As you might be aware the JIT Submissions are closed. We are very happy with the response we’ve got so far.

Totally we’ve received 231 submissions.

Following is the stage wise breakup of the proposals:

Following is the breakup according to the levels (very happy to see a large number of sessions in the practicing space):

Following is the breakup according to the session types: (again not surprised to see a large number of talks):

Lastly, the duration wise breakup of the sessions:

Also we’ve received 22 research papers from the following countries.
Selected papers will be published by IEEE Publications.

Also, we are happy to have totally 184 unique presenters (159 primary presenters and 38 secondary presenters.)

Currently we are reviewing all these proposals. You should see the final list by end of November.

Gentle reminder, the early bird submission for the Agile India 2012 Conference closes on 26th Sep 2011.

Visit our submission system to get started.

Some resources to help you with your submission:

• How to Submit a Proposal?
• Everything You Should Know about Submitting a World-Class Proposal
• Early Bird Submission: What’s the big rush?
• Overview of the Review Process
• Important Milestones
• Compensation for speakers

The Agile Software Community of India (ASCI) is organizing the 2nd Annual Agile Conference in Bengaluru on 22nd and 23rd Jan 2010 named Agile Bengaluru 2010.

For the first time in India, we’ll have 4 Gordon Pask Award Winners at a single conference:

• David Hussman
• Jeff Patton
• J. B. Rainsberger
• And yours truly

The conference theme this year is “Post-Modern Agile – Be done with the Dogma“. The conference is really targeted at Agile practitioners, who want to explore ideas beyond the basic Agile stuff.

Also this year, for the first time, we are hosting the World-famous Programming with the Stars contest during the conference.

After the standard proposal submission and review process we have the final conference program published – http://www.agileindia.org/agilebengaluru2010/agile-bengaluru-2010-program.htm.

If you are interested in participating in the conference, hurry up and register for the conference here: http://www.agileindia.org/agilebengaluru2010/agile-bengaluru-2010-registration.htm We have limited 125 seats total.

Also for those who cannot attend the Bengaluru conference, don’t worry. We have another conference in Mumbai. Check out: Agile Mumbai 2010 Conference.

Please use the #agile_bengaluru_2010 Twitter tag.

The Agile Software Community of India (ASCI) is organizing the 3rd Annual Agile Conference in Mumbai on 16th and 17th Jan 2010 named Agile Mumbai 2010. The conference is hosted by Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering, Mumbai.

For the first time in India, we’ll have 4 Gordon Pask Award Winners at a single conference:

• David Hussman
• Jeff Patton
• J. B. Rainsberger
• And yours truly

The conference theme this year is “Post-Modern Agile – Be done with the Dogma“. The conference is really targeted at Agile practitioners, who want to explore ideas beyond the basic Agile stuff.

Also this year, for the first time, we are hosting the World-famous Programming with the Stars contest during the conference.

After the standard proposal submission and review process we have the final conference program published – http://www.agileindia.org/agilemumbai2010/agile-mumbai-2010-program.htm.

If you are interested in participating in the conference, hurry up and register for the conference here: http://www.agileindia.org/agilemumbai2010/agile-mumbai-2010-registration.htm We have limited 125 seats total.

Also for those who cannot attend the Mumbai conference, don’t worry. We have another conference coming up in Bengaluru. Check out: Agile Bengaluru 2010 Conference.

Please use the #agile_mumbai_2010 Twitter tag.

Debates are not a great ways to communicate concrete points. Debates usually tend to get personal and emotional, leading to a destructive dialogue and indecisiveness. Fishbowls provide a good alternative to engage in discussion where people can indulge in a more creative communication or a real dialogue.

A Fishbowl is a way of structuring a discussion in a large group of people. It is suitable for controversial topics where different participants have different views.

Seating Arrangement: A small group, the initiators, (the fish in the bowl), typically 4 or 5 people, sit on chairs around a round table placed at the center of the discussion room. The audience, the other participants, is seated around the initiators in a circle.

Discusion Flow: The initiator explain the topic and start the discussion. Any members of the audience can walk up to the bowl and take a seat when they feel they have a contribution to make. When all the seats are occupied, usually the initiator, who has been in the bowl the longest, leaves making room for the new member, but this can vary. The FIFO (First In First Out) rule seems to work well to manage the participants at the bowl.

Additionally, one can seat always be left empty at the bowl. When all the seats get occupied, one of occupant has to leave. The rule to decide who leaves can also vary. FIFO or the person who feels they are contributing the least can leave.

The biggest advantage of this approach is transparency. The whole discussion is out in public. It gives a nice way to manage a large audience who would like to participate in the discussion. By letting a limited number of people talk, it helps to minimize the communication paths.

There are two challenges I have faced.

• Since the discussion is open and others are watching, some people might feel shy and not contribute even though they have some valid points.
• Avoiding the most vocal/influential folks from hogging the seats.

There is another variation of the fishbowl format, which I have not tried this.