ACE! Conference – quick overview

The 5th edition of ACE! (Agile Central Europe) Conference was awesome – as usual :). The conference gathered about 250 participants and 19 fabulous speakers. The unique atmosphere was enhanced by this year’s stunning venue – an old  tram depot, renewed and adapted for conference purposes, placed in the heart of Krakow’s historic district, Kazimierz.

  

source: http://aceconf.com/about-ace/ 

Diversity was the strength of the agenda. Even topics that seemed similar on first glance were covered in completely difference manners by speakers. Some points of view were controversial! Especially those connected with SAFe (pronounced [SAFe booo] ;)). People, who didn’t have an opinion on certain topics before conference, could easily get one – especially that bright and dark sides were discussed. Of course diversity brought people to vivid discussions :) Face to face and… on twitter! 

Audience, author: Andy Brandt

Discussions, discussions and once again discussions during the breaks! It is so amazing what you could talk in a queue for coffee :) (BTW coffee was excellent thanks to Code Sprinters who brought Italian baristas with specially selected coffee grains for this occasion). 

Coffee by CodeSprinters, author: Andy Brandt

Standing up and then sitting back was an activity required from the audience during nearly each talk. Not all speakers did so, however, there was a case when people were asked to stand up and sit down only to ‘maintain’ tradition ;)

Open Space topics was great, as usual :) Personally I liked the most lego one (you can check it on photo below). Directly after Open Space the party began. Unfortunately some people decided to leave after the last talk and not to return for the after party – so it was quite cameral. Some of the people played “Fluxx” (the most hilarious game I’ve ever experienced!), other just talked, drank beer and ate sausage. Ohhh! There were also another kind of game – the aim was to hit someone’s beer with a handmade paper plane ;) Crazy? Yep! That’s why this after party was so awesome!

Open Space, author: Andy Brandt

Have you missed ACE! conference? Don’t worry! The next awesome agile conference in Krakow starts soon! See you at ALE’14, I hope!

What did you think about the ACE! conference? Leave a comment & share your opinion with us!

ACE! author: Andy Brandt