Introduction to Planning and Running Tech Events

A 3-hour workshop co-taught by Kara Sowles and Francesca Krihely at OSCON 2015.

Conferences, meetups, and hackathons are part and parcel of the open source experience. Events, both online and offline, are some of the best ways to increase community engagement and share knowledge about technology. When planning an event, it’s important to see the trees (the tiny details) and the forest (the big picture). But when you are first getting started, it is often challenging to develop the framework, structure and goals that can make your events appealing, fun, and educational for your attendees.

In this hands-on tutorial, we’ll help you outline a process for creating your own tech-focused event. We’ll provide both online materials and paper alternatives that enable you to follow along with each step of the event planning process, and apply it to a real or theoretical event of your own. No need to already be planning something – you’re encouraged to approach this as an exercise, so you can take this tutorial with any theoretical tech event in mind!

This tutorial will cover:

Structure: Choosing the right types of events
Logistics: Keeping track of event details; co-planning events
Content: Finding and selecting speakers; content that people remember
Social: Positive after-parties; creating positive event environments
Diversity: Crafting an inclusive event; attracting diverse speakers
The Future: Making your event repeatable; documenting your experience
Included with this tutorial will be:

An online checklist to help you when planning your own events
An online resource with tips for planning, that you can keep for reference
Whether you’ve already planned some tech events, or you’ve never had the opportunity, you’re invited to hone your skills and build your confidence in this tutorial! You will walk away with actionable guidelines to use when planning your first user group, Hackathon, or tech conference.

Transcript

1. An Introduction to Planning and Running Tech Events Kara Sowles, Puppet Labs @feynudibranch Francesca Krihely, MongoDB @francium
2. This deck is available with speaker notes at: http://bit.ly/OSCON15EVENTSSLIDES
3. Francesca • 3 Years MongoDB, Now Senior Content Marketing Manager • 3 Years FinTech Hackathon • FOSS Nut
4. Kara Sowles Senior Community Manager at Puppet Labs Planning + Running Tech events for 3 years @feynudibranch
5. You We’ll assume you: - Want to learn the basics of planning tech events - Are not a professional event planner...yet
6. Awesome Events What comes to mind?
8. How You Can Do It • Don’t need a huge budget and 3k people to do it • Small events are important
9. Agenda • Purpose • Constraints • Event Structures • Working as a Team • Content • Venue • Cost • Sponsorships • Socializing • Food & Drink • Diversity • Logistics • On-Site Items • The Day-Of the Event • The Future
10. 3 Take Aways #1 - what is your mission? #2 - empathize with your attendees #3 - power of logistics
11. We begin...by creating a document.
12. Why One Document? - One source of truth - Keep it updated - Don't spread information out - Link to it in calendar invites & emails Example: Changes to the event should be recorded in the Google Doc, not just in your inbox!
13. Document Everything http://bit.ly/ OSCONEVENTSWORKSHOP
14. Purpose Goals, Mission and
16. Purpose What you want to get out of the event What you imagine attendees want to get out of the event
17. Goals Mission Statement Purpose
18. Mission Statement External statement posted on your site for potential attendees to read and understand the purpose of your event.
19. "AlterConf is a traveling conference series that provides safe opportunities for marginalized people and those who support them in the tech and gaming industries. By highlighting the powerful voices and positive initiatives of local community members, we build hope and strengthen the community’s resolve to create safer, healthier spaces for everyone…" source: http://www.alterconf.com/
20. Goals Internal, concrete goals that you want your event to accomplish.
21. Your Event's Goal • Discover your goal • Attendees should walk away with... ◦ Tactics ◦ Strengthened Network ◦ A Product • ...So they will ◦ Become a loyal ambassador ◦ Attend next year ◦ Become a loyal customer
22. Goals Purpose: To meet and connect with users of our software Goal: 25 "qualified leads", users for sales to follow up with
23. Goals Purpose: Teach local girls about coding and get them interested in STEM Goal: 100 girls in attendance Goal: At least 50% of girls complete the exercises
24. Constraints
25. Identifying Constraints
26. Identifying Constraints Budget
27. Identifying Constraints Budget Amount of Space
28. Identifying Constraints Budget Amount of Space Planning time
29. Identifying Constraints Budget Amount of Space Planning time Co-located vs. Independent
30. Identifying Constraints Budget Amount of Space Planning time Co-located vs. Independent
31. STRUCTURE what type of event to do?
35. Online Events
36. collaborate compete
37. What's Missing? As you consider event structure, think about what type of event or experience might be missing for the community you want to invite.
39. 2x /year 2x /year (online) (online) 50x /year 130x /year 30x /year 1x /year User Events Contributor Events
40. Questions? and Answers
41. Document EVERYTHING http://bit.ly/ OSCONEVENTSWORKSHOP
42. Work as a team
43. Building an Organizing team • Give people an opportunity to get involved! • Establish clear roles • WIIFM
44. Working with your team • Regular check-ins (Standup!) • Use your single source of truth • Don't hog the responsibility - be a leader!
45. Content
46. Content can be... Collaboration Workshops Speakers Activities
47. Why Hackathons Are awesome! • All the Hacks! Great Content • Recycling amazing Hacks • Great for sponsors and you!
49. Inviting Speakers What do you tell them when you reach out to them? Things to consider: • Are you offering to pay for their expertise? • Are you covering travel + hotel? • Are you inviting a diverse group of speakers - or did you accidentally make a list of people who look the same?
50. CFP: Call for Proposals • An open CFP ensures a wide variety of folks can participate • Be explicit about what types of talks you want to hear. • Identify restrictions • Mention the theme, if you have one • Use the CFP as a place to say “new speakers welcome”
51. Get the Best Talks POssible • List suggested general topics • Link to examples of past talks • List types of people that should submit i.e. roles and interests • Repeat the date/location/purpose of the event • Offer a way for people to reach out with questions • Host a video chat where folks can ask questions / get help brainstorming topics • Do you own outreach • Get on the front page of Hacker News
52. Three Examples I'll give you 3 content selection examples from my current work. They vary by the event's size and purpose. #1 - User Group #2 - 1-Track Conference #3 - Multi-Track Conference
53. Example #1 - User Groups Local User Group meeting of 20-50 attendees; 2 hour meeting in evening User Groups are fairly informal • Organizer asks if anyone wants to present next meeting • Someone volunteers • Organizer approves it
54. Example #2 - 1-Track Conference Series of 30 separate 100-300 attendee user events around the world. One track of talks: - 5 talks from users/community members - though CFP - 2 talks from employees - same every time Process: - Separate CFP for each event - Talks submitted through CFP - Chosen by one person One person organizes & owns the content from start to finish (reaching out for help or advice when needed).
55. Example #3 - Multi-Track Conference 1,500 attendee conference 60+ speakers over many tracks and multiple days Process: - CFP committee formed (with a lead member owning progress) representing many roles & opinions, define what they're looking for - All talks submitted through CFP - CFP committee votes (thus narrows down list) - CFP committee discusses (narrows down list further until almost complete) - Lead member and small sub-committee makes final decisions
56. Content - Choosing Speakers - Think about the purpose of your event - What sort of attendees do you expect? What do you want them to get out of this? - Set up a structure that gives you the ability to say 'no' gracefully - You can point to your criteria or wish list - Who will you go to for a second opinion?
57. Your Content is the Face of your Conference Consider what that face looks like before you present it to the public. Tech event speakers tend to be overwhelmingly white + male. • Set goals for yourself • Reach out and encourage people to submit talks • Can you pay travel/hotel for speakers who are underrepresented in tech? • Keynotes are your most visible speakers
58. Speaker Handling Speaker handling is very important. Many speakers are busy, have overflowing inboxes and overloaded calendars. Like you. They need reminders and clear info. - Include all relevant details (date, location, time slot) in the acceptance email - Include the code of conduct in the acceptance email. - Make sure speakers actually accept - Remind them as the conference approaches - At the event, know who will greet / seek out speakers and who will help get them on stage - Learn to pronounce their personal name & company name before you introduce them
59. Recording Talks You had great content at your event! Is this a moment only appreciable live - or does the content live on somewhere else? • Website • Blog • Github repos • Content Recycling • Promotions for next event
60. Facilitation as Content Your facilitators or MCs are part of your content, especially at cooperative or activity-based events.
61. Venue
62. Searching for a Venue Really has a lot to do with your constraints… - # of attendees - # of tracks - budget Let's look at some suggestions based on size, which is often the biggest limiting factor
63. 20-80 person event Often a meetup, user group, small hack day... - Tech company offices - often have a space this size they lend out for free. Check where local meetups are being held, contact those places. - Universities - sometimes you can rent a classroom for a low fee, or with a faculty member supporting you potentially get one for free - Libraries - some libraries like having tech meetups hosted there
65. 80-150 person event You're too big fit neatly into most offices. What now? - Tech Offices: There are still some tech companies that can fit events this size. They're rare but real! - Universities: At this size, you'll be asking to pay to rent an auditorium - Co-working Spaces: Is there a local co-working space that rents out its main room for events?
68. 150-250 person event You keep contacting spaces that can fit up to 150, but not more. What next? - Universities: Still a good bet, since their auditorium rental rates are often comparatively cheap - Fun local spaces like movie theaters, art galleries & more: This can be a memorable option - Professional Venues: Permanent event spaces w/ polish - Hotels: Your last resort unless you have a large budget - hotels are expensive
69. 50-100 Person Hackathon You keep contacting spaces that can fit up to 150, but not more. What next? - Universities: Still a good bet, since their auditorium rental rates are often comparatively cheap - Tech Offices: Hackathons give them recruiting cache - Coworking Spaces: Often expensive but a worthwhile option
72. Searching for a Venue
73. Let's talk about Hotels - Easy to find - Prepared & professional - Similar / boring - VERY expensive - Food / AV in-house ...Negotiating with hotels is a real skill.
74. Hilton, New York City, 2013 Continental Breakfast - $49/person Breakfast Buffet - $65/person Lunch Buffet - $95/person Coke soda/Bottled water - $6.75/each Not listed on catering menu… Box Lunches - $55/person
75. Plus, the fine print…! - Upon request the Banquet Team will retray leftover breakfast pastries for your break. A fee of $275.00 per buffet will apply. - Prices Do Not Include 8.875% sales Tax or 23% Service/Administration Charge - Note: Labor and Overtime Fees as Applicable Outlined on Extra Items and Arrangements Pages - Especially prepared Kosher meals available...a surcharge of $50.00 per meal will apply.
76. In this particular example... NYC hotel, 2013, 250 people... Room rental - $2,500 Box lunches - $15,500 Together - $23,750 with tax and service charge ...and wifi and A/V haven't been added in yet.
77. Sample 1500+ person event - $85,000 Room Rental - $500,000 Food & Beverage Minimum (est. $622,400 spend) - 10% off Catering - 10% off A/V - Complimentary Guest Room Internet - $309 sleeping room/$299 sleeping room (3 night stay) - 1 complimentary room per 40 occupied - $2 rebate on each occupied sleeping room - 15% off 25 staff rooms - 5 premier level upgrades - Complimentary Fitness Center
78. Audio/Visual • Make a wish list of all your A/V Needs • Hire contractors if necessary • You can rent A/V equipment • Discuss when choosing venue • For Meetups, give a checklist to presenters • Beware crossing in front of mics / speakers • How can you adjust volume?
79. Audio, 150 person event w/ speakers • 1 lavalier/wireless mic, for speakers, enabling them to be hands-free for demos • 1 hand-held mic, for the MC • 1 hand-held mic, for audience questions
80. - Link to event page - Purpose of event - Est. # of attendees - Date & time options - Entrance fee / free - How long event will be - Food / drinks? - If employees would be welcome - A/V needs If you're asking to use a company's office space, include:
81. Venue Tours • Have a wish list • Use floor plans • Understanding minimums • Negotiate!
82. How Much does it cost?
84. Boston, MA 175 attendees Revenue 1 day total:
85. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 175 attendees Revenue 1 day total: $5,000
86. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 Admission cost - $50/person 175 attendees Revenue 1 day Admission revenue - $6,563 total: $11,563
87. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 175 attendees Revenue 1 day total: $11,563
88. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 175 attendees Revenue Costs 1 day total: $11,563
89. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 T-shirts - $2,503 175 attendees Revenue Costs 1 day total: $9,060
90. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 T-shirts - $2,503 Venue + Catering - $15,000 175 attendees Revenue Costs 1 day total: - $5,940
91. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 T-shirts - $2,503 Venue + Catering - $15,000 175 attendees Staff travel - $3,120 Revenue Costs 1 day total: - $9,060
92. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 total: - $9,060 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 T-shirts - $2,503 Venue + Catering - $15,000 175 attendees Staff travel - $3,120 Total expenses - $20,623 Revenue Costs 1 day
93. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 total: - $3,437 Admission cost - $50/person Admission revenue - $6,563 Total Revenue - $11,563 T-shirts - $2,503 Venue + Catering - $15,000 175 attendees Staff travel - $3,120 Total expenses - $15,000 Revenue Costs 1 day
94. Boston, MA Sponsorship revenue - $5,000 total: $3,126 Admission cost - $100/person Admission revenue - $13,126 Total Revenue - $18,126 T-shirts - $2,503 Venue + Catering - $15,000 175 attendees Staff travel - $3,120 Total expenses - $15,000 Revenue Costs 1 day
95. Portland, OR Sponsorship revenue - $4,000 total: - $3,145 Admission cost - $0/person Admission revenue - $0 Total Revenue - $4,000 T-shirts - $2,145 Venue + Catering - $5,000 150 attendees Staff travel - $0 Total expenses - $7,145 Revenue Costs 1 day
96. London, UK Sponsorship revenue - $3,500 total: - $1,246 Admission cost - $100/person Admission revenue - $16,500 Total Revenue - $20,000 T-shirts - $3,146 Venue + Catering - $10,000 220 attendees Staff travel - $8,100 Total expenses - $21,246 Revenue Costs 1 day
97. 1 day events, same structure, worldwide
98. Community Leadership Summit Admission price - $0/person Admission revenue - $0 Sponsorship revenue Fri night at bar - $500 Sat night party - $2,000 Venue - $0 Coffee - $3,500 Equipment (past) - $2,000 Shipping - $500 Stickers - $100 Printing - $50 Incidentals - $50
99. Sponsorships
100. Sponsors • Sponsors can be a positive part of your event, bringing in money to improve the attendee experience, and adding value at the event itself • Lots of of work - finding them, and making sure to follow through on your promises • For some audiences, over-exposure to sponsors can also lessen the event experience. A thoughtful balance is key
101. why sponsors will like your event • Recruiting and Hiring • Branding • Lead Generation • Community Building • The believe in your Mission!
102. Sponsorships • Make a 'sponsorship prospectus' with all the info a potential sponsor would be interested in • Getting sponsors is tough, and takes a lot of legwork, so don't assume you'll be pulling money out of the air • Determine beforehand what sponsors can or can't buy (for example, talk slots, email to attendees, etc) • Sponsors will need details like where to mail boxes, etc.
103. Sponsorship Prospectus • Attendee Demographics • Event metrics (past and/or future) • Who is the target attendee? • Purpose/mission of the event • Why would sponsors be interested? • Format of the event (1 day? Talks, workshops?) • What sponsors get: ◦ Levels with cost and what sponsors get for their money (be specific)
104. More Examples Here's a sample sheet you can use as you start to create yours: https://docs.google. com/document/d/1LXrwygRf6FJwUjE96Vs_sKobyQ2QP2GwH3V8SOX0CA4/edit# Here's an example from Puppet Labs, for a 100-300 person event series https://puppetlabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/PuppetCampSponsorshipProspectus.pdf Here's a lengthy example from PyCon (2500 attendees) with many examples of what a sponsorship can buy: https://us.pycon.org/2015/sponsors/prospectus/ Agile and Beyond example: http://www.agileandbeyond.com/2015/sponsors/prospectus/prospectus.pdf
105. Booths / Vendor Tables • Should you have them? • Option: Fold-out tables (rented from your venue) give you the opportunity to sell those spots to vendors looking to bring swag and talk to attendees • Sponsors love these!
106. venue is a company office, ~100 attendees, table at back of room
107. professional venue, ~200 attendees, table in reception/meal area
108. co-working space, ~150 attendees, table at side of main room
109. Document Sponsors http://bit.ly/ OSCONEVENTSWORKSHOP
110. social spaces
111. Who is Your Audience? How can you offer them the right space & experience to engage with you, the community leadership and others? Create places for people to charge up, relax and work during the day.
112. Positive After Parties • Where do you hold it? will you have attendees under 21? will you want to encourage those w families to attend? • Choosing an activity • Alcohol & non-alcoholic drinks • Simultaneous options (not having the bar be the only place to go)
113. Mapping the Flow Use your venue map (and ideally a tour) to map how attendees will "flow" during the event. How can you improve it?
114. Food! glorious food
115. Food is important Food is love, culture and biology! • What’s cool? Texas BBQ! • What’s in line with your beliefs? No Pork on my Fork! Think about • The mess • Speed (box meals are fastest) • Veggie/Vegan/GF options
116. Drinks are delicious
120. Diversity
121. Setting Expectations On your event page: • Code of Conduct • Accessibility info • Parking/transit • Food info
122. Code of Conduct You need one, and you need a good one. • Train all staff on handling CoC violation reports • Include CoC in speaker confirmations • List is clearly & publically for example: on site, handbook, announcement on stage, link on badge, printout at reg desk… More info + links to sample policies at: http://www.ashedryden. com/blog/codes-of-conduct-101-faq
123. Family-friendly events • Childcare • Nursing • Children's Activities • Parties that include children
124. Promoting Your Event
125. Go where your attendees go • User Groups • Newsletters • Local Websites • Social Media (Yeah, we said it)
126. Activity: Offer incentives How can you make more people come to your event through incentives?
127. Document Incentives http://bit.ly/ OSCONEVENTSWORKSHOP
128. Questions? or concerns
129. LOGISTICS
130. planning on-site problem solving
131. Remember: Don’t Overlook Logistics
132. GoalS + Constraints = Logistics
133. How do you tackle logistics? • Stay organized from start to finish • Use calendars • Delegate responsibility
134. Logistics as a Product Launch • Pretend like your event is a product launch ◦ Project Manager ◦ Milestones ◦ Deadlines ◦ Tasks
135. Milestones • Major dates for smaller achievements • Milestones rely on each other • Milestones are helpful for transparency
136. Milestones spreadsheet http://bit.ly/OSCON15Events
137. On-site Items
138. Standing Banners Versatile: registration, stage, entrance, booth $150-200 each
139. Schedule Printout Don't assume attendees will have smartphones / wifi Simple printouts
140. Signage Where will attendees want to go? Consider your event's "flow" Don't rely on only maps or signs Wall vs. standing signs
141. Stickers The least expensive swag StickerMule.com is your friend Circle - 200 for $61 Die Cut - 200 for $89
142. Swag Varied purposes & goals Attendees - to remember the event by Speakers - a thank-you gift Staff - identifying shirts / thank-you Consider Goal, Audience, and Cost
143. Build your own "Events Kit" ! • Dongles / adapters • Pens • Energy bars • Sharpies • Batteries (AA, AAA, D) • Sticky notes • Chapstick • Aspirin / Ibuprofin • Rubber bands / clips • Tape • Scissors / boxcutter • You choose! A ziplock bag filled with low-value, useful emergency items
144. Day-Of THE EVENT
145. How to Prepare • Delegate responsibility • Get phone numbers • Distribute Task Lists and Phone Numbers • Meet the day before
146. No event is perfect • Things will go wrong. Something goes wrong every event! It's normal. • Go into the event knowing that at least one thing will go wrong - and be excited to tackle it when it appears. • This will help you not panic when something inevitably goes amiss!
147. Post-Event
148. Document Everything do it for the future
149. You’re Done • Give yourself time to relax! • Plan ahead for how you spend the day after - you may be drained • Reward yourself
150. Post-Event Survey • Set selected answers vs. text fields • Were they the intended audience? • Improvements for the future • Prize at the end
151. Post-Mortem • Sit down and talk with your team • Be honest, but not too hard on yourself • Review everything • Record in original planning document • Did you meet your goals?
153. 3 Take Aways #1 - what is your mission? #2 - empathize with your attendees #3 - power of logistics
154. Now It’s Up to you
155. FIN francesca@mongodb.com kara@puppetlabs.com
156. Appendix
157. Photographer Consider hiring a professional photographer This is obvious for large conferences, but you don't need a 1,000 person conference to want quality photos of your event You still need to: - Prepare. Is there writing in your event signup that says attendees may be in photographs? Can you legally use those photos? - Some conferences use name badge lanyards that consent/decline photography. Maybe you have attendees who have stalkers, are under witness protection, etc - If you want to make sure diversity is represented in the photos, tell the photographer. But if he's a creepy dude, he will make it creepy, trust me. Make sure you're hiring a person who can take photos of women without making attendees uncomfortable.
158. Fun activities - Caveats Note that you can pay for fun activities, but you really have to check them over and be involved. Examples: - Picking an arcade game to rent - I had to google every potential game's look (many were racist/sexist) before choosing one. - Photo Booths come with props - you have to hand check every prop and anticipate what attendees will do with them. - Contractors (like entertainment, people operating photo booths, etc) - have an effect on your event, but may not know your audience. Help make sure it's a positive effect.
159. Most important tool in my Events kit Saying NO. I'm sorry, the CFP is closed. We can't just add a talk. No thanks, a [ ] is not a good fit for our event. That's not a good match for our attendees. No, that party theme is going to be uncomfortable.
160. Volunteers Volunteers are great! But sometimes flaky Make sure you train them before they start working Give them something in return
161. Self Care Taking care of yourself is key! - Work with co-organizers - Get rest - Have volunteers, friends, staff, or employees specifically scheduled to help set up and clean up afterwards
162. Choosing a Date • Holidays • Before/after a holiday weekend • Large sporting events • Weekday vs. Weekend
163. 6/10 - Press Release CLOSES for edits by EOD today, 6/10 (Starfire / Team) 6/10 - Cyborg to share sponsor logos w/ Robin and Raven (Cyborg) 6/10 - Cyborg follow up with unfulfilled speakers (Cyborg) 6/10 - Determine out of the declined speakers who we'd like to offer a webinar, blog or potential back-up talking slot to (Starfire and Team) 6/11 - Blog ready for review (Painbot and Team) 6/11 - Email ready for review (Silkie) 6/11 - Homepage Design Due at 12pm (Robin, Dave) 6/11 - Sponsor PDF designed and shared w/ Beast Boy (Robin) 6/11 - Speaker decline emails go out (Raven) 6/11 - Finish schedule build (Raven) 6/12 - Beast Boy and Dave's team to finalize all website content and design (Beast Boy / Dave) 6/12 - Final Schedule Content Review & Handover to Web Team (Raven) 6/15 - Website testing day 6/16 - Website changes goes live (schedule page, homepage, other content and bars, sponsor logos, call to action to register by 6/30) (Beast Boy) 6/16 - Press Release goes live (Starfire) 6/16 - Email sent to company about launch (Raven) 6/16 - Blog goes live (Painbot) 6/17 - Email sent to mailing list (Silkie) 6/30 - Early Adopter discount expires
164. Events w/ open planning materials Wordcamps - Casual, locally-organized conferences that focus on everything WordPress. Because they're community-organised, their planning kit is available to all: https://plan.wordcamp.org/ AdaCamps - Two-day unconferences dedicated to increasing women’s participation in open technology and culture. When the program closed, they released their event-planning toolkit: https://adacamp.org/ Consider releasing or open sourcing your event planning kit, or writing about what you learned, what went well, what didn't, and what you'll change next year.
165. Learning More... - Co-organize with others who have event planning experience - Volunteer to help with other events, and watch what they do - There are plenty of professionals you can pay to help put on your event
166. bowl of "make your own trail mix" from a 200-person event, Boston
167. Inspirational Photos