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The Dev Day of T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH (MMS) is one of the most popular and most visited IT conferences in Saxony every year. One person without whom this success would be impossible is Marie Lajn. She is part of the organizational team and has accompanied the development of the Dev Day for 4 years.
In the interview, she tells us more about the development of the Dev Day, which added value the participants can expect and how LineUpr achieved excellent response rates in the feedback surveys.
LineUpr: Hello Marie. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Please introduce yourself and the Dev Day.
Marie: Gladly! My name is Marie Lajn and I work for the T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH (MMS) in Dresden in the area of Talent & Change. For the fourth time in 2018, the project management of the Dev Day was led by me.
The Dev Day is a community conference for software developers, architects and all IT enthusiasts in the Dresden Stock Exchange. The Dev Day 2015 was initiated and organized by our MMS-internal software engineering community. After a successful start, we could invite persons to the fourth Dev Day in 2018. Each year, the Dev Day celebrates lectures by predominantly local speakers, most of whom we obtain through a call for participation. In 2018, 500 visitors came from about 100 different companies. This makes Dev Day one of the important community conferences in Saxony, which combines training and network building.
LineUpr: How much time and work do you spend on the planning of the event on average?
Marie: Our organizational team always consists of about 15 colleagues who start planning about 8 months in advance. It is important to note that we have not created any extra event department but instead we are developers, architects, testers or even personnel who plan the whole thing as a community event and each year optimize it a bit.
LineUpr: Such a joint venture of different departments is undoubtedly a great change from everyday life. What makes your event special? What added value do you offer the participants?
Marie: The biggest added value is certainly enriching the community scene in Dresden even more and creating an opportunity for exchange. Furthermore, the last few years we had many well-known speakers on board – so we could inspire our audience with lectures by Felix von Leitner, Dr. Gernot Strong, Adam Bien or Dave Farley, among others. Additionally, it is an excellent opportunity for regional speakers – not least colleagues from the MMS, for whom we provide a stage for their subject matter.
LineUpr: You have used LineUpr for the third time now. What was the decisive argument for you to use an event app?
Marie: A techie conference without an event app just doesn’t work ;-).
LineUpr: True ?. How did you use the app before, during and after the Dev Day?
Marie: Before the Dev Day, we had a survey in the app on which of the selected presentations are the most exciting for the participants and which should, therefore, be given the largest rooms.
A techie conference without an event app just doesn’t work ;-).
During the Dev Day, we, of course, offered a mobile agenda, information about the speakers and the sponsors and in 2018 we also used the feedback function for each session. At the end of the event, we used the live feedback feature, which increased the participation rate immensely and was also pretty cool.
After the Dev Day, we distributed the feedback for each session to the speakers. Here a nice visual presentation would be great.
LineUpr: Thanks, for the compliment. How did your visitors respond to the app?
Marie: We did not actively ask for feedback on the app – but somehow using a good event app is just as natural as Mate.
LineUpr: One can see that you’re an expert. How have your events changed through the use of an event app?
Marie: The mobile session plan is great and the possibility to put together your own way through the conference. No placard or anything similar can accomplish this. I am also enthusiastic about the feedback function, which has helped us to achieve a very high response rate. Furthermore, we were able to send feedback to every speaker after the Dev Day.
LineUpr: What are you particularly proud of during the Dev Day and why?
Marie: I’m proud of our organizing team – we’re not event managers, but every year we have a very well-valued IT conference with 500 guests, which is something to be proud of. And every year we try to integrate the participants’ feedback to get a little better.
I am also enthusiastic about the feedback function, which has helped us to achieve a very high response rate.
LineUpr: Implementing the participants’ feedback is undoubtedly the best recipe for long-term success. Which three top tips for the use of LineUpr would you like to give to other organizers?
Marie: Use the feedback function for every session! Use the live feedback at the end of the conference as a conclusion! Pack as much info as possible into the app, including parking, directions, etc.
LineUpr: Thank you, Marie, for the great, easy-going interview. The Dev Day in Dresden is a unique event that our developers are always looking forward to. If you want to be there, you will find all necessary information on their homepage.
Until then, we look forward to your next events and how we can support them with LineUpr.
