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Open Space - the "UnConference" track

Open Spaceis an agile way to help a group to self-organize the exact conference they want to participate in.  Some call it an un-conference, because there is no track agenda when the attendees arrive.  


Schedule in progress - IdMashup06, MIT. Photo credit: Mark Hadley

The agenda is created "just in time" on the day, by the people with the most at stake: you.  We'll offer a few simple rules** to help set expectations, and a single law that encourages you to create your own conference experience:

"If at, any time, you find that you are neither learning nor contributing: move on, to a place where you can !"
-- the Open Space "Law of Two Feet"

And then you're off... no overhead projectors, no microphones, but all the energy of a day-long coffee break, as you pursue good conversation with passionate people. We'll collect your reports and make them available to everyone, so you can see what came out of the conversations you missed.

What kind of discussions will happen in the Open Space track? That's entirely up to you! Come with experiences to share, or unanswered questions to explore, and expect to meet likeminded colleagues eager to collaborate on finding answers. We don't know which topics everyone will bring, but here are some topics seen in other Open Space events:

• How can we collaborate smoothly with external teams? (Agile and traditional)
• Compensation schemes to support Agile teams, not work against them.
• Dealing with strong personalities on collaborative teams.
• Implementing Agile across the larger organization.

Open Space works best when there are widely diverse opinions present.  And a varied mix of experience levels helps draw out clear explanations and challenges assumptions.  Essentially - the more, the merrier.  Everyone passionate about the topic under discussion is welcome.  Open Space has been used by businesses, governments, and non-profits for twenty years, as well as large and small Agile conferences, and some of its practices have been adapted by the fast-growing BarCamp "unconference" movement.


Lively conversation at MeshForum2006 - Photo credit: Dave Gray

**To remind ourselves to remain open to the possibilities of this track, these are the rules by which we ask participants to operate in Open Space:



Schedule from MashupCamp2006 (Pool). Photo credit: Peter Kaminski


Read about how an Open Space event unfolds. You can also find references to other articles at the end of that blog entry.
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