U-Innovate

Innovate by joining the excitement at the U-Innovate unconference. A session created especially for attendees of IBM Innovate 2010.

Tuesday, June 8, 7:00 pm- 9:00 pm
Southern Hemisphere IV (Dolphin Hotel, Ballroom Level)
Stop by for beer and wine. The first 250 people to show up will receive a complimentary copy of Cloud Computing for Dummies by Judith Hurwitz, Marcia Kaufman, Fern Halper, and Robin Bloor (Wiley, 2010)

• Log in to the Innovate agenda builder and add this session to your agenda. (Available to registered attendees only)

U-Innovate is an unconference created to provide a unique forum for you to collaborate with your peers on important software development topics. It is your opportunity to spark up the conversation and exchange views on the issues that you care most about.

An unconference is about making the unpredictable happen. For example, we start with an unconventional panel format where – if you have an opinion – you get to be part of the panel. The unpanel is therefore designed for spontaneous group discussion to identify your top questions and to give volunteer experts an opportunity to answer each question in under a minute. Despite the spontaneous nature of the event, it is well-planned. We’ve listened to you and our moderators are prepared to help guide the team through discussions on the hottest topics from your solution tracks, such as:

• Agile
• Enterprise architecture
• Jazz
• Cloud
• System development
• SOA

This planning provides the background for an evening that will come to life with your participation. The structure of the U-Innovate unconference is designed to support spontaneity, creativity, and the energy of a diverse group of participants. The event will be fast-paced with an unpanel, discussion topic breakouts, and networking. IBM experts such as Grady Booch, and others from each of the solution tracks will be on hand to facilitate and provide the set up for a fantastic event. But remember, you get to drive the true success of this event.

• Those interested in Agile, Jazz, Cloud Computing, System Development, or SOA
• Those who have lots of questions to ask or answers to share – come to help drive the discussion
• Those who enjoyed “Birds of a Feather” sessions in the past – U-Innovate replaces these sessions
• You are new to the Innovate Conference – come to network

Much of the process we will follow is based on Open Space Technology which was originally designed by Harrison Owen. Open Space operates under four principles and one law.

The Four Principles are:

• Whoever comes are the right people
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened
• When it starts is the right time
• When it's over it's over

The Law is known as the Law of Two Feet:

• If you find yourself in a situation where you are not contributing or learning, move somewhere where you can.

The four principles and the law work to create a powerful event motivated by the passion and bounded by the responsibility of the participants.