Introduction

Welcome! If you’re reading this, your either interested in attending the Summit or curious about its details. Thank you for taking the time to consider attending our conference. The PowerShell Summit, or “Summit” as we call it, is a conference unlike any other.

You need to understand, this is not your typical conference. We don’t just call it Summit because it sounds cool. We call it Summit because it represents the peak of the PowerShell community. You’re about to spend almost a solid week with the most brilliant minds in the PowerShell community. Summit is not simply a conference, it’s an opportunity to join a community. A community that values success and embraces opportunities for learning and growth.

We’ve designed this conference to be immersive. What the heck does that mean? You’ll find out more as you read through this manual. But essentially, it means that you’re not just showing up and watching things from afar. This conference provides you with ample opportunities to meet people and learn a wealth of new information. You will interact with fellow community members, speakers, and the PowerShell team.

We understand if this seems overwhelming for introverts. Don’t despair, we’re just like you! We work very hard to make sure you’ll seamlessly fit in and discover your comfort spot. This conference allows our attendees to connect with people who share similar interests. But this is not some “in your face”, over-hyped or high pressure kind of event. We have organized a range of events for attendees to have a great time, including meals, demos, and socializing. We understand everyone has different preferences, so we provide a variety of options for people to find their comfort level.

If you’re seeking a conference with late-night vendor-sponsored parties, look elsewhere. This isn’t that. (I mean, I know a guy who makes a mean mojito, but that’s about it). If you’re a big shot, IT manager who’s looking for the latest trend to force on your army of technicians, then definitely go home.

If you wake up in the middle of the night with the solution to that code problem you have been fighting, then this is the right place. If PowerShell is your passion and you enjoy creating solutions for challenging problems, this is the perfect fit for you. If you love to automate the boring stuff, then you’ve found your home!

To put it simply, erase all your existing ideas and experiences with conferences. We promise you that the Summit will be like no other conference you have been to. Expect the unexpected! Be prepared to have your mind blown by the sheer volume of content and a list of new people who can inspire you and help you develop your ideas. If you live and breathe PowerShell, then you have found your home and your people!

First Things First

Navigating Summit can pose difficulties because it stands out from the rest. If you only plan on going to sessions and returning to your hotel room, you’ll miss out on the best parts of Summit. The aim of this book is to offer you a glimpse into what you can expect, enabling you to bypass “analysis paralysis”. We’ll cover where to go, what to do, what to look out for, and what to avoid. By the time we finish, you’ll have such a clear picture of Summit that you’ll feel you’ve already visited!

If you’re going to Summit or considering registration, there are a few tasks that you absolutely must complete ((Parameter(Mandatory=True)). There is always a high demand for summit tickets every year. The number of people wanting to attend surpasses the number of available slots every year. We deliberately maintain a small conference size to optimize the experience for participants.

Depending on when you read this, time may or may not be on your side. Read the following sections thoroughly and get the required bits done before time runs out! We know you’re going to have an amazing time at Summit, but you need to make sure you get a spot at the conference!

Key Bits

You’ll find the main Summit website, with links to everything, at PowerShellSummit.org/summit. The Official Agenda is crucial to your success and survival. We update it continually, adding Side Sessions as Summit progresses. Review it early and often, so you know what is in store for you.

From this point forward, you’re one of us! Read on to learn about all the awesome opportunities and events associated with Summit!

It’s the People

You know one of the coolest things about Summit? The people.

Nearly every single one of us is a major introvert. Take our Monday evening reception and Wednesday evening party. Legally, we probably shouldn’t even use the word “party”. The reality is that folks tend to stake out some space, whether they’re standing in a small group or sitting with one, and enjoy the conversation. Plenty of us just kind of sidle up to a group and listen in. It’s fine!

The key thing is to force yourself to take part. Force yourself to shake two new hands every day, and learn one new name each day. Force yourself to hang out with us Monday evening and Wednesday night, just to hang. If it all gets to be too much, it’s cool — you’re free to bail with no judgment.

But a decade of Summit events has shown us clearly that you’re around your people. Summit attendees are some of the friendliest, dorkiest, smartest, nerdiest, most caring people we’ve run across. It’s worth a lot of effort to hang out with them, because — and again, we’ve gathered tangible evidence of this — they’re really worth the effort. Most of them had to force themselves to hang out the first couple of years, too, and it’s why we value our alumni so much. They’ll be patient with you and give you your space.

You won’t find a drunken bacchanalia at Summit. Yeah, there’s maybe that one guy who had a bit too much, and maybe we get a little loud around the pool table, or the put-put green, but at the bottom of it all we’re just a bunch of computer geeks.

Thanks for deciding to join us, and please — if you see any of our organizers, who wear little name pins instead of badges, come up and say hi. Tell us about yourself, because we can always use a new friend.

Sunday Evening

One great tip to reduce stress and anxiety at any conference is to arrive the day before. Get all the travel, hotel, registration, etc. over and done with. Then you’re ready to rock and roll Monday morning. Summit is no exception. Things get going pretty fast on Monday, so everything you can do to be ready for that will help.

Never let an excellent opportunity go to waste, they say, so if you arrive in town Sunday evening, we invite you to join us at the Courtyard (our official hotel in Downtown Bellevue) for our welcome reception sponsored by Pure Storage.

We will provide some light snacks, a cash bar for those who want to purchase a beverage, as well as complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. Think of this as your warm-up, or pre-game. Meet some new folks, or reconnect with friends from years past. Grab a drink, or head out to dinner. Chat with folks about what they’re looking forward to this year, and spend time second guessing all of your session choices in the official Summit App

Most of all, get into Summit mode. Put your PowerShell hat on and take all the other hats off. Prepare yourself for the immersion that is coming. Get excited! You’re here, you made it, and things are about to get good! But first, get your badge.

We’ll have a registration table outside the reception hall, right past the check-in counter (Follow the signs). Bring your registration QR Code and pick up your name badge in advance, to avoid the rush on Monday morning.

Note that the lobby area can’t fit everyone — we don’t intend for this to be a formal “come one, come all, and hang out all night” event. We expect many of you will head off to meals and other pursuits in small groups, gathering than lingering for hours. Pre-registration is a courtesy, sorry for the crowded space. We will still definitely have full registration services on Monday morning outside the breakfast room.

Check the official agenda or slack for pre-registration times. Or just come down to the bar once you get settled in. Someone will probably be there to help.

Monday Morning

If you didn’t pick up your registration materials on Sunday, then you’ll do so as you enter on Monday morning. And don’t worry, the Sunday people didn’t get anything extra. We didn’t even hand out the one-inch pins on Sunday. You’re still winning!

WEAR YOUR BADGE TO ALL SESSIONS, MEALS, AND EVENTS, EVEN OFF-SITE ONES.

Registration will be on the 1st level of the Meydenbauer Center Monday Morning. Once you present your Event QR (and woe betide if you don’t have it, as you’ll be sent to the Sad Summiteer line for manual lookup), you’ll pick up your badge and a gift or two.

Wear your badge. Make sure it’s visible at all times, please.

We cannot reprint badges on-site. That’s because we use a mail-order service that makes the badges for us in advance. They do that because we, frankly, sucked at it and always screwed it up (ask our 2018 attendees). So if your name is wrong on your badge, it’s the fault of whomever registered you, and you should totally take it up with them when you get home. We can’t make you a new one. We will have a few blanks however.

Wear your badge.

Also grab a commemorative one-inch pin with this year’s Summit logo on it. It’s become a tradition to display all your pins from past years on your badge lanyard, jacket, or shirt, and we encourage you to show others how long you’ve been at it. The oldest pin dates to our 5th anniversary in 2017.

Then grab breakfast! One serving, please, not two, and not three. Nor shalt tour eat four. One shall be the number of the servings. We’ve got 300 people to feed, and they had to measure out all the food well in advance. If someone sees you scarfing down a pound of scrambled eggs, they’ll think it’s okay for them to do it, and then we run out of food. We’re not guessing that this will happen, we’ve dealt with it in the past. As breakfast enters its final half-hour, you’re welcome to make a return trip and nosh down anything that’s left. Remember, it takes your brain 20 minutes to realize you’re full, so having a brief break between rounds will help!

If you’ve ordered a special meal, it is super important that you pick it up and eat it because if you don’t, we will cancel them for the remainder of the week, because they cost us extra.

Monday Evening

Monday evening, we will be in Center Hall B (Where you had breakfast and lunch) for our re-imagined Community Happy Hour.

The Monday schedule is different this year. We have 1/2 day workshops for you to choose from, check out the mobile app for more details on the workshops being offered. These workshops are intense sessions that will go deep into the weeds, so come prepared. But don’t worry, they are being recorded as well.

Bring that hunger to our Monday night reception. We’ve invited not only all our Summiteers (that’s you!) but also everyone from Microsoft working on PowerShell technologies. It’s a great time to make new acquaintances, renew old friendships, and shake hands with the folks who literally make PowerShell a thing (take a minute to geek out about that!). Talk about what you’re excited about, what you’re looking forward to.

Or talk about actual food. We’ll serve plenty of filling appetizers and snacks, but the reception is also a great place to grab a few friends and plan for dinner later — Bellevue has a ton of great spots (just a short walk away) to eat a huge variety of different foods.

Beer and wine are complimentary while it lasts and a full bar for those who wish to purchase something. Soft drinks are also complimentary all evening.

And we’ll have some light background music, but nothing that’ll kill the conversation.

We know Summit brings a really diverse set of personalities from a lot of different backgrounds and cultures, and our reception accommodates as many as possible. In the past, we’ve experimented with separate “lower key” events, but the fact is that Monday evening isn’t some kind of fraternity bash to begin with, and we want to focus more on bringing our community together, not divvying ourselves up. So we’re planning a selection of experiences for a “blended” audience. Whether you prefer to sit or mingle, there’s something you’ll enjoy.

Here’s a quick selection of some of what’s planned:

Meet & mingle with Summiteers and Microsoft product team members. This is a great time to throw off that introversion we all have, shake a few hands, and introduce yourself. Trust us — we’ve been running this event for a decade and it’s how we finally broke out of our shells and started meeting colleagues!

Board and card games. We’re bringing a selection of board games, from traditional family favorites to newer hits, along with a few you may never have heard of. Grab a couple of folks, read the directions, and dive in. It’s a perfect way to have a “smaller” reception and focus on meeting just three or four new people at once. Have a favorite board or card game? You’re welcome to bring it along, provided it’s suitable for a G-rated environment. Yeah, we love “Cards Against Humanity” too, but this isn’t the place for it.

Sit ‘n’ chat. We’re also keeping plenty of seating available for those who just want to sit, chill out, and enjoy a conversation with a friend. Grab a few snacks and a beverage before you settle in, and have a great night!

Meet our sponsors. Finally, many of our sponsors will join us in their own small-scale, casual areas where you can have a chat with them. Vendors have to clear a high bar to be at Summit, since we basically don’t advertise for sponsors at all. They WANT to be here, and not just to hand out swag — they want to MEET you. They want to hear what you’re dealing with at work. Maybe you’ll discover a solution that meets a need you have; at the very least, you’ll expand your understanding of what’s out there in the marketplace. That’s the “keeping up with technology” part that is great for your career.

The reception is a great way to line yourself up for an amazing Summit. Remember, Summit is more about the people than the technology, and the reception is where we hope you’ll make at least a few great connections.

Tuesday Evening

Summit is only half over, but we want you to leave. No, not like that, just for dinner. The Summit offers a variety of incredible content and activities every day, including evening events. However, we intentionally kept some time open for you to create your own events. Tuesday evening is yours to make unforgettable moments with other Summiteers. This is the perfect time to find a spot to eat, invite some people and socialize. While you’re at it, why not invite one of our OnRamp students to go with you? It’s a great opportunity for them to meet new community members in a relaxed, one-on-one setting.

Bellevue is full of great restaurants, as a quick glance at Yelp, Trip Advisor, or Google Maps will reveal. Some favorites include John Howie steakhouse, Perl, JOEY, Maggiano’s, and Earl’s Kitchen or the Food Hall, inside near Nordstrom’s Rack. It’s laid out like a super-upscale food court of sorts, with several food options. Far from fast food, you’ll discover a wine bar, a great pizza joint, and more. Plenty of seating and a cool spot for groups with varied appetites.

We recommend you give some thought to Tuesday evening plans on Monday. This allows you time to make a reservation and get a group together. For larger groups, making a reservation is essential for a sit-down dinner. For smaller groups, consider sitting at a restaurant bar to enjoy the complete dinner menu effortlessly.

Wednesday Evening

Wednesday is what we call our “Summiteer Party.”

Honestly, it’s not much of a party. We call it a party because we’re geeks, and we want to be seen as people who are fun! and exciting! and stuff. So if you’re anticipating a huge, raucous frat party with 300 of your closest friends… sorry, but that’s not what you’ll find.

Look, by Wednesday evening, we’re all getting a little tired. We’ve had three days of technology crammed into our eyes and ears, and we just want to have a sit down and chat with some friends. And maybe get the heck out of the conference venue for a minute, right?

Well, that’s what Wednesday is. We rent out a restaurant or tavern space, lay in some good food, and provide everyone with some beverage tickets (we offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options). We’ll carry over a box of board games. Sometimes the venue will have pub games like darts, pool, or shuffleboard. We all grab a plate, pile on some food, grab a seat, and just chill for a bit. After everyone’s fed, the board games will get opened, or someone will start an informal pool tournament. It’s pretty low-key, compared to some parties we’ve heard about.

Wednesday is a great time to chat with folks about the sessions you’ve attended. And if you see a presenter from a session you liked, walk up and tell them that. No presenter anywhere will ever tire of hearing, “Hi, I loved your session today. Great stuff!” It’s a great way to start a conversation and get more info about, well, anything. Summit presenters aren’t highly paid mega-stars, they’re community members just like you. Questions like “How did you come up with that idea?” or “How did you figure that stuff out?” will net you a great conversation. Also, if you’re even remotely thinking about presenting something yourself (hint: you should be) then asking a presenter you enjoyed for some tips is a great way to start that journey.

As the evening ends, some will go for a proper dinner. Others will wrap up their pool or shuffleboard game and linger for a bit. It’s a good time to hang with some new friends that you might not have spent much time with to that point, and the last big chance to introduce yourself to a few new people.

Don’t miss out on Wednesday evening. Even if you just hang out for a few minutes, it’ll be good to see you. We do hope you’ll stick around for a couple of hours, though — it’s these kinds of eat-and-mingle opportunities that really let you form meaningful connections with your peers and colleagues. Try to remember a couple of their names (we’re constantly re-introducing ourselves, so it’s fine if you do too), and connect with them on Slack later. These are the friendships that differentiate a job from a career, after all!

Thursday Evening

We know many of you hang out past the end of Summit, and so we invite you to enjoy some extracurricular social activities.

We invite YOU to come up with other Thursday-evening ideas. Email us at summit@powershell.org with the details: where people should meet, what time it starts, and what folks can expect to happen. We’ll add your post-Summit gathering to the official agenda. All post-Summit events are “on your own” in terms of cash, so everyone taking part is expected to pay their own way. We ask that Thursday evening events be a bit more recreational than just “let’s meet for dinner,” although you’re welcome to incorporate dinner plans in your event.

As a courtesy, we include Thursday evening events in the official agenda. Our organization does not sponsor or conduct these events. We ask that all Summiteers be responsible, courteous, and safe regardless of their evening plans.

Game night at The Mox? Catching a movie at The Bellevue Collection? Bowling and video games at Lucky Strike? Touring the SF Museum (or whatever it’s called now) in Seattle Place? Evening hike up Mt Rainier to almost certain doom? YOU decide!

PS: Please, no evening hikes.

The Importance of Slack

Summit is a lot more than just an event. If you’ve been before, then you know it’s a collection of old friends. It’s a professional network of colleagues and peers. It’s helping each other solve problems all year, as well as figuring out where to meet up for dinner each night.

That’s where the devops-summit Slack workspace comes in. We’ve found that Slack is the best way to stay connected to everything happening at Summit. Want to find out about a last minute, unrecorded side session that’s about to happen? Read about it first on Slack.

Looking for a group for dinner, hop into #Dinner-Tonight and join the crowd. Slack is where it’s at. Feeling introverted and tempted to retreat to your hotel room? Nope, get on slack, start talking, and stay connected. This is why you’re here. This is what Summit is for.

A few weeks before Summit, we’ll send out invites to our Slack workspace, and we encourage you to log in. If you don’t see your invite by about 6 weeks out, please drop a line to summit@powershell.org. Include your e-mail address (we strongly recommend a personal one, as corporate email blocks the invites often) and your event confirmation number.

If you’re not familiar with Slack, it may seem like a lot of work for 5 days. But, it’s totally worth it (see above). We assure you that Slack serves a wide range of purposes beyond just Summit communications. Sure, it’s where we make ALL the important pre- and at-Summit announcements, but it’s also a year round event. Summit attendees keep in touch with one another long after Summit on Slack.

When you get back to the office and have the post-summit Monday blues, jump on slack, you won’t be alone. A month later, when you can’t remember the name of that super awesome module someone was talking about that one night at Summit, post it in slack. Someone will remember. 6 months later when just can’t take it anymore and you’re ready to find that amazing new job; yep, there’s a slack channel for that. This is the secret of Summit. Once you’re a part of the community, you stay a part of the community. Slack keeps you plugged in.

So please… give Slack a chance.

Be a buddy

This section goes out to the Summit alumni. You’ve been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. Remember how unexpectedly amazing your first Summit was? Maybe you can recall your apprehension or ponder a few things you wish you had known beforehand. Now think about your whole IT career.

Regardless of how long it is, there are probably plenty of things you wish you knew back at the beginning. No, don’t give me that Imposter Syndrome BS. You know your stuff, and people could benefit from that knowledge. Especially someone new to the industry. Especially someone new to Summit. And especially someone new to both; someone who is about to spend a few days having their brains exploded by the likes of Jason Helmick, Jeffrey Hicks, Joel Bennett, Justin Grote, and Kevin Marquette.

So we created the buddy program. We assign a buddy to a specific individual from our entry-level OnRamp track. As a buddy, you’ll still attend all of your normal Summit sessions and functions; we just ask that you sit with your student during our Monday general sessions, and during lunches. While in their company, try to answer any queries they might have and guide them through Summit.

We also ask that you attend evening events with them (both formal and otherwise, like inviting them along to dinner with others) and introduce them to others, to help “on ramp” them into our community. OnRamp is about making a strong technical professional, but buddies are about making strong new members of our community.

You don’t need to be a guru; you just need to give someone a helping hand!

We suggest that only Summit alumni volunteer to be a buddy, as you’ll already be familiar with how Summit works. If you’re interested, jump in the #onramp-buddies channel in our Slack team. You can also show your willingness on your registration form (whomever registered you can change that at any time).

We’ll make buddy introductions a couple of weeks before Summit, and we’ll help arrange your face-to-face meeting on Sunday evening or Monday morning of Summit.

Meals

We want to make sure everyone has the best possible time at Summit, and we know that means feeding you well. But “good eats” means a lot of different things to different people, and so we wanted to take a moment and make sure you knew what to expect on site. We mentioned earlier that our conference is different: You’ll find here that we’re being unusually honest about food choices, conference costs, etc.

Summit has a wide variety of food available for attendees. We provide premium food and drink choices for all meals provided, as well as an array of snacks throughout the day. However, your choices directly impact how we plan our event and the cost you pay. There are a few things that we ask for your help with while dining at the Summit.

Portion Sizes Please take only one serving of each item on our buffets. A “serving” is one piece of anything served in pieces, such as most proteins, and a spoonful or two of anything else. Go back for seconds after everyone has had a turn, but please allow everyone to get through the buffet lines once before you make a second pass. Why do we even bring this up?

We’ve had a genuine problem with people taking way more than their fair share, leaving nothing for those behind them to eat. If you’re an athlete or someone else that requires more-than-usual calories, please bring some supplemental meal bars with you to make up the difference. PLEASE don’t make us stand around and “enforce” the one-serving policy — it’s embarrassing and frustrating for everyone. Enjoy the food, just be considerate of others.

Why don’t we simply add more food? Approximately 50% of your registration fee goes towards food. Conference food, especially good food, is costly. We are required to put in our orders well before our conference, so we can’t just ask the kitchen to whip up another roast or whatever.

Menus When feeding 300 people, we put ALOT of effort into creating menus that provide a variety of food options. However, we also put an equal amount of effort into providing meals that follow standard nutritional guidelines. It’s hard to make everyone happy, but we take your feedback each year and make adjustments to our menu options.

In our meals, expect about 20% of your calories to come from proteins, and about 60% from carbs, with the rest from healthy fats. We also try to accommodate common dietary choices like vegetarianism, along with food sensitivities and allergies. If you’re on a low-carb diet, consider bringing some beef jerky or other high-protein snacks to help round out meals for yourself.

The Plan Each day, we’ll serve a hot buffet breakfast. This will probably be the same or very similar every day, as there’s only so much variety you can glean from the “standard American breakfast” — expect eggs, potatoes, fresh fruit and the like on most days. We’ve moved away from breakfast sandwiches because in the past we’ve had the first 150 attendees consume 400 sandwiches, which isn’t financially sustainable, and leaves the next 150 attendees hungry.

We keep coffee and tea out all day, along with soft drinks in the afternoons. Note that beverage services move to the meal area shortly before lunchtime. It’ll return shortly after lunch. If you’re just going to flat-out die for lack of a Coke at 11:30, we suggest grabbing it a bit earlier. We do this because beverages cost a lot. Re-using the same set for breaks and for lunch helps us save a lot of money (and keep ticket prices as low as possible).

Be aware, we get charged around $3 for a can of soda. Yeah, we know. Conferences. So please don’t grab eighty cans and shove them in your backpack, or you’ll blow our pricing out and next year will cost a lot more in ticket prices.

Lunch will be a different buffet each day, built according to the guidelines we’ve outlined above. We’ll also have something sweet for dessert on most afternoons. Most buffets will include a couple of entrée items, a salad or two, and a couple of side dishes. Main buffet offers everything vegetarians and vegans need, with clear food sensitivity labels.

On most days, we’ll also have a morning and afternoon snack. This doesn’t happen every day, but on days when it doesn’t, it’s because we’ve scheduled something else. For example, there’s no Monday afternoon snack, because at 5pm we head right into our reception, which includes plenty of food. When we offer a snack, we’ll try to include some lighter and healthier options, like fruit, besides more decadent sweet-or-salty selections.

Special Requests You can specify dietary needs during registration. Email summit@powershell.org ahead of registration to confirm your specific needs.We’ll follow up with you to confirm.

Every single year we have people request special meals — “gluten-free” is popular — only to have those special meals go to waste as the requestor decides that the main buffet looks more enticing. Special meals cost us extra; if you order a special meal and do not pick it up at the special meal table, then we will cancel all special meals requested by you for the rest of the event, to help cut our financial losses.

As a note, “gluten-free” does not mean “carb-free,” nor does it mean “giant chunks of meat.” Gluten-free meals are more likely to be veggie-centric than anything else. Please do not order gluten-free because you think that’s going to result in a giant pile of pork chops for you.

Variety We absolutely recognize that some folks like “fancy” food, while others prefer a more “plain” diet. Our aim is to offer a wide selection of tasty options that cater to different dietary requirements and preferences. If you’re strictly a burgers-and-fries sort of person, please don’t be upset that we don’t offer that as a menu every day (or even any day); we unfortunately aren’t running a restaurant and simply can’t provide a massive variety of options. And trust us — based on past years’ feedback, y’all are an incredibly diverse crowd when it comes to chowing down! You might think that everybody loves the stuff you love, but you’d mainly be wrong. We hope we’re able to please as many of you as possible, and apologize in advance to those who aren’t able to find something to their liking.

Outside Food Aside from small snacks that fit into your bag or pocket, we cannot allow outside food to be brought into the venue. This is a requirement of the venue, and it is driven by local health codes, which require that the venue be responsible for any illnesses arising from food service in the venue.

Have a Question? Drop a line to summit@powershell.org, or in the Summiteer group forum on PowerShell.org. We’d rather sort things out up front so that there are no surprises on-site!

Lightning Demos

Lightning demos are an opportunity for Summiteers to share knowledge with other fellow Summiteers. Anyone can sign up for lightning demos, which are some of the most interesting, entertaining and dynamic presentations at the Summit. So what is a lightning demo?

A lightning demo is a 5-7 minute rapid-fire demo of something cool you’ve done, discovered, figured out, or are just proud of. It’s a FANTASTIC way to “break the ice” on public speaking, because you’re in front of the most supportive and enthusiastic crowd we’ve ever seen.

These demos are a mix of folks from product team members (both at Microsoft and elsewhere) and our own Summiteers. Unlike other scheduled demos, these are unscripted and without presentation materials. Lightning demos are when someone presents content directly from their laptop on stage. These unscripted demos are captivating and one-of-a-kind, showcasing the personalities of the volunteer presenters. The content you’ll see is unpredictable and always a Summit favorite!

If you think you have nothing worth showing off, odds are you’re wrong. We’re only talking about 10 minutes max, no one is expecting a new programming language. But if you have a script or a module or even just an idea that you think is really cool, chances are good that someone else there will as well. Worst-case scenario, you get a little experience presenting an idea and a round of applause. Best-case scenario, you find out that people are really interested and you end up presenting a full session next year. And if you’re still not sure about your idea, jump in Slack and ask some folks. You’ll find plenty of candid input and help with a topic. We’re all in this together, after all.

If you want to take part, the very first thing you need to do is sign up. The best part is you don’t even need to wait for Summit to start. You can sign up in advance by visiting http://tinyurl.com/summit-lightning-demos.

On demo day, you’ll need to bring your own laptop, and have your demo ready to go. Make sure it works when you’re not on your work network (OMG, where’d my shared folder go?!?!?), and make sure you can connect to a regular HDMI connector (BYO dongles). Know how to make your laptop USE that HDMI connector instantly, too. We’ll get you set up, slap a mic on you, and you’ll be ready to go.

We don’t record lightning demos, so any gaffes made at Summit will stay at Summit ;).

For information, or to just ask questions, drop into our Slack team and visit the #community-demos channel. Some of our best Summit speakers started out as lightning demo presenters, and you could be the next rising star!

Session Recordings

We have partnered with our friends at ConFreaks again to record all the sessions at the Summit. Once we receive the recordings back from post-production (approximately 45 days after the event), we will make them available to all attendees and the community. We will post these to our YouTube Channel

WHAT IS RECORDED?

All regularly scheduled breakout sessions in 401, 404, 405, 406, and the sessions in Center Hall B on Tuesday Morning

WHAT IS NOT RECORDED?

• Side Sessions
• Lightning Demos
• On-Ramp Program content

WHAT CAN GO WRONG?

Summit is all about highlighting the content and the knowledge our presenters share with Summit attendees. Our focus is on producing the absolute best PowerShell conference in the world and the best possible experience for our attendees! We consider recordings to be a “bonus”; they’re not the main line of business we’re in. We will make a best-effort to capture everything smoothly and consistently, but we can’t make any promises. We won’t interrupt, delay, or diminish the live program in order to deal with recording problems if they arise.

Aside from these official recordings, we’re now a large enough event to engage some contractual restrictions on “filming,” which includes you recording sessions on your own device, as well as conducting recorded or live-streamed interviews outside the sessions rooms. In short, PLEASE DO NOT RECORD OR LIVE-STREAM ANYTHING without written consent from the organization, and please ensure you have all the required local licenses and/or permits.

An exception: it’s fine to hop on Twitter or Facebook Live with your own thoughts about whatever; where it gets sticky is if you’re interviewing people other than yourself. We’re happy to work with you. If that’s something you want to do, just be aware that it’s your responsibility to cover your legal bases regarding permits and licenses.

Stickering

The exchange of laptop stickers has become a fun tradition at Summit, much as it has at other technology conferences. Folks bring a lot of stickers, and other folks collect ‘em all.

We do have a few minor requests regarding sticker distribution.

1. Please don’t disturb a session by distributing stickers while someone’s presenting, and don’t use the time between sessions to distribute stickers in session rooms.
2. Please don’t leave stickers randomly piled anywhere. It drives the venue staff crazy and a lot of stickers end up in the trash. If you see this happening, please move the stickers to an Approved Sticker Location.
3. Please keep track of whatever stickers you bring and pack out any uncollected ones.

Approved Sticker Locations include: * During the Sunday evening get-together at the Courtyard. * During the Monday evening reception on any of the large tables (reclaim uncollected stickers before you leave unless you’re okay with them being in the trash). * In the Social Lounge on Tuesday - Thursday.

Side Sessions

Throughout Summit we will make a few of the smaller side rooms available “Side Sessions.”

What’s a Side Session?

It’s anything. It can be a discussion about running user groups, an ad hoc working group for a particular problem you’ve identified, or anything you like. The rooms follow the same schedule as the main breakouts, and if a Side Session room is not being used, you are welcome to take it for any purpose you like.

<<<<<<< HEAD You can also suggest Side Sessions in advance, once you’ve registered. Send an email to sidesession@powershell.org Or Mike Kanakas a message on Slack at any time (including during Summit), including your full name, the title of your session, and a sentence or two describing it. We’ll add you to the schedule (please don’t suggest sessions you don’t plan to run yourself – that’s not how this works). ======= You can also suggest Side Sessions in advance once you’ve registered. Send an email to sidesession@powershell.org at any time (including during Summit), including your full name, the title of your session, and a sentence or two describing it. We’ll add you to the schedule (please don’t suggest sessions you don’t plan to run yourself — that’s not how this works). >>>>>>> 67bfda9be0246f81b599b46331751832802343fe

With that in mind, it’s worth checking the schedule a lot throughout Summit, as we’ll always be adding new Side Session topics.

Ground rules for Side Sessions:

• There’s no electrical power
• There’s no A/V - but you’re welcome to bring your own pico-projector, if you like
• No one records them.
• Wrap up and vacate on time to make the room available for the next group

In short, these are just rooms with chairs and tables. They’re best for discussions more than demos (although we’ve seen people be creative with free online screen-sharing websites), and they’re best for small groups (each room holds about 40 max).

What will you discuss in a Side Session at Summit?

The Social Lounge

During Summit, you can’t hang out in the hallway outside the session rooms. your voices will carry into the breakout rooms. We have set up 403 as our social lounge. Take your conservations to here after your sessions. It’s also where we keep some comfy furniture close to power outlets in case you need a top-off.

Drinks and coffee will be available here all day.

The Lounge is a great place to corner fellow Summiteers for follow-up questions, an ad hoc demo, or to work through problems together.

Presenting at Summit

Community means a lot of things. At its core it is about sharing a common experience. PowerShell Summit is a manifestation of that shared experience. Like any community project it only works when everyone contributes. If you’ve been to Summit before, think about some of your favorite sessions. Now try to imagine how much work went in to making that presentation (hint: it’s more than you probably guess). While we pay our presenters, it isn’t, generally, a profitable exercise. No one is getting rich as a PowerShell Summit presenter. That’s fine though, because, as near as we can tell, none of them are doing it for the money. They’re doing it because contributing is important. Creating content is important. Giving back to the community is important. We are greater than the sum of our parts, and the more we give, the more we all benefit.

And, not to get too kumbaya on you, it’s fun! Yes, it can be a little terrifying, standing on a stage with 100 people in the audience and a camera recording your every movement for all time… Never mind, ignore that part. Presenting actually has a ton of personal benefits. You’ll learn way more about a topic you think you know once you’ve committed to teaching it. You’ll learn time management, communication, content organization, and most of all, PowerPoint! Being a speaker at the PowerShell and Devops Global Summit doesn’t look too bad on a resume either.

Lastly, the real magic benefit of presenting, the thing that keeps people coming back year after year, is the people. Yep, the same thing that makes attending Summit so special. When you finish your session and walk off that stage for the first time, hand over your mic and pack up your laptop, you will undoubtedly have someone waiting to tell you “Wow that was a great session!” It sounds cheesy but that makes it all worth it. Then someone will hit you up in the hallway, and on the escalator, at dinner, at lunch the next day… well, you get the idea. (note: it doesn’t get old)

While presenting a session at Summit is an incredibly rewarding experience, it isn’t an insignificant amount of work. If you think you’d like to take the plunge, keep an eye on powershell.org for the “Call for Proposals” announcement around September. This is where any presentation starts. You’ll submit a session proposal idea and wait to hear back. If you’d like some help putting together a proposal or feedback on an idea in general, check out the #speaking-ideas slack channel. Folks there will be more than happy to help you nail it down.

Usually around mid December you’ll hear a decision about your proposal. If your topic is accepted, congratulations! You now have approximately 5 months to create your presentation. What that consists of is pretty much up to you, though we do have a few preferences for consistency. You may have noticed that most presentations are a combination of PowerPoint slides with a similar style (our template) and code demonstrations in the tool of your choosing (we prefer Visual Studio Code).

As you go through the creative process, here are a few key points to keep in mind:

1. You’re awesome! Seriously, you make Summit happen, quite literally.
2. People need to know how awesome you are. If you do social media, let people know about your session. That’s good for you, good for us, and good for you again.
3. Most Summit folks prefer code and demos over slides. When in doubt, do less PowerPoint.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice. The key to a great presentation is practice. The key to a low stress presentation is confidence from practice. The key to being sick of looking at your own code is practice…
5. Plan for the worst. Once you get your session down pat, start bulletproofing it. Double check all your demos, make sure they work with no Internet access, upside down and underwater. Have backups of everything and a plan in case of catastrophic computer failure. Hopefully you won’t need it, but it’s always good to be prepared.
6. You’re not alone. Everyone wants you to have a dynamite session. If you’re stuck on the best way to present an idea, jump in the #presenters slack channel and get some tips from other summit speakers. We also happen to know this guy named Don Jones, who has some pretty good tips on effective teaching skills.

General Policies

Finally, just a few general things to know.

Bags and Coats

We encourage you to not bring your laptop and Gigantic Backpack Of Technology Wonders every day. They take up a lot of room, and we need that room for people, not luggage.

There will be an an unattended coat check available Each Day. We are not responsible for lost or stolen items left at the coat check!

Stuff

Please do not leave fliers, stickers, or other paraphernalia lying about the Center. You’re welcome to plop stuff down in the social lounge for general distribution, if you like. Do not affix anything to the walls, pillars, or other structures without permission, as it’s a violation of our contract with the venue.

Guests

Other than guests who have purchased a pass for our evening events, guests are not permitted at Summit at any time. This isn’t because we’re trying to keep everything a secret! It’s because (a) we only have enough food for the people who paid for it, and (b) we have to provide a list of attendees to our insurance company, who gets very lawyer-y if we break their policy rules. Wear your badge visibly at all times (we’ve had problems in the past with other groups, in the venue at the same time as us, trying to crash our party) so we know you’re legit.

Power

Power outlets are available in the Social Lounge. At no time may you drape power cords across any walkway, access way, or doorway, nor may you prop equipment against the wall or leave it on the floor to charge. These are serious fire code violations, and the Fire Marshall literally works across the street and does drop in on us. He/She can shut the event down, and We Are Not Kidding. If your laptop can’t go the full day without juice, we suggest just leaving it in your hotel room.

We do provide power to our bring-your-own-laptop OnRamp students. The reason we don’t provide power in all other breakout rooms is because it costs some serious coin to run power outlets and pay for the electricity, and it’d force us to raise the ticket prices pretty significantly.

WiFi

We have a limited amount of WiFi, and that’s because it costs a ton, not because we don’t love you. Please limit yourself to one device, and remember that Apple devices in particular will all try to jump on the network once one device figures out how to connect.

WiFi password information is in the official agenda app.

Standing Room

In all session rooms, your butt must be perched in a seat provided. If you just need to stand, you may lean against a wall only at the back of the room, and only provided you are not standing in a doorway (even if the door is closed). You may not sit on the floor, and you may not lean against a wall if it causes you to occupy space in an aisle or walkway. These are serious fire code violations, and the Fire Marshall literally works across the street and does drop in on us. He/She can shut the event down, and We Are Not Kidding.

When you go into a room, PLEASE move toward the middle of your row so other people can get in and fill all the seats. We know, we know, we know, nobody wants to be in the middle. PLEASE help everyone be a grownup about this. If you MUST have the end seat, please be prepared to stand up and encourage others to move into the row past you.

If a session room’s door is closed and a “SORRY - ROOM FULL” sign is posted, please don’t go in. The room really is full, we didn’t just stick the sign up for fun. We have had to stop presenters in the past and ask the standing-room-only folks to vacate, and it’s just mortifying for us. But we’ll do it anyway, because Fire Code. Thanks for understanding.

Smoking

We know that smokers sometimes feel like third-class citizens, and we don’t want to pile on. However, if you do smoke (and in Bellevue, that includes e-cigs and other vape products), we need to communicate some local rules.

You may not smoke or vape anywhere inside the hotel. You may also not smoke or vape within several feet of the building’s entrance doors, as indicated on signs posted on the doors themselves.

Bellevue takes this pretty seriously and can issue citations to the event organizers for violations.

Code of Conduct

All attendees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers at our conference must agree with the following code of conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe environment for everybody.

The Quick Version

Our conference is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks, workshops, parties, Twitter, and other online media.

Please don’t record or stream sessions without asking. Please let us know if you are expecting to have a watch party.

Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled without a refund at the conference organizers’ discretion.

It is essential that you read the entire section below to ensure you understand what “harassment” means and what actions we take when it occurs.

The Less Quick Version

It is important that you read the entire section below to ensure you understand what “harassment” means, and what actions we take when it occurs.

The Less Quick Version

Some of our events include the option for of-age attendees to consume alcoholic beverages. We expect all attendees to exercise extreme moderation: know your limits and do not even get near them. Attendees who overindulge may be asked to leave the event without a refund and may be barred from attending future events produced by our organization. We always offer soft drinks and try to make those complementary whenever possible.

Being an adult means being respectful of yourself and of those around you.

We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, and technology choices. Harassment includes displaying sexual images in public spaces, deliberately intimidating others, stalking, following, showing, or creating harassing photography or recordings, creating sustained disruptions of talks or other events, engaging in unwanted physical contact, and engaging in unwelcome sexual attention. If you are making another attendee uncomfortable, you are probably engaging in harassment.

Participants asked by anyone to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Sponsors are also subject to the anti-harassment policy. In particular, sponsors should not use sexualized images, activities, or other material. Booth staff (including volunteers) should not use sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes or otherwise create a sexualized environment.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers may take any appropriate action, including warning the offender or expulsion from the conference with no refund. In most cases, out of an abundance of caution, participants engaging in harassing behavior will be asked to leave the event pending further investigation.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a conference staff member immediately. Conference staff can be identified as they’ll be wearing branded name pins. In most cases, we prefer that you to speak with our CEO or another senior officer of the company, but we will respect your wishes if you choose to talk to another staff member or volunteer.

Conference staff will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We value your attendance. However, if you have been harassed, the only action we will take without your permission is to have the harassing individual removed from the event, should you choose to identify them to us. Any other assistance we provide you will be at your request only. Our staff may ask you to provide a written report of what happened, but at your discretion, you may give a verbal report instead. We do ask our staff and volunteers to make their written reports so that we can accurately understand and preserve what you tell us. We will involve as few of our staff as possible to protect everyone’s privacy as best we can.

Our organization is not equipped or trained to interview witnesses, gather evidence, or perform other investigative activities. To preserve your rights and options, we will not engage in activities that are best left to professionals, such as law enforcement officers. To the maximum degree possible, we follow the guidance offered on https://geekfeminism.wikia.org/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment/Responding_to_reports, and our CEO or other organization officer is our designated Duty Officer. It is not our policy to make general announcements when harassment occurs unless we believe there is a clear and present danger to the safety of one or more people. In that case, we will prefer to follow the advice and instructions of law enforcement officers.

Our conference uses a third party for video capture and production of select sessions, which will be posted on PowerShell.org’s social media accounts. Video capture for personal or commercial use otherwise is forbidden without The DevOps Collective’s written consent and all necessary local licenses and permits.

We expect participants to follow these rules at conferences, workshop venues, and conference-related social events.