Presentation Review: David Hussman, DevJam

David Hussman, owner of DevJam, gave a presentation called Products & People Over Process and Dogma at WebExpo 2010 in Prague. David's presentation was absolutely outstanding! It was a pleasure to see something done so well. So, the goal of this review is not to give him advice, but to show everyone what he did right so they can learn from his example.

This was the first presentation I saw at WebExpo and, to be honest, the topic scared me a bit because I had no knowledge of Agile. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about. David's presentation was easy to understand, thoroughly enjoyable and the first presentation that I have given a perfect score to. Bravo, David!

Rating system: 1 = outstanding 5 = sucks

You can see a detailed description of my review criteria here

Message - rating 1

David's message of 'challenging the status quo of Agile' was clear from the start and he encouraged us to share, compare and learn in order to fully understand and be involved in the presentation of this message. Throughout his talk and in many different ways, David reminded us of his message and how the information he was presenting directly related to it.

Content - rating 1

David supported his message by including content that challenged our way of thinking about Agile and looking at how we can approach things differently to get a better result. He introduced each content point with a question for us either to ponder or to answer directly. With every new point, he included real stories or examples so we could visualize and truly understand what he was talking about. I came into this presentation knowing next to nothing about Agile and, because of his instructive and open approach, I never felt lost - that's an amazing accomplishment that many technical presenters should strive for!

Attention - rating 1

David started his presentation by asking his audience to make two lists of words, processes that we use and products that we end up with. We were told to discuss with our partner how the way we do things helps produce our results. We were immediately involved and engaged and truly a part of his presentation. It was clear from the beginning that this wasn't going to be a typical, boring presentation with the speaker throwing a bunch of facts at us. This style of speaking continued throughout his talk and there was never a moment that he lost our attention. He also periodically reminded us of what we had learned and invited questions before he moved on. From beginning to end we were captivated!

Slides - rating 1

David's slides included questions (one per slide), photos, easy-to-understand flow charts and lists. Most of his slides were exactly what they are meant to be - glancing slides - we glanced at the slide, got curious and then put our focus back on what David was saying. This presentation was clearly not about slides - they were only the tool David used to whet our appetite for what he was going to talk about next. We need to see more of this! Let's stop our dependence on slides when we present and remember that slideware is just one of many presentation tools.

Presence - rating 1

David's speaking style was open and personable. I didn't get the feeling that he was 'the expert' (even though he is!) overloading his audience with information. He gave the impression that he was truly interested in getting our interest and involvement in his presentation. He was really more like a guide taking us on a journey of challenging our current thinking and pointing out specific ways that we might think differently.

Thanks, David, for the opportunity to see your presentation and share with my readers an example of an outstanding presentation!

© 2010 Jeanne Trojan. All rights reserved