In the Ticket Order Form section, click Add Field.<br />
# Name it "Tshirt Size (USA Sizes)".<br />
# Change the Type to Drop Down.<br />
# Check the Required box.<br />
# Set the Options to "Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large, XXX-Large, No Shirt"<br />
# Click Update Event.<br />
<br />
===Change the Logo===<br />
# Click the Event Dashboard tab.<br />
# Under Upload New Logo click the Choose File button.<br />
# Upload the logo found at http://citconf.com/_Images/logos/001.png<br />
<br />
===Link the Event Registration to the Conference Site===<br />
This section assumes that you are familiar with editing the website. If not, then email the committee mailing list for help.<br />
# Copy the contents of the file "register.wasopen.php" and paste it into "register.php".<br />
# Confirm that the registration URL matches what was listed on on the EventWax Promotional Webpages, e.g. https://citcon.eventwax.com/citcon-sydney-2013/register<br />
# Double check the rest of the page. Add any comments that are important, e.g. <code>&lt;p&gt;NOTE: The venue for CITCON Syndey has NOT been finalized...</code><br />
# Commit the change and double check the live site, e.g. http://www.citconf.com/sydney2013/register.php<br />
<br />
<br />
==Marketing for attendees==<br />
<br />
Some of the groups & communities below are the same as the ones mentioned in the venue search - not surprisingly :)<br />
<br />
* email usergroup/meetup leaders to announce on their groups ([http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ permission marketing a'la Seth Godin])<br />
* Linkedin, xing (in German speaking areas the latter is more popular)<br />
* reach out to other events' hosts (e.g.: coderetreat, devopsdays, etc.)<br />
* past relevant conferences in the area (see how far to reach out below)<br />
* exchange advertisments/mentions with other upcoming conferences in the area<br />
* twitter - always make it personal, and take it offline (email) once rapport is established<br />
* reach out to topical podcasts (e.g.: [https://twitter.com/foodfightshow @foodfightshow], [https://twitter.com/ShipShowPodcast @ShipShowPodcast], and probably a ton of others)<br />
<br />
it requires a bit more work than just broadcasting your message (aka tweeting into the void), but not much much more, and once you get the hang of it, you can do a lot in a week, even if you make a daily quota of reaching out to 2-3 people<br />
<br />
===How far to reach out for attendees?===<br />
<br />
Not sure about the rest of the world, but in Europe people are quite happy to travel, so having people from Finland attend the conference in Budapest is normal. Starting with the venue location, advertise in an ever growing radius</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Health_Checks&diff=16105
Health Checks
2015-10-03T21:29:57Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "* red, yellow, green -- pass, warn, fail * respond with a cached value * avoiding royalty based calls as part of a health check What's the difference between a health check a..."</p>
<hr />
<div>* red, yellow, green -- pass, warn, fail<br />
* respond with a cached value<br />
* avoiding royalty based calls as part of a health check<br />
<br />
What's the difference between a health check and an integration test<br />
<br />
not all health checks need to be polled<br />
you can also have services provide their own heartbeat back to a monitoring service<br />
<br />
health check content possibility<br />
{<br />
“service_name”: “extranet”,<br />
“sevice_version”: “1.1.10”,<br />
“status”: “pass”,<br />
“dependency-status”: {<br />
“other-api”: “connected"<br />
“db”: “read-successful"<br />
}<br />
“id”: ???,<br />
“hostname”: ???,<br />
“instance-id”: ???<br />
[{"subject": "value"}, {"subject": "value"}, {"subject": "value"}, {"subject": "value"}]<br />
}<br />
<br />
DR vs. "business continuity"</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNorthAmerica2015Sessions&diff=16104
CITCONNorthAmerica2015Sessions
2015-10-03T20:46:09Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>CITCON North America 2015 Ann Arbor Sessions<br />
<br />
Back to the [[Main Page]]<br />
<br />
== 10:00 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[Can't Make Change? It Is Probably Your Fault]]<br />
# [[Using Machine Learning To Solve Test Passed Site Down Problem]]<br />
# [[Continuous Integration]]<br />
# [[Federated CI Systems]]<br />
# [[Problems Adopting CI]]<br />
<br />
== 11:15 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[Pair Programming]]<br />
# [[Jenkins Best Practices]]<br />
# [[Mobile Testing]]<br />
# [[TDD and APIs Theory vs Practice]]<br />
# [[Katas for Learning CI Dilemmas]]<br />
<br />
== Lunch Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[Backyard Beekeeping]]<br />
# [[.]]<br />
# [[.]]<br />
# [[CI Challenges With Multiple Branches]]<br />
# [[.]]<br />
<br />
== 2:00 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[Chef vs Puppet vs Salt vs Ansible vs Home-rolled]]<br />
# [[Blue Green Deployments]]<br />
# [[Better Sprint Planning with QA Alignment]]<br />
# [[Ethical Software Development]]<br />
# [[Standards Across Teams]]<br />
<br />
== 3:15 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[TDD Your Infrastructure]]<br />
# [[Containers for Build and Test]]<br />
# [[Organizing Teams to Influence Architecture]]<br />
# [[How to start CI]]<br />
# [[Developer Discipline for One Branch Development]]<br />
<br />
== 4:30 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[GIT]]<br />
# [[Objects Decades Later]]<br />
# [[The Software Creator Movement]]<br />
# [[How To Make People Care About Code Quality]]<br />
# [[Iterate on Code of Conduct]]<br />
# [[Health Checks]]<br />
<br />
== Table View ==<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Room name<br />
! 10:00<br />
! 11:15<br />
! 2:00<br />
! 3:15<br />
! 4:30<br />
|-<br />
| One <br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
|-<br />
| 2<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
|-<br />
| Three<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
|-<br />
| 4<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
|-<br />
| Five<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
| [[.]]<br />
|}</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Federated_CI_Systems&diff=16070
Federated CI Systems
2015-10-03T14:07:36Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "when is a single central master build server a good idea? Does that scale well? For how long ? For how many teams? Is it ever a good idea to have multiple "federated" masters..."</p>
<hr />
<div>when is a single central master build server a good idea?<br />
Does that scale well? For how long ? For how many teams?<br />
<br />
Is it ever a good idea to have multiple "federated" masters?<br />
Are there pains that this can help solve?<br />
<br />
Could you even give teams the freedom to run with multiple vendors? (E.g. Jenkins + TeamCity + Go )</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CNA2013:_Ah-ha_moments&diff=15381
CNA2013: Ah-ha moments
2013-08-25T19:01:03Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>* The pipeline needs to be versioned, in source countrol<br />
* Here for answers to problems, and many have the same questions for universal applicability<br />
* Enjoying listening to people handling roadblocks, learning about UI testing<br />
* Common theme: Improving a build time or pipeline, belief that improvement is possible, cultivate intolerance for inefficiency<br />
* Enjoy seeing new perspectives<br />
** e.g. Check in every 15 minutes. Is that possible? Maybe it is.<br />
* That each session had learning, e.g. learning how other shops are testing<br />
* Hearing about a lot of different setups. Achieving buy in sessions, separating pain from solutions<br />
* Can I grow people: Focus, Slack, Belief, Humility; List of what are things needed fundamentally for Continuous Delivery preconditions<br />
* Many solutions, no silver bullet; Developers doing demos that they know will work: skipping down happy path.<br />
* Google's "testing on the toilet", we need CS kinds of literature in our bathroom or common area<br />
* Integrating QA role into developers day-to-day work, everyone needs to be doing.<br />
* Complicated algorithm solved; Surprised how few people are doing continuous delivery, despite literature<br />
* Many unanswered questions remain, different philosophies persist beyond our discussions.<br />
* Branching is just delayed integration (Thanks, JTF)<br />
* Entered in believing it was hard to do and continue to believe this, despite literature; Love open spaces format<br />
* From hardware background<br />
* difference Continuous delivery and continuous deployment<br />
* Property-based testing new and interesting<br />
* Realizing code doesn't exist in a vacuum, traceability into what make things break, we can investigate how to solve defects<br />
* hiring or growing, Give slack, but monitor<br />
* Love open space format and hallway conversations<br />
* Happy to return to CITCON, will plan to return to Austin<br />
* Growing/hiring discussion, that humility is important- realizing we don't know things<br />
* Test expressivity, business people should be able to read our tests. Not only Cucumber, but RSpec, JUnit, etc too.<br />
* Code coverage is not per line, but per logic piece within a line<br />
* What percentage of people read books? 10% - 15%, hire people that are trying to grow themselves</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CNA2013:_Ah-ha_moments&diff=15380
CNA2013: Ah-ha moments
2013-08-25T18:58:09Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>* The pipeline needs to be versioned, in source countrol<br />
* Here for answers to problems, and many have the same questions for universal applicability<br />
* Enjoying listening to people handling roadblocks, learning about UI testing<br />
* Common theme: Improving a build time or pipeline, belief that improvement is possible, cultivate intolerance for inefficiency<br />
* Enjoy seeing new perspectives<br />
** e.g. Check in every 15 minutes. Is that possible? Maybe it is.<br />
* That each session had learning, e.g. learning how other shops are testing<br />
* Hearing about a lot of different setups. Achieving buy in sessions, separating pain from solutions<br />
* Can I grow people: Focus, Slack, Belief, Humility; List of what are things needed fundamentally for Continuous Delivery preconditions<br />
* Many solutions, no silver bullet; Developers doing demos that they know will work: skipping down happy path.<br />
* google-toilet, we need CS kinds of literature in our bathroom or common area<br />
* Integrating QA role into developers day-to-day work, everyone needs to be doing.<br />
* Complicated algorithm solved; Surprised how few people are doing continuous delivery, despite literature<br />
* Many unanswered questions remain, different philosophies persist beyond our discussions.<br />
* Branching is just delayed integration (Thanks, JTF)<br />
* Entered in believing it was hard to do and continue to believe this, despite literature; Love open spaces format<br />
* From hardware background<br />
* difference Continuous delivery and continuous deployment<br />
* Property-based testing new and interesting<br />
* Realizing code doesn't exist in a vacuum, traceability into what make things break, we can investigate how to solve defects<br />
* hiring or growing, Give slack, but monitor<br />
* Love open space format and hallway conversations<br />
* Happy to return to CITCON, will plan to return to Austin<br />
* Growing/hiring discussion, that humility is important- realizing we don't know things<br />
* Test expressivity, business people should be able to read our tests. Not only Cucumber, but RSpec, JUnit, etc too.<br />
* Code coverage is not per line, but per logic piece within a line<br />
* What percentage of people read books? 10% - 15%, hire people that are trying to grow themselves</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CNA2013:_Ah-ha_moments&diff=15379
CNA2013: Ah-ha moments
2013-08-25T18:57:06Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>* The pipeline needs to be versioned, in source countrol<br />
* Here for answers to problems, and many have the same questions for universal applicability<br />
* Enjoying listening to people handling roadblocks, learning about UI testing<br />
* Common theme: Improving a build time or pipeline, belief that improvement is possible, cultivate intolerance for inefficiency<br />
* Enjoy seeing new perspectives<br />
** e.g. Check in every 15 minutes. Is that possible? Maybe it is.<br />
* That each session had learning, e.g. learning how other shops are testing<br />
* Hearing about a lot of different setups. Achieving buy in sessions, separating pain from solutions<br />
* Can I grow people: Focus, Slack, Belief, Humility; List of what are things needed fundamentally for Continuous Delivery preconditions<br />
* Many solutions, no silver bullet; Developers doing demos that they know will work: skipping down happy path.<br />
* google-toilet, we need CS kinds of literature in our bathroom or common area<br />
* Integrating QA role into developers day-to-day work, everyone needs to be doing.<br />
* Complicated algorithm solved; Surprised how few people are doing continuous delivery, despite literature<br />
* Many unanswered questions remain, different philosophies persist beyond our discussions.<br />
* Branching is just delayed integration (Thanks, JTF)<br />
* Entered in believing it was hard to do and continue to believe this, despite literature; Love open spaces format<br />
* From hardware background<br />
* difference Continuous delivery and continuous deployment<br />
* Property-based testing new and interesting<br />
* Realizing code doesn't exist in a vacuum, traceability into what make things break, we can investigate how to solve defects<br />
* hiring or growing, Give slack, but monitor<br />
* Love open sense format and hallway conversations<br />
* Happy to return to CITCON, will plan to return to Austin<br />
* Growing/hiring discussion, that humility is important- realizing we don't know things<br />
* Test expressivity, business people should be able to read our tests. Not only Cucumber, but RSpec, JUnit, etc too.<br />
* Code coverage is not per line, but per logic piece within a line<br />
* What percentage of people read books? 10% - 15%, hire people that are trying to grow themselves</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Rob_Park&diff=15378
Rob Park
2013-08-25T18:52:10Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>@robpark<br />
<br />
4legssoftware.com<br />
<br />
robert.d.park@gmail.com</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Rob_Park&diff=15377
Rob Park
2013-08-25T18:50:23Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "@robpark 4legssoftware.com"</p>
<hr />
<div>@robpark<br />
4legssoftware.com</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Feature_Toggling_Strategies&diff=15321
Feature Toggling Strategies
2013-08-24T18:56:51Z
<p>Robpark: Created page with "Attendees: @robpark, Johnny S, Andy, Jason, Lex * How do you deal with conditionals ** Implement at the interface level ** If you see conditionals littered throughout your co..."</p>
<hr />
<div>Attendees: @robpark, Johnny S, Andy, Jason, Lex<br />
<br />
* How do you deal with conditionals<br />
** Implement at the interface level<br />
** If you see conditionals littered throughout your code, you're likely missing a layer of abstraction<br />
<br />
* Why toggle?<br />
** To be able turn a feature on/off <br />
<br />
* Strategies<br />
** per user<br />
** algorithmically - needs to be consistent for a given user though<br />
** <br />
<br />
* clean up?<br />
** what if the user can turn it on?<br />
** installed software vs webapp<br />
<br />
* testing<br />
<br />
* metrics <br />
<br />
* use feature flags; they're good<br />
* don't have too many <br />
** is that 80? 5?<br />
* use if not all of your users can be exposed to the feature<br />
* they may not be binary; they could be enumerations<br />
* a good measure may be "if you sales people can call it out, then it's big enough to need a toggle"<br />
<br />
* feature flags may follow the same rules as using many branches effectively<br />
* although if you should avoid getting to the point of needing to manage dependencies across feature flags<br />
<br />
* are you now version-less? no semver?<br />
** or versioning is at least decoupled from deployment<br />
** "for this release we'll just turn on these 10 flags"<br />
** the "current version" is the current "default" set of flags<br />
<br />
* what shouldn't be behind a feature flag?<br />
** bug fixes</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2013Sessions&diff=15313
CITCONNA2013Sessions
2013-08-24T18:00:29Z
<p>Robpark: /* 2:00 Topics */</p>
<hr />
<div>CITCON NA 2013 Boston Sessions<br />
<br />
Back to the [[Main Page]]<br />
<br />
== 10:00 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# [[To Branch or Not to Branch?]]<br />
# [[Property Based Developer Testing]]<br />
# [[Test Expressivity]]<br />
<br />
== 11:15 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[End to end Continuous Delivery tools]]<br />
# [[Test Triage and Intermittent Test techniques]]<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
<br />
== Lunch Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
<br />
== 2:00 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# [[Feature Toggling Strategies]]<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
<br />
== 3:15 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# --- <br />
<br />
== 4:30 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# --- <br />
<br />
<br />
== Table View ==<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Room name<br />
! 10:00<br />
! 11:15<br />
! 2:00<br />
! 3:15<br />
! 4:30<br />
|-<br />
| Horace Mann<br />
| --- <br />
| [[End to end Continuous Delivery tools]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Deborah Sampson<br />
| --- <br />
| [[Test Triage and Intermittent Test techniques]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Thomas Paul<br />
| --- <br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Abigail Adams<br />
| [[Property Based Developer Testing]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Crispus Attucks<br />
| [[Test Expressivity]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|}</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=CITCONNA2013Sessions&diff=15312
CITCONNA2013Sessions
2013-08-24T17:59:30Z
<p>Robpark: /* 2:00 Topics */</p>
<hr />
<div>CITCON NA 2013 Boston Sessions<br />
<br />
Back to the [[Main Page]]<br />
<br />
== 10:00 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# [[To Branch or Not to Branch?]]<br />
# [[Property Based Developer Testing]]<br />
# [[Test Expressivity]]<br />
<br />
== 11:15 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# [[End to end Continuous Delivery tools]]<br />
# [[Test Triage and Intermittent Test techniques]]<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
<br />
== Lunch Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
<br />
== 2:00 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# Feature Toggling Strategies<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
<br />
== 3:15 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# --- <br />
<br />
== 4:30 Topics ==<br />
<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# ---<br />
# --- <br />
<br />
<br />
== Table View ==<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Room name<br />
! 10:00<br />
! 11:15<br />
! 2:00<br />
! 3:15<br />
! 4:30<br />
|-<br />
| Horace Mann<br />
| --- <br />
| [[End to end Continuous Delivery tools]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Deborah Sampson<br />
| --- <br />
| [[Test Triage and Intermittent Test techniques]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Thomas Paul<br />
| --- <br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Abigail Adams<br />
| [[Property Based Developer Testing]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|-<br />
| Crispus Attucks<br />
| [[Test Expressivity]]<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
| ---<br />
|}</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Test_Triage_and_Intermittent_Test_techniques&diff=15311
Test Triage and Intermittent Test techniques
2013-08-24T17:54:11Z
<p>Robpark: /* Intermittent Failures */</p>
<hr />
<div>Attendance<br />
* Tyler @macetw<br />
* Emil<br />
* @RobPark<br />
<br />
==Test Triage Techniques==<br />
Often tests appear without clear reason, many commits into a single build. Unreliable machines or frameworks, how do we respond?<br />
<br />
Approaches:<br />
* Not enough information in the log<br />
* Limit smoke test time<br />
<br />
1 team might be dedicated to triaging <br />
* Build sheriff<br />
* Assign person responsible<br />
* File ticket<br />
<br />
Assumed: Does everyone care that a build is red? Is a build/test cycle easy enough to reproduce?<br />
<br />
==Intermittent Failures==<br />
CI tool (TeamCity, Jenkins plugin) will handle assignment of an issue, a particular failing test, and there would be an owner of a certain issue, even if not always-failing.<br />
<br />
Blame on load average, up-of-timeout-wait, but no real fix.<br />
<br />
Approaches:<br />
* Ticket made of while a build intermittently failed.<br />
* Assign test to quarantine<br />
** Management approval required<br />
** Analysis of time-management<br />
** Stuff moves gradually out of quarantine <br />
<br />
Sidebar: Google test on the toilet<br />
''mental note, for macetw, we need more code-literature in our bathroom''<br />
<br />
One approach:<br />
* Remove from test running<br />
** Would affect code coverage numbers<br />
** Not all cultures<br />
* If still present in code 90 days later, may choose delete test scenario<br />
<br />
<br />
Sidebar: If high defect rate, but also high code coverage, tests may not be testing the right kinds of things</div>
Robpark
https://citconf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Test_Expressivity&diff=15310
Test Expressivity
2013-08-24T17:52:28Z
<p>Robpark: </p>
<hr />
<div>Present: Emil, Jason, Andy, Rob, Monica<br />
<br />
* How should you organize your test suites? <br />
** During development? <br />
** Different from when they are considered regression tests? <br />
** Should they be weeded out<br />
<br />
* end to end tests<br />
** Should you even have them?<br />
** How many?<br />
** The test pyramid (http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TestPyramid.html)<br />
<br />
* Having requirements docs and test case docs <br />
** Very common, yet it's problematic; especially if they're at the same level of detail/abstraction<br />
<br />
* Challenges with dispersed teams <br />
<br />
* Clarifying tests with comments is not expressive? not expressive enough?<br />
<br />
* You should be able to show your business people your test code... <br />
** And they should be able to understand them</div>
Robpark