Guidelines for organizing a Spryker Unconference

What is a Unconference?

An unconference is a participant-driven meeting that avoids conventional conference aspects like high fees and top-down organization. It encourages active involvement through topic suggestions, session scheduling, and discussions.
More on Unconferences.

Organizing a Spryker Unconference

Thank you for (your interest in) organizing a Spryker event! Here are some tips and guidelines:

General organization

• Events should be open to anyone interested in Spryker, including competitors.
• Avoid date conflicts with other Spryker events in your region. Check the CommerceQuest events overview.
• If organized by a company, moderate promotion is acceptable but avoid turning it into a commercial pitch.
• As the local organizer, you are the main contact for speakers and attendees.

Facilities

• Make sure to have a working coffee machine ☕️ or a backup ⚡️.
• Have name badges/stickers, at least for day 1
• Bring enough post-its (or session template printouts) and markers for the Wall (see below)

Content/ Topics

• Content is participant-driven, but you can suggest topics and have a keynote or workshop to kick off.
• Sessions can be proposed and voted on by participants.

Announcing the event

• Contact your Spryker representative or fill out this contact form.
• Be clear about your target audience to manage expectations.

During the event

• Facilitate session proposals, pitches, voting, and scheduling.
• Encourage active participation and adherence to the law of two feet: if you’re not learning or contributing, move to a different session.

Participant rules

For an unConferenceence to be succesful ALL participants need to be mindful and supportive of a few basic rules:

• Everyone is a participant and must engage actively.
• Follow basic unconference principles: whoever comes are the right people, and when it starts or ends is the right time.
• Respect time and contributions.

As everyone in the unConference is a participant, participation in different session events may be different. There are several different modes of participation:

• Lead Participant: people leading the discussion (also called presenters);
• Facilitators: people who have been selected as session facilitators, moderators, and discussants;
• Participants: people in the room who will be joining in the discussion.

Self-Running Sessions

Participants can self-run sessions by:

1. Assigning Moderators: Select one or multiple moderators to guide the discussion and ensure it stays on track.
2. Assigning a Note Taker: Choose a note taker to document key points and follow-up actions. Notes can be shared during a retrospective at the end of the day.

Unconference kickoff

The kickoff is the first part of the Unconference and consists of the following steps:

1. Intro: Introduce the topic, rules, and participation guide.
2. Session Proposals: Participants propose topics on sticky notes.
3. Session Pitches: Proposals are explained, merged, and co-leaders identified.
4. Voting: Participants vote on topics; sessions are scheduled based on votes.
5. Scheduling: Host schedules sessions; participants break before the first session.

Example of a proposal form.

The Wall (aka: the agenda)

• A living agenda where topics are posted and updated.
• Sessions are typically 20-30 minutes with 10-minute breaks.

Template for an unconference agenda. Example of a Wall in use during an Unconference.

After the event

• Thank participants, venue hosts, and sponsors;
• Use social media to post recaps and gather feedback and ideas for future events;
• Create a blog or video summary and publish it on CommerceQuest.

Help from Spryker / CommerceQuest

When following these guidelines, you can expect the following help from us:

• Consultation and promotion through our website and social channels;
• Spryker merchandise for participants;
• A Spryker representative and SME (depending on the topic) will join the event.