Pre-Conference Survey

Results from the pre-conference survey used to plan Plone Conference 2006


1. I am... (please check all that apply) Response PercentResponse Total Responsible for deploying/administering Plone within my organization60.6%129 Evaluating Plone for potential use25.4%54 A Plone integrator/consultant53.5%114 A Plone core developer17.4%37 A developer of add-on Products for Plone46%98 Other (please specify)6.6%14Total Respondents  213(skipped this question)  0
 
2. What is your current level of experience with Plone? Response PercentResponse Total  > 3 years experience34.9%74  1-3 years experience38.2%81  < 1 year experience21.2%45  I'm brand new to Plone5.7%12Total Respondents  212(skipped this question)  1
 
3. Which best describes the primary organization you are affiliated with? Response PercentResponse Total  An educational or research institution21.1%45  A governmental institution4.2%9  A healthcare organization3.8%8  A nonprofit organization11.3%24  A for-profit business24.9%53  A Plone consulting firm31.5%67 Other (please specify)3.3%7Total Respondents  213(skipped this question)  0
 
4. How many Plone community events (e.g. Plone Conferences, Plone Symposia, or conferences with Plone/Zope tracks such as EuroPython, VanPy) have you attended in the past?  Response PercentResponse Total  None35.2%75  1-233.3%71  3-519.7%42  So many I've lost count11.7%25Total Respondents  213(skipped this question)  0
 

 
6. We are considering holding the 2006 Plone Conference in late October, in Seattle, Washington, USA. (Exact dates, venue and cost are still TBD.) How likely would you be to attend the 2006 Plone Conference, assuming it were held in Seattle during the last week of October?  Response PercentResponse Total  Definitely24.9%53  Very Likely18.8%40  Somewhat Likely24.4%52  Unlikely22.5%48  Definitely not9.4%20Total Respondents  213(skipped this question)  0
 
7. We are considering a number of new program elements for the Plone Conference this year, and are eager to get some feedback from the wider Plone community. Please rate each of the following ideas -- and don't worry, you can't hurt our feelings.A horrible idea; doing this would make it less likely that I would attend Not a great idea, but I wouldn't object to itI don't have strong positive or negative feelings about this ideaA good idea; worth doingA great idea; doing this would make it considerably more likely that I would attendResponse Average"Sector-specific" sessions featuring case studies of Plone in education, nonprofits, health care, etc.1% (3)8% (17)22% (46)52% (108)16% (34)3.74Tutorials and talks specifically aimed at beginning, intermediate and advanced Plone users0% (1)1% (3)8% (17)52% (110)38% (80)4.26Small group problem-solving sessions facilitated by experienced Plone developers and integrators0% (1)3% (6)25% (51)44% (91)28% (58)3.96A "strategic planning" workshop to gather community input on future Plone development efforts0% (0)1% (3)26% (55)45% (95)27% (57)3.98"Open space" for conference attendees to convene their own small group sessions0% (0)6% (12)41% (87)38% (79)15% (32)3.62A pre- or post-conference code sprint designed for new Plone contributors0% (0)4% (9)26% (55)42% (88)27% (56)3.92A pre- or post-conference sprint focused on Plone's community-level projects such as marketing, Plone.org and Plone.net websites, etc.0% (0)7% (15)37% (77)42% (89)14% (29)3.63Total Respondents  211(skipped this question)  2
 
8. For each of the following statements, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree. For me, a compelling 2006 Plone Conference would ... Strongly disagreeDisagree somewhatI'm neutralAgree somewhatStrongly agreeResponse Average... emphasize creating connections and relationships among members of the Plone community0% (1)0% (1)14% (29)28% (59)57% (119)4.41... emphasize teaching the fundamentals of Plone site administration and development2% (4)5% (11)20% (41)40% (84)33% (69)3.97... emphasize demonstrating and teaching cutting-edge Plone and Zope infrastructure technologies0% (0)2% (5)12% (26)45% (94)40% (84)4.23... be simple, informal and inexpensive2% (4)7% (15)20% (42)32% (67)39% (82)3.99... emphasize small group conversations rather than larger traditional lectures 2% (4)8% (16)39% (81)33% (69)18% (38)3.58Total Respondents  210(skipped this question)  3
 
9. What is the maximum cost you'd be willing to pay for a three-day Plone conference, exclusive of travel, lodging and food?  Response PercentResponse Total $100 USD8%17 $200 USD29.7%63 $300 USD42.9%91 $400 USD22.2%47Total Respondents  212(skipped this question)  1
 
10. What are the three most important things you'd want to get out of the 2006 Plone Conference?  Total Respondents  151(skipped this question)  62
 
11. Any other advice, wisdom, rants or raves to share with us as we ponder Plone Conference 2006?  Total Respondents  106(skipped this question)  107


Among the highlights from these last two open-ended questions:


  •     Add a stream, committee, or course in creating documentation.
  •     Look for ways to facilitate conversation about 3rd party Plone products and howto focus on more collaboration between similar products, with the end goal of making evaluation of options much easier.
  •     Some of the more useful products have fallen into disrepair or a state of terminal "alpha/beta" status. ... anything that can address these issues will (in my opinion) be a big boost for Plone.
  •     Give ample time for networking and plan evening activities where people can meet each other. Encourage flickr/del.icio.us tagging, blogging/podcasting about the event. Provide audio/video streaming and video archives of the event.
  • schedule lightning talks for people to share cool things they're working on.
  •   Take good care of giving good information about visa requirements
  •   Fewer presenters, higher quality presentations. The Plone community is not so huge that we need multiple tracks.  It's either interesting enough for everybody, or it probably not interesting enough for anybody in retrospect.  
  • Professional conferences do two things I don't see Plone conferences doing: a) escrowing presentations ahead of time and b) making available a list of attendees and their contact information.
  • I feel that there need to be more emphasis on learning for the new plone programmer, administrator and designer.
  • IRC nicks on badges !!!
  • I think GUADEC had a fairly successful pick-up soccer match. I'm no soccer player, but a sort of "community building" event might be interesting, so long
  • as it doesnt feel like a "community building" event. Or at least a semi-organized night out on the town.
  • one of the very few things that bothered me about the last conference was the lack of discipline regarding the ending of sessions and breaks.
  • Please continue the practice of video and slideshow sharing on the conference website.