Thank you to all who attended AONW 2023 , completely virtual and online. You can still view the session notes and graphic recording, or see the full conference page for the 2023 conference. More information about AONW 2024 will be posted here when it is available.
You can also follow us on Twitter or join our email interest list to stay up to date with all the latest info.
AONW is an annual conference about agile practices and techniques. Using Open Space, the participants themselves make the conference they want to attend. Come prepared to share your latest ideas, challenges, hopes, experiences and experiments! Inclusive but intimate, Agile Open Northwest is limited to less than 250 participants.
You’ve heard of bar camps and unconferences…meet the start of them all! Agile Open Northwest runs on Open Space Technology (OST).
Way back in 1983, Harrison Owen made a discovery. He had spent a year organizing an international conference and, when it was over, everyone agreed that the best learning, information sharing and networking had occurred in the coffee breaks! Hmmmm.
After giving that some thought (and drinking two martinis), Owen went on to originate Open Space Technology, an approach to organizing meetings that allows groups of all sizes to self-organize, create an agenda, and solve complex problems.
In the thirty years since, the Open Space movement has grown to the point where many entire conferences have organized on its principles. Working with specific strategies to encourage and direct participation, groups of as many as 2000 people have successfully self-organized around complex problems, held meetings, and published results.
What a great fit for an Agile conference! OST delays all decisions about what sessions will be held, when they will be scheduled and who will attend them until the last responsible moment. If you have ever signed up for particular sessions in a traditional conference months in advance, only to discover that your needs and interests had changed by the time you got to the event, you’ll appreciate the value of this approach.
The opening session of Agile Open Northwest takes place on the first morning, with everyone attending. Your commitment to arriving at the beginning and staying until the end of the conference will ensure we build on conversation after conversation.
During the opening session, a host will explain the Five Principles and One Law of Open Space. If you have questions, volunteers and hosts will offer answers.
If you find yourself where you can’t learn or contribute, move yourself to a place where you can.
After the introduction, we will invite those who want to convene a session to come forward and present it. It’s a simple process. You don’t need to prepare papers, slides, or flip-charts. You will simply step forward and briefly describe the session you propose. You’ll include just enough information to let people decide whether to attend…and no more. Generally, you need less than thirty seconds.
After presenting a summary of your proposed session, you’ll select a time and place and post a notice on our Marketplace wall. As each person does the same…Voila! The agenda is born.
We ask that everyone attending our conference show up for the opening. It’s important. You’ll listen to the presentations and take note of those you would like to attend. As you listen, you may be inspired to present a session yourself. There are no deadlines or time limits: simply step up and describe your idea for a session.
At the end of the presentation, you will browse the notices on the Marketplace and sign up to attend any sessions that interest you. Signing up for a session is optional. You may attend any session you like and even move between sessions (according to The Law).
You may add a session to the schedule at any time during the event by posting information about it in an available slot in the agenda. We’ll have periodic announcements of any new or rescheduled sessions, but it’s a good idea for all participants to keep an eye out for schedule changes as well.
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