During
SAPTechEd 2017 I came across the Idea to write my recommendations down that help others to do best at the conference and to overcome some hurdles. The Intention is to help new visitors to be well prepared and make the most out of this fantastic event. The general procedure of #SAPTechEd is explained somewhere else better so I will not repeat this.
Things to take with you on site
- a bag / backpack ( see below )
- mobile with #Teched APP and prepared Agenda
- power bank ( there are charging stations, but will need the time elsewhere )
- business cards
- printed handy pocket version of the floor plan to navigate fast from H7 to L11
- SAP.com login account data for the app space.
- no laptop is need ... to heavy to carry around not needing it
- ADT Know How ( see below )
Sessions
Basically for me TechEd is 75% about the sessions to grab lots of information that is shared by so many people. In 2017 there were 958 so called "educational" sessions + other events not listed in the agenda builder like "
Take a Mindfulness Moment" by the #SAPMentors
Build your Agenda
Really!
Take your time to build your agenda according to your current and future needs. Make use of the possibility to look at presentations and if available additional material to rate the relevance of being in the session. It is a waste of costly time when you find yourself inside a session that turns out not to be relevant for you.
Personally I put ALL relevant sessions in my agenda, even so if I have lots of sessions in parallel. The ones that are the most important ones get a reminder in the app. From myself and from other attendees I know, that you will change your agenda anyway during the conference because sessions are full, overlapping topics ( preparation ), found ones by chatting with attendees or speakers...
So be prepared but flexible, you will change your plans.
To really decide what is relevant and what not I can't give some hard recommendations.
? Do lots of small sessions to cover more topics ? Use hands-on sessions to gain experience and learn deeper? Meet as many experts as possible ?
Take the session type into account. During 2016 & 17 networking sessions had limited space, so show up early if you are keen on it. Try to enter not reserved hands-on sessions. First come ...
Timing
Plan a lunch break. You will anyway not be able to attend every session. If you are really full of energy you can grab some finger food on the show floor to be faster… but as general advice plan some breaks especially before the extreme valuable, but exhausting hands-on sessions.
Notes
Take notes! Really, pull yourself up and take some notes on the presentation you hear! Do it! Where you take them is less important. May be handwritten, on the mobile or if you have your laptop with you for any other reason it might be good Idea to take them right in the course material as PDF comments. (Unfortunately this is not working at the moment with my mobile pdf reader)
Important is, that you
make up your mind upfront on how you will take your notes.
You will look at them months later ...
Clothing
General clothing at #SAPTechEd is casual. Wear layers that you can combine flexible. On site the temperatures were averagely cold for my feelings, but sometimes you will anyway start to feel quite warm. So for me three flexible layers are perfect. There is a coat check, but what if you start felling cold during 3 hours hands-on? (See Bag) You can check in your coat if you want to but take waiting times into account when everybody arrives or leaves.
Wear comfortable shoes, you will probably walk a lot, don’t underestimate the expansion of #SAPTeched.
Bag
Have a lightweight but not to small bag with you. It is very well possible that you end up in collecting papers, gifts and so on that you don't want to loose and want to carry around comfortably. Plan some space inside left for a jacked as temperatures will change from here to there.
Other Sessions:
Watch out upfront for other events before and after the regular sessions. There are quite some. Pre-sessions upfront like from
@HANAAcadamy or evening events, that are value adding for you.
Feedback
Provide value adding feedback to the host of the session itself and also on the topic from your point of view. Those people are really
thankful for your professional feedback and requests for future improvements.
Use the feedback in the app but don't hesitate to contact them
Sightseeing?
From my understanding do not expect to see so much of the city where #SAPTeched takes place. Most likely you will find other, even more exciting passtime. ( even if it’s just recap of sessions )
Take the chance to
get together with others from #SAPCommunity. It is way more easy than you will expect.
I hope this guide can be of any help for others.
Thanks again to the operational team of #SAPTechEd that is performing behind the scenes so perfectly.
ADT Know How
ABAP Development Tools aka ABAP in Eclipse is the standard ABAP development environment since jears.
See blog from 2012
To make the most out of #TechEd get familia with it. I can just recommend it!
If you don't you will have avaidable challenges in all the hands-on sessions.