Session Feedback: PASS Summit 2019 Edition

calendar Dec 2, 2019 · PASS Summit  ·
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Another PASS Summit has come and gone, and once again I find myself extremely fortunate to have been able to attend and speak. This year was also extra special for me, as it was my first time attending as a Microsoft MVP, and also as a PASS Summit Official Blogger.

I'd like to take a moment and thank everyone who attended my session on Azure Data Lake, and give an extra-special shout out to those who took the time to fill out session evaluations. As a speaker, I am always looking to improve my presentations and my presenting skills in general, and candid feedback from my audiences is an absolute necessity to do so.

Now that session evaluations have been returned to speakers, I wanted to share the feedback I received. Any comments I make will be italicized.

Dipping Your Toes In: Azure Data Lake for DBAs

Attendance: 105
Total Responses: 12
So 11.4% of attendees took the time to fill out an evaluation. This is slightly better than the 10.6% I had last year, but the overall evaluation rate is still way too low in my opinion. I really wish more people would take the time to fill out evaluations.

Evaluation Questions (5 is best, 1 is worst):

  • Rate the value of the session content: 4.67
  • How useful and relevant is the session content to your job/career: 4.42
  • How well did this session meet your expectations: 4.75
  • How well did the session’s Title, Abstract, Level, Technology Focus, Content Stream, and Audience align with what was presented: 4.67
  • Rate the speaker’s knowledge and expertise of the subject matter: 4.58
  • Rate the overall presentation and delivery of the session content: 4.67
  • Rate the balance of educational content versus that of sales, marketing, and promotional subject matter: 4.67
    Once again I find this result funny, I had no sales or promotional material at all other than mentioning my employer for about 3 seconds during my "about me" slide.

Comments (negative)

  • I wish I knew this was 100 level before entering the room but the PASS app and schedule did not list the level. Would have taken points off here if this was listed anything above 100.
    I can't control the PASS app, but this most certainly was a 100-level session. I also tried my best to make this apparent by having the word "introduction" in my title and mentioning "This session covers the very basics of Azure Data Lake" in my abstract. Also at the very beginning of my session (and I hope this is on the recording once it gets released) I announce that this is a beginner-level session designed for an audience that knows absolutely nothing about Azure Data Lake, and if you are looking for anything more advanced than that you may want to leave the room and find another session more to your liking. Oh well, I tried.
  • Would have like to seen more real world examples
    I would have liked to show more real-world examples! But being an introductory-level session, I needed to dedicate a fair amount of time to introducing the topic and its concepts. I'm quite proud of the demos I was able to show, however.

Comments (positive)

  • No issues.
  • Just wanted to know what a Lake is and he did great at covering all the basics.
    Thank you very much! That's exactly what I hoped to accomplish with this session.
  • You did a great job presenting, well spoken and a comprehensive session
  • Really nice job. What a relief to have a DBA perspective.
    Thank you! This was a major goal of mine, as I realize lots of DBAs out there are looking to enhance their skillsets by familiarizing themselves with additional technologies.
  • This was the best session I have gone to so far. The content covered was spot on, pace was great, great conveyance of his knowledge on data lakes. Demo was helpful.
    Wow, thank you!
  • Did great
  • Great job, really enjoyed it and the demo.
  • Bob kept the session at the beginner level and gave great basic understanding of data lakes.
  • Nice presentation style.

All in all, I am extremely happy with how my session went and with the feedback I received. Thank you very much to those who took the time to attend and/or write an evaluation!