Sprint Manager

Role description

Throughout entire event:

• Manages Agenda committee, Track leaders, Speakers committee, Lightning Talk Lead and Sprints Committee.

Before event:

• Together with the conference lead, they develop the conference’s call for papers
• Coordinates the track leaders.
• Creates the schedule.
• Ensure that the agenda committee members get the schedule logistics sorted out.
• Responsible for making a conference with a well rounded and balanced content.
• Takes responsibility for the paper review process
• Recruits suitable keynote speakers that fit the theme of the year.
• Ensures that the talk registration, tracking, approval and review system is working properly and is used by the track leaders.

During

• Handles any schedule changes. This includes communicates with MarCom lead on posting cancelled sessions, changes of rooms and times, as well as posting information about extra sessions.
• Introduces the keynote speakers on stage.
• Organises the handover of gifts to the keynote speakers.
• Ensure keynotes expenses have been paid for.
• Ensure other speakers’ necessary expenses have been taken care of by speakers committee.

After

• Thanks the track leaders
• Prepares a preliminary list of interested track chairs for next year.
• Sends a thank-you message to keynote speaker.

Guidelines

Preparations

Because the sprints are after the formal conference, all the sprint attendees will likely be present at the start of the sprints. Sprint coaches should plan for an introductory session on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning, where you can help attendees get started. This might involve helping them to get SVN or CVS installed, find the development tree, talk about the software's architecture, or planning what the 2-day sprint will try to accomplish.

If the introductory session is on Sunday, you should plan to begin around 3:30PM.

What is a sprint?

A sprint is a focused development session, in which developers pair in a room and focus on building a particular subsystem. A sprint is organized with a coach leading the session. The coach sets the agenda, tracks activities, and keeps the development moving. The developers often work in pairs using XP's pair programming approach.

The sprint approach works best when the first few hours are spent getting oriented -- presenting a tutorial for the development material, laying out the stories to tackle for the day, getting everyone a CVS or SVN checkout to work with.

Why sprint at PyCon?

The sprints are intended to benefit various projects, and to encourage more people to take part in development. They will also be a good place to see ExtremeProgramming or other AgileMethods in action, and to work closely with experienced Python developers.

PyCon will always have a core Python sprint. Other topics will come and go each year.

What equipment/supplies will sprints need?

PyCon will need the following:

• Room. Decide whether you would like single or multiple sprints; different sprints will presumably occupy different tables.
• Wireless networking.
• Easels, a tablet of paper, and markers.
• Writing paper and pens (for notes, sketches, etc.).
• Ice water.

PyCon usually does not supply food for the sprint days. Participants will have to go to suggested restaurants, or have food delivered to the location by grab food or similar.