PDC Birds-of-a-Feather

In a nutshell, a good Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) session proposal clearly communicates the session topic to the reader.

What is challenging for many people writing a proposal is being able to view it from the viewpoint of attendees who need to be “sold” on the topic. In addition, attendees may not be as familiar with the topic as the person writing the proposal.

The Title

The proposal title is the key element of a proposal. Many times, if the title does not adequately describe the session topic the reader may not take the time to read the description. Remember, some people look at the session topics ahead of time, but how many times have you seen people looking at their session guides in between sessions trying to decide which session to go to next?

Here are two examples of a title:

#1 “Is MVC Worthwhile?”

Too general. “Worthwhile” to whom? What is MVC (not everybody knows yet…)? Doesn’t raise the reader’s curiosity enough to read the full description.

#2 “Strengths and Weaknesses of the New ASP.NET Model-View-Controller Framework”

The topic area, i.e., “Model-View-Controller” and the focus “Strengths and Weaknesses” are clearly stated.

The Description

The description should also be concise and to the point. No fluff. You only have 500 characters including spaces. If the user can’t read it once and understand the topic fully in say 15-seconds, it needs to be refined.

Some core principles of the description are:

• Write as concisely as possible, more words and longer is not better.
• Don’t use abbreviations that a reader may not understand. When in doubt write the full description. If you use a commonly abbreviated term, e.g., Model-View-Controller (MVC), spell it out the first time followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.
• Use bullet points for emphasis and clarity of important points, and paragraph-based text for describing broader points or concepts.
• Spell check…

Example of a good description:

———————————————————————————————————————

Strengths and Weaknesses of the New ASP.NET Model-View-Controller Framework

• Have you heard about the new ASP.NET Mode-View-Controller (MVC) framework, but haven’t had the time to read much about it or do some prototyping?

• Are you already an MVC “veteran” who has worked with the MVC framework and built a web site?

Jump start your learning or share what you have already learned with fellow developers by discussing the strengths and weaknesses, best practices, pitfalls, and more in this session about the MVC framework.

———————————————————————————————————————

Note how the questions and rest of the description are phrased so most people would answer “yes”, making them included to attend.

The Relative or Friend Test

My graduate advisor used to take our papers home and would give people unfamiliar with the topic 2 minutes to read a paper. If the person could not explain to him the general concept of the paper, it was time for another revision.

Have someone unfamiliar with the proposal topic read your proposal before submitting it. That five minutes may make the difference in your topic getting selected, and the session being well attended.

We look forward to getting your proposals!

For the BOF Team
Chris