devopsdays Berlin - Propose

Call for proposals opens Tuesday, May 1, 2018.
Call for proposals closes Saturday, Jun 30, 2018.
Selected proposals will be announced on Sunday, Jul 15, 2018.

There are three ways to propose a topic at devopsdays:

  1. A 30-minute talk presented during the conference, usually in the mornings.
  2. An Ignite talk presented during the Ignite sessions (scheduling varies). These are 5 minutes slots with slides changing every 15 seconds (20 slides total).
  3. Open Space: If you'd like to lead a group discussion during the attendee-suggested Open Space breakout sessions, it is not necessary to propose it ahead of time. Those topics are suggested in person at the conference. If you'd like to demo your product or service, you should sponsor the event and demo it at your table.
  4. Hands-On session: if your talk is of a technical nature, maybe it makes more sense to show others what and how you do it. These are 45 minute sessions parallel to the Open Space sessions. Give people a chance for questions. Please: No product demos.

Choosing talks is part art, part science; here are some factors we consider when trying to assemble the best possible program for our local audience:

  • broad appeal: How will your talk play out in a room of people with a variety of backgrounds? Technical deep dives need more levels to provide value for the whole room, some of whom might not use your specific tool.
  • new local presenters: You are the only one who can tell your story. We are very interested in the challenges and successes being experienced in our local area. We are happy to provide guidance/coaching for new speakers upon request.
  • under-represented voices: We want to hear all voices, including those that may speak less frequently at similar events. Whether you're in a field not typically thought of as a technology field, you're in a large, traditional organization, or you're the only person at your organization with your background, we are interested in your unique experience.
  • original content: We will consider talks that have already been presented elsewhere, but we prefer talks that the local area isn't likely to have already seen.
  • no third-party submissions: This is a small community-driven event, and speakers need to be directly engaged with the organizers and attendees. If a PR firm or your marketing department is proposing the talk, you've already shown that as a speaker you're distant from the process.
  • no vendor pitches: As much as we value vendors and sponsors, we are not going to accept a talk that appears to be a pitch for your product.

Culture

  • Diversity: Productive teams benefit from a diverse line-up.
    • What are your success stories?
    • How do you cope with the challenges this poses?
    • Who is responsible for making this a success?
  • How do you hire for cultural fit?
  • What's the stance on management in this culture?
  • Have you seen this culture spread to other parts of the company?
    • What's their story?
    • How does that work?

Technical things, we're still engineers!

  • Assumption: Automating infrastructure is the easy part, automating data is hard. Discuss.
  • Which impact does DevOps have on traditional security auditing or change control?
  • How do you describe your network infrastructure as code?
  • You Build It You Run It: Which kind of team do you need for that?

How to submit a proposal: Send an email to [[email protected] ] with the following information

  1. Type (presentation, panel discussion, ignite, OpenSpace, Hands-On session etc.)
  2. Proposal Title (can be changed later)
  3. Description (several sentences explaining what attendees will learn)
Rules:
  • Be specific... we aren't mind readers (a description of about 20 lines is about right)
  • Detail is good... but not as important as explaining why your proposal would be interesting
  • Propose your own talk; don't have someone else do it for you.
  • Nominations welcome... if you know someone who has content/experience relevant to the DevOps conversation, please point us in their direction!
  • Multiple proposals welcome... just follow the other rules