Nevertheless,
since I visited JavaZone in Oslo in September 2014, I think it may
be time to make a thorough comparison after all.
But which
are the criteria? The number of rock star speakers? The volume of soft drinks
available for free? Alas, I came up with the following criteria:
Variety of topics
This is
especially important because most people visit conference in order to peak over
their horizons or to deep-dive into certain areas. As a minimum, conferences
should cover the topics architecture, mobile, methods, coding and research,
while all might bear different names or might be slit up into several
sub-categories.
Quality of talks
Of course,
the presentations must have content and meaning and they must be given in an
inspirational manner as well. These are high expectations, and not many can
live up to them. Especially talks, which center around products or have a high
marketing potential, tend to be boring and to be of low quality.
Choice & Availability
If you have
picked up your favourite talk and you can’t see it, because the room is
crammed, that’s bad. It’s even worse if there is no sensible alternative,
because not enough parallel tracks are available.
Community feeling
You also
visit a conference in order to meet other developers and to talk to fellow
architects. This is enhanced if the conference introduces a feeling of
community into all its visitors. This can be achieved via events which include
all or many visitors, by special after-dinner events, by talks which address
all of the community and so forth.
Organisation & Infrastructure
You need to
find your way to the conference, you have to know the program, must find the
correct room and you need a working wi-fi. Especially the last issue is always
a source of trouble, but it’s getting more and more important every year.
Venue & after-conference program
If you want
to enjoy your conference, you need good lighting, cosy seating, and a venue
which makes you want more of it. And in the night you need some distraction
from all the hard-brained conference stuff, in order to be fit again next day.
Food & beverages
Everyone
who ever organized a party knows: food is the one single most important thing.
Thre is a saying “full belly does not easily study”, but that’s even more true
for an empty stomach.
For a
comparison, I gave each of the conference between 0 and 5 points for each of
the criteria. The result looks like this this:
Criterion
|
Devoxx
|
JavaZone
|
Variety of topics
|
4
|
3
|
Quality of talks
|
4
|
4
|
Choice & Availability
|
4
|
2
|
Community feeling
|
5
|
4
|
Organisation & Infrastructure
|
5
|
5
|
Venue & after-conference program
|
4
|
4
|
Food & beverages
|
2
|
5
|
Let me
explain, how I came up with the numbers:
Variety of topics: Devoxx is in lead, because it covers nearly any
topic one can think of. JavaZone is only shortly behind since the program also
is very versatile.
Quality of talks: The quality is above average for both
conferences. Due to the sheer amount of sessions, there are in absolute numbers
more mediocre talks at Devoxx, but this does not lead to a full point more for
JavaZone.
Choice & Availability: Devoxx is clearly better here
because all of its talks are in English (JavaZone has Norwegian talks still).
Furthermore, the conference is longer (3 vs. 2 days) and contains more parallel
sessions. So, you’re in for some hard decisions at Devoxx. Nevertheless, Devoxx
does not earn the full score, because it is so over crowded, that you cannot
see all the talks you want.
Community feeling: JavaZone is a true community conference. The
same is true for Devoxx, which is a little bit ahead, because there are
Keynotes (not at JavaZone) and opening and closing talks which appeal to the
whole of the visitors.
Organisation & Infrastructure: This is excellent at both
conferences and also includes the awesome websites and the (mostly) working
wi-fi.
Venue & after-conference program: Devoxx can gather further points
here because it offers an evening program at two days. But this is reduced by
the venue being too much outside of the city center.
Food & beverages: Food is traditionally poor at Devoxx
and excellent at JavaZone. Devoxx has 2
points, because of its Belgium Fries night.
Which one
of the conferences to prefer? It depends on which one is closest…
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