I have been asked by a few different folks about evaluations for the conference, both from an attendee perspective and for speakers as well. For previous conferences conference attendees filled out evaluation forms before leaving the site (that’s how you got your conference t-shirt). For the GBN conference we didn’t do that. From what I hear, conference attendees will be soon receiving an email with a link to an online survey, at which point you will be able to provide any feedback about the overall conference.
I don’t know how much of the details for the conference feedback will be made public. Business Objects did not release the overall conference evaluation numbers to the public. I do know that every single comment will be read, categorized, and evaluated. This was the first year for a GBN-run conference and I think everyone recognized that there were some differences. The opportunity before us will be to sort out which differences were important, which should be repeated, and which should be fixed.
For example, one bit of feedback that I intend to provide is related to the room configuration. The room I was scheduled to speak in was quite large, and fairly deep. I don’t know how many rows of chairs there were, but it was more than a few. Yet there was no raised platform for the speaker in the front of the room. I am sure that impacted how visible I was in the back of the room. I imagine everyone could hear me, but hearing is not the same as hearing + seeing at the same time. I think for larger rooms we want to make sure we have elevated platforms next year.
Speakers, on the other hand, will be waiting a bit longer to get our feedback. I don’t have exact dates, but I am told that each speaker should be getting an email soon with more details on when we can expect to see our results. I know I look forward to seeing the numbers. I have had some great comments over the years, and I do strive for the best overall ratings that I can get.
Survey response percentages are typically very low. If you attended the conference and you’re reading this, I would encourage you to fill out the survey once you get the link. The function of the steering committee is to “steer” or guide in the desired direction. It is your voice that should determine that direction. Let’s hear it. 
Part of my recent presentation on Universe Designer was a listing of new features for XI 3.0. I will be writing about each of these features individually in some upcoming blog posts. But there is one change that I didn’t include in my presentation, and it involves the passing of an old friend that has been with us since 1996.
I am talking about this: 
Continue reading “The Passing of an Old Friend”
As the saying goes, “The king is dead, long live the king!” The first GBN-sponsored conference closed yesterday afternoon and I think it was a success. There are things that can be improved, of course, and I hope that folks will share their suggestions and experiences with me or any of the steering committee members. I was way too busy in the days leading up to the conference (not to mention during) that I didn’t get to do the “daily updates” that I have done for the past several conferences. I plan to address that by posting about my experiences during the conference over the coming days.
I haven’t drawn the winner for the cup either, so that’s coming soon.
Not too long ago I was selected to be on the steering committee for the newly forming global user group now known as GBN (short for Global Business Objects Network). While I was busy preparing for and attending TechEd 2008 GBN launched our new web site (in the related links for this post), provided a PDF for the press release, and gave me a logo to add to my posts. Of course having the logo is the most important, right? 
The steering committee had our first face-to-face meeting in Chicago last month. I thought the meeting was very productive, but there was one important part that was not entirely present. I am just one of several steering committee members. Each of us has our own ideas and our own concerns. I want to be more… I want to carry your ideas and your concerns too. The most important part of a global user group is the middle word “user” as without it, the group has no purpose. That’s where you come in. Continue reading “Share An Idea, Win A Cup”
One of the things I noticed a lot of the “cool kids” using at SAP TechEd was Twitter. Twitter is an interesting and seemingly useless web service that allows you to post one to two line bits of text telling anyone who is interested what you are doing at exactly that moment. If you are interested, you can “follow” another persons twitter or their “tweets” as each entry is called. Wikipedia (and other sources) call it a “micro blog” because it lets a person post something (like a blog) but in very small bytes (pun intended).
Wiki also says that as of July of 2008 there were over two million accounts registered. 
One of the reasons I decided to sign up was to see how it felt to use it. There are certain things that I use now that are part of the way I do things. For example, blogging has become easier because I see blog topics all the time. (This isn’t my only blog, so it gives me a wide range of subjects to talk about.) One of the sessions that I found the most interesting at TechEd was ESME (Enterprise Social Messaging Experiment). The folks behind that project are trying to see if a twitter-like function can be used within the enterprise. They’re expanding the service so that instead of just following a person you can also follow certain keywords or topics. Think of it as slightly slower than instant messages but faster and more succinct than email.
In any case, I figured that I would try it out. There is a twitter feed on the sidebar of this blog, and there is a URL that you can use to check in and see what I’m having for dinner, or whatever I am doing at that exact moment in time. Within reason, of course.
Related Links
The general session this morning featured a presentation from Jon Schwarz, the CEO of Business Objects. We also heard from Zia Yusuf, and his title is listed as “Executive Vice President Global Ecosystem and Partner Group” which is quite a mouthfull. One of the interesting things tha Zia shared was that 50% of the financial transactions globally pass through an SAP system somewhere along the way. That’s an interesting statistic, to be sure, but not that surprising really. When you consider the global marketplace and how much information passes back and forth, and how popular SAP applications are, it stands to reason that somewhere along the line a piece of data is going to be touched by at least one company using SAP. It sounds impressive though.
SAP and InnoCentive Team Up
One of the interesting things announced this morning was that SAP is taking part in what I think is a very interesting service from a company named InnoCentive. Continue reading “SAP TechEd 2008 Day 2 Part I: InnoCentive to the Rescue”
The last few weeks have been crazy busy. We had the formal launch of the Global Business Object Network (see the new website at www.gogbn.org) and I want to talk more (much more!) about that in some future posts. We also concluded the BOB Member of the Year voting process so I got to notify the winners and interview Michael Welter, one of the top three finishers this year. I started the BOB Member of the Year process last year as a way to celebrate the anniversary of BOB as well as provide some well-deserved recognition to members of the BOB community.
And during all of this (along with client work) I got an extremely wonderful complement myself a few weeks ago: I have been recognized as a member of the SAP Mentor program. What the heck is that? That was my initial question.
Continue reading “GBN Launch, BOB Member of the Year, SAP Mentor Program, and Off to TechEd”
As per this comment here is the recipe for my famous “Dave Cookies” … enjoy. 
Continue reading “By Popular Request: Cookies!”
I am probably not following proper blog “netiquette” as I don’t offer a “blog roll” here. A blog roll is a standard feature of Wordpress and it allows a blogger to link to other blogs of interest, whether they’re on the same topic or just from friends or family or… well, you probably get the idea. Despite the lack of a formal blog roll I do read a few other folks (when I have time). One of those on my short list is Timo Elliott’s blog.
Continue reading “Technology Needs People Too”
A few days ago I posted about the new GBN (Global BusinessObjects Network) organization. They’re going to be responsible for the user conference this fall that is replacing the “Insight” conferences run by Business Objects in the past. One of the questions posted as a comment to that post was this:
Will the Global BO Network be organising the conferences around the world?
We over here in the Asia-Pac haven’t had one for awhile…
I did some digging and asking around and some guessing, and at this point I have some rumors to share. From what I can tell, the intent is to sponsor several conferences a year. If that is the case, then the Asia-Pacific Rim area should be on the short list of options to consider. I suspect that we will see plans for GBN-sponsored events in both Europe and Asia-Pac in 2009 along with at least one large “Insight-style” event in the US. Part of the reason for me guessing this is they will want to put their best foot forward in order to secure long-term support and interest for their program, and the best way to do that will be to get out in front of the users. By doing that, they can share their vision and mission with the largest group of people… which should ultimately prove beneficial for both parties if they can deliver. And from our first conference call (in my earlier post I mentioned that I was selected to the steering committee for the GBN) one of the focal points was the “G” or “Global” nature of the program.
Getting global events running would be the best way to reinforce that concept, yes? 
The EU-Insight from earlier this year was in Berlin along with the SAPPHIRE conference. Given that the GBN wants to emphasize the independence from the product company I would expect that future conferences will not be held in conjunction with SAPPHIRE but will instead be a separate venue. Most of this is guess-work at this point as the new organization is just getting off of the ground. If I learn anything concrete I will be sure to share it when I can.
