I have received a number of emails and seen various comments, like the following:

• I don’t want to get stuck doing only a short talk, which doesn’t comp speakers enough
• 60/90 minute speaker compensation policy does not align incentives with desired behaviors

The following is the analysis we did with regard to the various sessions, the length of the session, etc.

60 Minute Session

• $250 Honorarium
• Thursday Night Hotel Stay – $169
• Conference Fee Waived – $1699 (I split the difference between Super Early Bird and General Registration)

The total value of presenting this session is $2118.

90 Minute Session

• $250 Honorarium
• 4 Hotel Nights – $676
• Conference Fee Waived – $1699 (I split the difference between Super Early Bird and General Registration)

The total value of presenting this session is $2625.

Conclusions

The difference between the 2 comps is just a little over $500 which is the addition of 3 hotel nights. In almost all of my discussions people seem to discount the conference fee and only focus on the hotel nights and say that the compensation does not provide the right incentive. In fact some of the discussion we had indicated that the 60 minute session was too highly compensated. It’s too late to change it for this year, I would be interested in getting people’s feedback for next year.

The deadline for submitting proposals to the Agile 2010 conference has been extended until February 26th, 2010. All submissions received before that date will be read and receive feedback from the review committee for that stage, and submitters will have the chance to update their proposals based on that feedback. However, it is to your advantage to submit before the last minute this year. Stage Producers may begin selecting proposals for inclusion in the conference starting February 19th, so you are encouraged to submit before the 19th.