First Timers - What you need to know about SIGUCCS

Why attend a SIGUCCS Conference?

SIGUCCS is like no other conference. At other conferences, well-known folks deliver interesting and informative keynotes, and colleagues in your field give brief presentations in sessions. What makes SIGUCCS unique is that you'll have ample opportunity to mix with other support professionals and learn what works and doesn't work. These opportunities arise at coffee breaks, hospitality hours, special events, dinners or chance meetings in the hotel lobby.

Who attends this conference?

Most SIGUCCS attendees are frontline support or supervisors of same. They KNOW what works and what doesn't, and can give you the real skinny. They tend to say things that help others out, not make themselves look good. You'll also notice they're not wearing fancy duds, except if they're doing a presentation. In this case, they'll look like they can't wait to get out of them. They're an informal group, and enthusiastically friendly.

What the hospitality room is really for.

The hospitality room is a place to dance, learn silly party tricks, and be merry. You have been working hard all year, you deserve some fun! And, of course, you get to meet more people, eat some snacks and then find out what REALLY works and what doesn't. Plus it's a chance to swap user stories and talk about work with people who have a new perspective but at the same time really understand what it is you do.

What to expect in sessions, at meals.

Expect top-notch, professional, informative sessions from folks on the front line. Expect food at meals. Previous attempts to swap those roles were unsatisfactory. Seriously, the sessions will consist of one to three presenters or teams of presenters that share a common theme or topic. Each presenter or team will have different successes or failures to report. After the presentations, you'll have lots of time to discuss with the issues raised with the presenters and audience.

At the poster session, you'll have the opportunity to walk around a marketplace of poster presentations, sort of like a science fair only without the chemical stains and pocket protectors. Well, at least without the chemical stains. You can stop and chat with any of the presenters in a one-on-one fashion, and it's a useful time to find answers to very specific questions you have. And be inspired by others creative approaches to common problems.

Appropriate attire for events, and for Portland

There's no absolutes, but some suggestions - dress professionally, but not as formal as an interview. Most folks at the conference wear slacks or nice jeans, shirts or blouses, and shoes are always appropriate. For going outside it is a good idea to have a Gore-Tex or waterproof parka if you encounter rain and wind (a possibility in Portland in October). If you don't have one of those, then take an umbrella. See what to wear in Portland for more information.

How to meet people for meals

I'm socially challenged, so I usually hook up with someone I know who's going out to dinner with other folks, and then meet new people that way. If someone's sitting at a table at breakfast, lunch, or in the hospitality suite and there's an empty spot, ask if you can join them (they'll always say yes).

If you want to talk a bit more to someone whom you've met during the day, ask them what they are doing for dinner--chances are they'll say they are "going to so and so's with a bunch of folks and do you want to come along." Also, if there's an announcement to meet at a certain place for dinner, and nothing else has come along, just go on down to the meeting place and pretty soon you'll be having dinner with a bunch of folks.

The hard thing at SIGUCCS is not meeting people. Generally people get into user services because they like people, and of that group the friendliest come to conferences. This is a big group of very friendly people.

How to find people with common interests, problems, or questions.

Usually they're the folks going to the same sessions you are. When the session is over, walk up to them and ask them what they thought, or how you appreciated their question, or ask how their campus is dealing with some problem. Soon you'll have a conversation going. If you have an issue that no presentation is covering, start a BOF (see below.)

What are BOF's and why should I care?

BOF's is short for Birds of a Feather, as in Birds of a Feather flock together. It's a way for folks to attend very specific, focused, sometimes technical pow-wows or start one of their own.

Say you use Clientele software. You won't find a session on Clientele software because the sessions are designed to address more general issues. But you might find, or might want to start, a BOF on Clientele to share experiences with others who use the product. Kind of like an impromptu user group. But it could be something else as well, such as rollout strategies for Windows 2000, or using the network to push virus updates. Heck, if you start the BOF, it can be anything you want!

What will I have when I walk away from the conference?

Much of this will be up to you. There aren't any vendors here, so you won't have any brochures to take home and gather dust until you throw them away. But you'll have good information about how products actually work.

You'll have met folks in similar positions, and learned a bit more about how they faced political, social, organizational, and managerial challenges. It's the one conference in this area where you can both learn how to run a better ship, as well as why Rudder 1.2a won't work with Jib 2.4b, and what you can do about it. You'll make contacts that can help you in the future, whom you can call for more information.

You'll have notes and ideas from sessions, maybe only a couple that stick, but ones that can help you if you follow up on them when you get back to work. Plus you'll have a printed attendees list so you can email those same people in a couple months when you have follow up questions about something you discussed.

And, what does ACM SIGUCCS stand for anyway?

ACM is the parent organization of many special interest groups having to do with computing. Officially it stands for Association for Computing Machinery. SIGUCCS is the Special Interest Group for University and College Computing Services, rhymes with pig ducks.

Updated on August 25, 2001