Online UC Agenda falls short for me - let's brainstorm improvements

[SteveGoldman]

The toughest thing for me at the Esri User Conference is making sure I'm using my time as best as possible, and hitting as many sessions as I can. Having easy access to the Agenda is key to this. I always go over it ahead of time, and mark a bunch of "possibles", but there are always multiple sessions in many timeslots that I'd like to attend, and it often comes down to other factors, like who I end up bumping into, and the conversations that ensue. I like to have some potentials marked, but I also like to have live access to the information so last minute choices can be made.

The current online Agenda is certainly better than no online Agenda, which was true only a few years back, but I think it has the potential to be much more useful without too much work. I'm not sure if this online version was new this year or not, but I don't recall it being available 2 years back when I last attended.

I'd like to have folks comment on if they liked it or not, and what ideas they have to make it work better for them. Hopefully, with some thought out discussion, Esri folks will then re-work it a bit.

My criticism is that this version is not very easy to use on either my desktop for pre-planning or on my iPhone for live access.

For one, they included a map widget in the agenda. We're all map geeks, so it's cool to have a map of the convention center room locations, but it shouldn't be an always-there part of the Agenda web page. For the most part, as you are going through the sessions and decided which to go to, location of a particular session is irrelevant as there is ample time between sessions to get from end-to-end. Maximize screen real-estate for the Sessions grid, and make the map an optional window to pop up.

Additionally, it has a scrollable area inside the main page. On the iPhone, this creates dual vertical scrolling, which is difficult to navigate. I think a single page list would work much better. There could be collapsable areas for the days, and then also for the time-slots. Then additionally, the full info for the session could be a collapsable area. This way, all content is on a single web page. No dual content areas, no popups, etc.

The Pocket Agenda is useful, and I'm glad they stopped printing the large Full Agenda to save trees, but the Pocket Agenda doesn't have the details on each session, which is critical for the paper sessions especially, since the session title offers little in the way of really understanding what the 3 presentations will cover.

An easy Search function is critical, and the existing site did fairly well here, but could be better.

What other ideas are out there?

[JackMillar]

I would think so. I'm straddling many different roles at the moment, so for me a broad spectrum approach is best (develop, manage, curate). But for others I attended with a more focused approach on agriculture, field collection and cartography would have been better, so if items were promoted that way it would have been very helpful for them.

[Anonymous User]

Great, thanks for the feedback

[SteveCole]

This year's agenda failed spectacularly. The printed pocket agenda was completely missing any workshop/presentation that was located downstairs in ESRI-land (this was not the case last year and in previous years). The ESRI Events app was inconsistent between OS versions (iOS *would* add a workshop to your calender but the Android version would not add them on my tablet). The plain web agenda planner was also lacking the ability to add sessions to your calender. In previous years, you could add them to your Outlook calender, ICal, etc. Not this year.

If it's not broke, fix it- just like the forums.

[RuiSantos]

I wonder how you make it before all wireless smart devices

I will try to get this point of view before I organize the next event.

I believe Esri will improve a lot on the next year.

Regards.

[SteveCole]

Well, the old agenda planners allowed you to search by track. industry, etc so it was easier than using this year's attempt. What I used to do was search for keywords, copy abstracts + room info into a Word file, organize by date/time blocks and print it out for the conference. I am well versed in the "old school" method of conference planning.

The creation of an app a few years ago was a huge step forward. Why it has to get continually changed, however, is beyond me.

Oh- one more thing missing from this year's pocket agenda- daily times for the map gallery, exhibit hall, etc. The plenary session also seemed "sparse" at best.

[Anonymous User]

Hey Steve,

You say,

The creation of an app a few years ago was a huge step forward. Why it has to get continually changed, however, is beyond me.

Which version are you referring to? How long ago? Was it a version of the native app? (i.e. the one downloaded from itunes/google play?)

[SteveCole]

Yes- I am referring to the app that's available in iTunes/Google Play store. I think three years ago, it was a dedicated app for that year's UC but now it's morphed into the more generic "Events" app.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the feedback Steve Cole.  QA/QC on Android apps is a challenge due to differences between devices and OS's.  I believe that adding a workshop worked on some Android tablets but not others.  Please let us know which Android device/OS combination you were using so we can fix it in the next release. Josh Northcott‌

[AlixBakke_SNC]

I attended both the ESRI UC and the SCGIS conference this year, and I would agree I found the UC agenda a bit tricky. The SCGIS conference used "guidebook", which worked very well.

[SteveGoldman]

Thanks Liz! Yeah, I figured there had to be COTS solutions out there that did this well.

Mobile Apps Made Easy | Guidebook‌