SDC 2011
Wellington and Sydney
21-22 and 24-25 March 2011
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SDC 2011 - Be A Speaker
How Can You Be A Speaker at SDC?
If you are a local IT professional with a story to tell, why not consider presenting at SDC?
SDC has a practical, rather than an academic focus, so preference is given to "experience reports" that provide insights into areas that will be of interest to the IT business analysis community in New Zealand or Australia. Therefore Australian and New Zealand-based professionals and organisations will be considered first.
The benefits
• Raise your profile and that of your organisation within the professional community.
• Free registration for the two days of the conference.
• Hotel accommodation (room only; applies if you are away from home).
• Reasonable travel costs.
• Networking opportunities with overseas keynote speakers.
What's more, you're certain to learn a lot, be better for the experience and find that you're presentation becomes a valuable resource for you and your organisation.
About the presentation you could deliver:
Presentations, which are typically 60 minutes in duration, should look to discuss the application of methods or tools, management issues around or challenges that face IT business analysis today. Presentations that are of a case-study/experience report nature (what actually happened in your real-world) are of particular interest to participants.
SDC looks to accept submissions from individuals within private organisations and government agencies. If you have a local story to tell about business analysis or software development that you consider is of importance to business analysts, please come forward and submit a presentation outline to be considered for SDC.
Format of your presentation:
The majority of SDC speakers use PowerPoint slides and supply a copy of those slides for reproduction in the SDC participant manual. Alternatively, you might like to supply a written article and use a PowerPoint presentation when speaking. A further acceptable format would be a practical exercise or some form of practical work.
Selection criteria:
A wide range of criteria are considered in deciding whether or not a presentation will be accepted, but here are some things SDC holds dear:
• Fresh talks. SDC is always on the look-out for presentations that have not been presented elsewhere. If you have an idea you want to explore, let us know.
• Innovation/uniqueness. Doing what no-one else is, blending methods, new or early adopter, let's hear about it and how it's going.
• Practicality. How you do it or what you did. Presentations that focus on actual projects - case studies if you like - demonstrating what you did and why, issues that arose and how you solved them, benefits derived.
• Interactive presentations. Talks that involve discussion with the audience, exercises to illustrate points or how-to-dos, are sought-after; we learn more by listening and doing than listening alone.
Getting your presentation considered:
Your main contact for discussing what you might present and on how to get it considered is Iain Jenkins, Conference Manager, Software Education 
Here is what Iain needs form you:
Before you even start I highly recommend you take an hour and view this presentation by Lee Copeland on making submissions and delivering conference presentations. I follow the same format as Lee and fully endorse everything he says and illustrates.
The video is packed full of tips for both the first-timer and the more experienced: Learn the secrets of developing content, identifying the Big Message, preparing slides with just the right words and images, presenting your message, handling questions from the audience, and being ready when things go wrong. Lee Copeland, a professional speaker since birth, shares ideas that will help you be a better speaker, no matter what the occasion.
Your Speaker Proposal Submission(s):
Please direct these to me at
Attach to your email an abstract of the proposed talk(s), approximately 300 words, covering what the talk will be about, who it is aimed at and at what experience level. Case studies are of particular interest. You'll also need to supply me with biographical details.
Generally the first part of the abstract states some problem or opportunity. The second part then describes what you will talk about. I don't accept “IOU descriptions” - they are of the form “come to my talk and I'll tell you cool things.” The “cool things” must be listed/described in the description - you may wish to submit an outline of your talk that lists the topics/techniques you'll cover next to a timeline in conjunction with the abstract in the first instance (this is acceptable). An outline/timeline can help better illustrate the “cool things” that you'll cover. Note: You don't have to list everything you will talk about; you only have 250-ish words.
Please also attach your biography. The bio should be approximately 200 words in length. Shorter is acceptable, but this is a place to advertise yourself so feel free to max out. If your bio is excessively over 200 words we can edit it. You may include a web site or email address if you like but it is not required. Participants would rather read about your experience and/or accomplishments rather than your degrees and/or speaking experience.
Should your proposal(s) be accepted I will also require a photo. The photo should be a colour headshot. I prefer a professional looking pose (how you'd look and dress in your work place or at a smart casual event is ideal). Remember, like your bio, this is an advertisement for you. I prefer .jpg format. Photos need to be at least 300 dpi for printing in brochures and conference manuals. The 72 dpi photos used on many web sites don't print well. You don't need to go to the expense of having a professional shoot, most partners and colleagues can take a perfectly acceptable photo with most of todays digital cameras. If you have a shot on file I can re-use that.
Once I receive your proposal submission it will be considered and I'll be in touch with you as soon as possible to let you know how things are tracking. Acceptance (or otherwise) of your presentation will be advised in due course.
Please note that aside from what is outlined under "The benefits" above there is no financial compensation for presentations.
If you are a local IT professional with a story to tell, why not consider presenting at SDC?
You are welcome to register your interest (no commitment at this stage) with me, Iain Jenkins, Software Education's Conference Manager, emai
I look forward to hearing from you and receiving your submission.
Iain Jenkins
Conference Manager
Software Education
