#JNUC – JAMF Nation User Conference 2013 – Feedback Please!

[Crystal_Noonan]

It was great have so many of you in attendance at this year's JAMF Nation User Conference. As we begin working on next year's event, we would love to hear from you. Please let us know what worked, what didn't and what you would like to see next year! This event is for you, so please let us know your thoughts.

For those of you who were not able to attend, a great recap of the event can be found via our Newsroom - http://www.jamfsoftware.com/news/

[ewelton]

An open registration for the individual discussions/sessions/etc. Not something to hold us attendees to but for you guys to get an idea on what we would like to attend so you can better situate the rooms with the projected attendance from the open registration.

I would very much prefer to be able to leave one session to go to another one if I were to find out that that particular session did not have include what I was looking for. Like this year was.

[stevewood]

I'd agree with what @ewelton said. Some sort of system to allow you to gauge what attendance would be at each session so that rooms could be better situated. It seemed that the sessions in Wuertle were light, mainly because we all knew they were being recorded, so we could go to a conflicting session in another room. This caused the other two smaller rooms to be standing room only.

Perhaps getting permission to record in McGuire or one of the other rooms would help some too.

Hate to leave the Guthrie Theater, so anything that can be done to not have to leave would be great.

[jacob_salmela]

I certainly enjoyed the ability to go to whichever session suited me. I left one in the middle because it was not what I was expecting, which was very nice to be able to do.

I loved being at the Guthrie! I think it was a very capable venue.

Also, the three lunch lines were very, very quick. Thank you!

[nsdjoe]

Thank you for an awesome JNUC 2012! I agree with the other posts so far… love the Guthrie, food lines were excellent, gauging attendance for sessions before the conference to find suitable space would be good, etc. I know there was an issue about what could or couldn't be videoed. But like Steve suggested maybe offer to video the session(s) in the smaller rooms rather than in the Wuertle so that attendees could opt to watch videos of the sessions that occur in the smaller rooms and attend the ones in person in the two larger theaters.

I would also like to see a way to better facilitate informal meet-ups whether its during the day or in the evening. I'm glad I was able to coordinate a meet-up group of K12 iPad admins on the last morning of the conference, but wish I could have done something like that the first night. We could use JAMF Nation and post information on meet-ups but it would be helpful to make an announcement during the keynote the first morning that informal meet-ups are occurring throughout the conference, and encourage folks to check JAMF Nation for these meet-up groups. I know there was one post talking about meetups but I talked to several attendees who said they didn't know about it and hung out alone at their hotels the first night because they didn't know anyone and didn't know to check JAMF Nation about gatherings that were occurring that first night. Having meet-ups based on job function, or where their job is located (regional groups), interests, or whatever would be awesome. And if there was an announcement at the keynote I think more meetups would have happened. The networking that occurs outside of sessions is just as valuable as the sessions themselves!

Thanks again and hope to see you at JNUC 2013.
~Joe

[mm2270]

The JNUC was a great event and I hope to attend it next year where will undoubtedly be bigger and better!
This was my first time in the Guthrie, despite being in the great city of Minneapolis several times. The Guthrie is a beautiful venue!

The only feedback I have is that, it would be nice if some of the other sessions were located on more accessible floors for next time. I don't know if that's even possible though. For ex, the smaller classroom sessions that were on floors 8 & 9 were in some cases harder to get to than I expected. There was only one set of elevators that served them that were usually backed up. While I wouldn't have an issue walking up 4 or 5 flights to get to them, some will and had no choice but to wait. This also had the affect of walking out of one session to attend another on a different floor a little less feasible (though still possible of course).
Lastly, for those classroom sessions, I think the speakers need to have access to microphones and speakers. There were a couple of sessions where it was packed and folks way in the back had trouble hearing the presenter.

Other than those things, greet conference and it was nice being amongst so many Mac and Casper admins. :)

[stevewood]

Joe just triggered a thought. I've heard about the ways Foo Camp and Bar Camp are run, and several have adopted this method, of using white boards and post-it notes to indicate topics of discussions and a place.

Perhaps using this method for informal meet-ups, either via the JAMFNation web site, or Twitter hash tags, and even an actual white board in the Guthrie, would work. Announce a week before, or more, a hash tag that can be used for meet-ups, like #jnucmeetup or something.

[nsdjoe]

+1 for what Steve said!

[jfvanzant]

Great conference! Thank you!

Suggestions:
Make presentations available electronically before sessions, so notes can be taken on them as speakers present.
Have a coat check room.

Again, thanks for a great conference!

[nsdjoe]

+1 for coat check.

Also a bag check for the last day as many of us fly out that evening and have our suitcases with us during the day (I was able to stash mine in a room at the Guthrie but an official bag check would be nice).

[mm2270]

Coat check is a great idea! Minneapolis can get a bit chilly in late October :)

[CasperSally]

Reminds me of this guy, from Shark Tank

http://coatchex.com/

[wdpickle]

This was my first JNUC, and it was pretty spectacular. As a new JAMF user I found that most of the sessions I attended were right in line with what I thought they would be and very informative. Presenters availability after sessions and willingness to respond to my (n00b) questions made it even more helpful to me.
I agree that some of the sessions needed more space and a peek at pre-registration might be helpful in determining location based on projected attendance. I also moved from one session to another after I found out the session I had on my calendar was not for me (I could tell there was something way up over my head, I just couldn't quite get a grip on it).
Is it to early to sign up for next year?

[mscheffler]

Pros:
Free, the Guthrie took care of us, clean facility, good food for lunch, snack packs were a nice touch, professional staff, great views of the city/river, the after party.

Cons:
Standing room only for several sessions I attended, Nelson classroom needs blind/curtians to cut down on the orange glow and heat, waiting in line for the elevator, after party should have been announced during a keynote, need of a coat check, The pdf/videos of the sessions need to be grouped on a single webpage (I feel I have to really hunt to find them all), a breakout session with JAMF staff to train us new comers on how to use Casper/JSS (as I missed the on-site training day for my company).

[david_yenzer]

This was my first JNUC and I enjoyed it very much and think it brought a wealth of knowledge for how our district can use JAMF to our advantage in deploying and managing devices. Thank you for such a great product, but also a great resource in the form of the conference and organizing a social network to share knowledge and experiences. If possible, I will absolutely be there next year.

One suggestion I have is that it would be extremely helpful if there was a resource available (perhaps expanded in the App) that showed which presenters would be available in the Overtime Sessions. I only recall two sessions where the JAMF host shared when the presenters would be in an Overtime Session - one of them was not one I had questions for and the other I must have misheard the day because they weren't in the session I went to. Something more specific (and in writing) would help me!

[mm2270]

I agree with David's comment on the Overtime Sessions. I never really had a good idea of what I was walking into whenever I went to one, so it was sometimes hard to determine if it made sense to attend that or something else happening at the same time. In most cases they were good so no complaints in that respect, but it would still be helpful to have a better picture of which presenter would be in them.

[RWitt]

I am just going to echo a big THANK YOU!! for keeping such an informational conference free of charge. I love the venue, but I will echo a lot of the others comments. Please make video available for in more sessions. I was torn on which sessions to attend. I think with something this informational and the occasional need to make it to overtime sessions that it was impossible to take in as much as I would have liked. Last thing though while I loved the Guthrie if it came down to the venue or more videos in the future I would choose videos every time.

[mscheffler]

How about taking the webpage that showed the available sessions, and in the pop up descriptions for each session, provide a link to the page(s) that will eventually contain the posting of that sessions pdf, powerpoint, keynote, video, etc.

[jhbush]

Thank you for great conference and here are my suggestions:
1.All presenters must share the slides. If you can't share it don't present it.
2.Group all of the content for the JNUC in one area on JAMF Nation. Slides and info from 2012 JNUC are way to hard to find.
3.Speaking to support was confusing this year. Clearly indicate where the support teams are so you can ask questions.
4.Allow speakers to discuss using tools outside of the JAMF toolbox. I'm interested in workflows that include other tools as well as JAMF's.

[SeanA]

+1 on more organization on the "informal" meet-ups.

[Sean_M_Harper]

+2 on more organization for the "informal" meet-ups. :)

[stevewood]

Would also love to see a JAMF Store somewhere on premise so we can purchase some of those cool hoodies and other chotchkies that are emblazoned with the JAMF logo or the JAMF Nation tag. Like Sean Harper said in this FR: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/featureRequest.html?id=879#respond

We love JAMF and just really want to give you more money for cool things! :)

[ernstcs]

Zach and Chip bobble heads?

[mm2270]

Zach and Chip bobble heads?

Lol : )

[jhbush]

This is some swag I had made to show support. http://t.co/arvxwCCH

[SeanA]

Hoodies? Swag? Bobbleheads?

What next? Auction for various members of JAMF? Dunking booth?

Okay, our feedback is supposed to be serious, so I am straying just a little outside of the box here. :-D

[donmontalvo]

@jhbush1973 OMG! Do they make them in XL? :) Do they allow these in FL?