From hybrid to online
The Agile Nigeria Conference 2024 was entirely converted from hybrid to online. It’s an annual event that attracts participants from around the globe, with a particular focus on Africa. They collaborate and create an impactful experience for the Agile community. I participated as a volunteer at the 7th edition of the conference. I experienced the true spirit of Agile! We organized ourselves into teams, focusing on various essential aspects of the event. Each volunteer had an opportunity to choose an area of interest to contribute to the conference’s success.
How impressive to see the organizing committee adapted to this change with the same number of volunteers, successfully steering the event to successful completion! We quickly analyzed the in-person topics were quickly analyzed. Then we adjusted them to fit the online schedule without losing the essence of the conference. We used Trello as our organizing tool. It is a highly effective for visually managing, tracking, and assigning activities. We identified key areas such as ticket management, social media, sponsorships, marketing, and speaker coordination. Then each volunteer collaborated within these categories. I focused on the Ticket management area. Although we focused on completing tasks within our chosen areas, they also encouraged us to help others and move between focus areas if needed.
Learning experience
I had a wonderful learning experience filled with valuable opportunities to contribute from the event.
In terms of my learning as a volunteer, I had experience using tools like Miro, Mural, Jira, Azure DevOps, and Microsoft Teams for organizing tasks. I didn’t use Trello in a real-world setting before, despite the fact that I attended workshops. Trello is highly effective to organize multiple focus areas with various people working on the same tasks.
The most important learning experience was when the event shifted from hybrid to online. As organizers and volunteers, we supported each other and went back to the basics. So we regrouped as a team and prioritized a wide range of tasks we had, ensuring the event’s essence was not lost. This involved clear communication to speakers and participants as they had to cancel their travel. Also it involved promoting the event’s new online format in social media, rescheduling sessions, and preparing online tools to accommodate all participants. This experience boosted my confidence in managing such workshops or events, even when unexpected challenges arise. And that is my biggest takeaway from the event.
