Online vs. in-person Agile conferences. This debate is becoming one of the hot topics on LinkedIn, especially within the Agile community. Like many Agile discussions, the answer is not black or white. That means each format has its unique benefits and drawbacks. On one side, online conferences are more accessible and budget-friendly. But in-person conferences offer a level of social interaction and networking that often is not possible in the online environment.
This year I’ve had the opportunity to attend both an online and an in-person conference. And while both were enjoyable, the experiences were different!
Online Scrum Master Summit and a virtual sense of belonging
This year marked my 3rd participation in the Online Scrum Master Summit. And my 2nd time as a participant and a speaker. If there’s one thing I want to highlight about the OSMS it’s the strong sense of community it creates… Despite it being a virtual event with people joining from all over the world and different time zones! The multi-day format allows for people to see recurring faces in various talks. This creates a sense of togetherness. In this edition particularly, I felt like the social presence during the summit was particularly high. My LinkedIn feed was flooded with posts from people sharing insights about the talks. Many times they accompanied pictures of how their home setup looked like. This online interaction made me feel part of a larger community rather than just someone who is joining alone from home.
However, maintaining focus during online events can be challenging. I often find myself distracted by other screens or things happening around me, even when I’m very interested in the topic of the talk. This year, I made the mistake of balancing the talks while still working. It surely impacted my concentration and engagement. Attending a talk while having to continue with work really affected my concentration. My advice would be to still set time apart for these types of events, even if you’re going to be attending from your desk. I did this the first time I joined the Online Scrum Master Summit. Freeing a couple of days from work to attend the talks and this made a big difference in my concentration.
Women in Agile Europe: The in-person experience in Prague
Whenever I thought about which in-person conference I would like to attend, I wanted it to align closely with my passions and beliefs. I didn’t want to attend ‘just another conference’. And so when the opportunity came to volunteer in the organisation of Women in Agile Europe, I quickly took it.
The highlight of the conference was to meet in-person with people who I’ve been in contact with virtually for sometime. Besides meeting known faces, I also had the chance to meet many other Scrum Masters. It ended up helping me expand my network, especially valuable in my case being the only Scrum Master in a small company.
Something I learned after attending the conference is that an in-person event, especially one in which you have to travel to another country, is more demanding than I had anticipated. Travelling, sightseeing, attending a one day conference with plenty of interesting talks, meeting new people and then still having one extra day to do a bit more sightseeing left me positively exhausted. There are so many things to digest after such an event that my recommendation would be to take one day off afterwards to be able to process everything and recover.
Online vs. in-person Agile conferences, the ongoing debate
So, which do I prefer — online vs. in-person Agile conferences? The answer is not simple. I can’t choose one over the other. My experience this year in both formats has offered valuable insights for different reasons. The Online Scrum Master Summit was highly accessible. And despite losing attention at times, the abundance of sessions over three days meant that I still got lots of useful information. On the other hand, Women in Agile Europe allowed me to finally meet many online contacts in person, enhancing the experience with a short trip to Prague… Even if I ended up exhausted!
If you’ve only attended online conferences and are hesitant about in-person events, I highly recommend giving them a try. Choose a conference that genuinely interests you. And remember to plan some downtime afterwards to decompress and reflect on the experience.
by Alba Charles
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alba-charles/
