Open Space

Thursday November 8: 11:40 - 12:40 

At this year's QCon SF, we will try an experiment; we will have 5 open spaces in parallel, one for each track room. The open spaces are facilitated discussions, where all attendees, and speakers, have a chance to discuss subjects related to the theme of the track.

You can learn more about Open Space Technology here:
Open-space Technology on Wikipedia  
A Brief User's Guide to Opend Space Technology
Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide 

An example of how the agenda could look like in an open space session: 

  1. 10 min introduction to the concept of an open space and this particular kind of it
  2. 10 min marketplace, where we brainstorm for subjects to discuss
  3. 20 min session, where people in groups discuss one of the subjects found in the marketplace
  4. 20 min session, where people in groups discuss another of the subjects found in the marketplace

This way, it is possible to enter two discussions in full, or walk around and listen in on several discussions.

 

 

In an open space it is allowed and fully accepted to walk out of one discussion and into another one. At any given point in time, there will be 3-5 different discussions in one room, and it is also possible to move to another room to be part of the discussions there.