I got my feedback from the Atlanta Code Camp today. I admit, I am terrible about providing feedback at events such as this. Not until today, did I realize how useful those little forms are to the presenter. So, as a sign of thanks to the people who took the time to provide this data, I want to share it with the world along with my responses.
| Score |
Comments |
My Response |
| 3 |
more evangelist than teacher |
This is possibly accurate, but I could use some examples to back it up. I'm sorry you didn't get more benefit from your time. |
| 5 |
(5 lines of comments were blacked out) |
Pity, those five lines may have been very helpful. |
| 5 |
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| 5 |
very passionate, however demo unorganized, started slowly. Took 15 minutes to introduce - could have done it in 1. |
Accurate. I blew the demo despite my rehearsal. I get excited, then I rush, then I make mistakes. Unfortunately, what the commenter calls the intro was intended to be half the material. |
| 6 |
A little disappointed because the presenter didn't touch the team system from Architecture point of view. I think the introduction could have been smaller |
Fair. I intentionally ignored the system architecture, and focused on the development process. |
| 7 |
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| 7 |
1. very knowledgeable 2. as individual programmer/consultant, was not aimed at me |
Useful. I work in a team environment, and intended to focus my comments on development teams. |
| 7 |
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| 7 |
needed to scroll some of the scripts being shown to the top of the screen so we could see over the heads of those in front |
Very helpful. I will definitely keep these comments in mind at my next presentation. |
| 7 |
well prepared, new insite [sic] on new technology. Really helpful |
Thanks. |
| 7 |
lots of good information, very applicable |
Thank you. |
| 7 |
wandered a bit. Demo could have been planned better |
Useful. There is a theme here about focus and precise demos. |
| 7 |
too much generalization |
Hmmm… My intent was to back up from the tool, and focus on how it fits into a developer’s work life. |
| 8 |
good speaker and good intro to the "team" aspects of the team system |
Thanks, that’s what I was going for. |
| 9 |
very good, detail |
Much appreciated |
| 9 |
great speaker, good overview and content |
Wow, thank you. |
| 9 |
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| 9 |
excellent combination of VS team systems and GTD. Very informative |
Glad you enjoyed it. |
My reading of this table is that I need to make sure my demos are bulletproof, and insure visibility for the back rows when showing code. The most important trend I see here is a need to set clear expectations.
What is fascinating to me, is that I spent a good deal of time at the beginning setting the tone of the presentation, and multiple commenters felt I was wasting time. My intention was to clearly separate this discussion from a purely technical overview of the tool. I will be more explicit about this point at my next presentation of this material.
If you attended my session in Atlanta, I would love to hear your comments and suggestions in the comments to this post. I would also like to hear if anyone thinks I am misreading this data.
This was my first presentation "in the wild." I've given two talks at the local user group, and many inside my corporate mother ship. I'm sure that my next presentation will be better as a result of these comments. I'm equally sure that I will take the time to offer feedback to the speakers at Tech Ed next month.
++Alan