The ProductCamp phenomenon is taking the world by storm. ProductCamps have sprouted up in Silicon Valley, Austin, Toronto, Boston, Raleigh, Atlanta, New York, Seattle, Amsterdam and more. If you haven’t participated in a ProductCamp, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. If you have participated in one, you already know!

Where Did ProductCamps Come From?

ProductCamps are based on the concept of BarCamps, the first of which was held in Palo Alto, California in 2005. So why BarCamp? It’s a reference to the hacker slang term, foobar. BarCamp arose as a tongue-in-cheek spin-off of Foo Camp, an annual invitation-only participant-driven conference hosted by open source publishing luminary Tim O'Reilly. Where FooCamp was by invitation only, BarCamp would be democratic and open to all. BarCamps have been held in over 350 cities around the world, in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Asia, and even virtually over the Internet.

The first ProductCamp (aka P-CAMP) was held on March 15, 2008 in Mountain View, California. Word-of-mouth spread fast about this “unconference” (no registration fee, no agenda, no selling) and about 170 people showed up on a Saturday to discuss topics of interest to product managers, product marketers and a host of related roles.

Following this event, many participants commented both privately to their colleagues and publicly via blogs, wikis, and tweets. The idea went viral, and several other cities started ProductCamps of their own. Austin was first out of the gate with others following over the subsequent months in 2008 and into 2009.

Given the proliferation of ProductCamps, we thought it would be useful to summarize some best practices we have seen over the last year. Hopefully, these guidelines will help you, if you want to organize or participate in an unconference in your local area.

Why Attend a ProductCamp?

Has your travel budget been cut? Do you want to learn from peers outside your company? Are you looking for informal ways to "meet-and-greet" others? Do you enjoy making presentations or leading roundtable discussions on timely topics in the industry? Are you unemployed or under-employed, and want to increase your network? Do you enjoy meeting interesting people who are passionate about Product Management and Marketing? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you’re the kind of person who should participate in ProductCamp.

Why Organize a ProductCamp?

Have you ever been to an industry conference or company event and felt like you could have done it much better? Do you think industry conferences have become too "sterile" or are too dominated by big vendors? Do you feel there are probably a lot of fun, knowledgeable product management and marketing professionals in your area, but there just isn't a good forum to get them together? Would you like to get recognized in your community as someone that "gets things done"? Dozens of your peers around the world are planning ProductCamps at this moment because of these reasons.

Since ProductCamp is free to attend and typically held on a Saturday, it’s a low-risk way to expand your skills and your personal network. Plus, since it is "user-sponsored", you can be assured it will not be a thinly veiled sales event – participants are strongly discouraged from selling or promoting their products at ProductCamp and are often very vocally discouraged by other participants.

Format of a ProductCamp

Several common themes have emerged from the ProductCamps held to date, though the flow and tenor may change from city to city. Since it's an unconference, there are very few rules to follow. The general guidelines (adapted from BarCamp) are:

• ProductCamps are free, but they do have a cost for the people who come. At ProductCamp, there are no passive “attendees”. Instead, everyone is referred to as a “participant” and is expected to participate in some way: presenting a session, coordinating sponsors, managing the venue, volunteering for setup and teardown, or sitting on a discussion panel - there are many possible ways for people to participate.
• Information sharing is expected and encouraged. Everyone is asked to share information and experiences of the event, both live and after the fact, via public web channels including (but not limited to) blogging, photo sharing, social bookmarking, twittering, and wiki-ing. This open encouragement to share everything about the event is in deliberate contrast to the "off-the-record" and "no recording" rules at many conferences.
• The “2-foot” rule applies: at a ProductCamp there are typically multiple sessions going at any given time. If a participant feels they can get more value in another session, they can use their own two feet to move as they see fit – no being tied down.
• Networking is good! Because ProductCamps are usually held on a weekend and go for up to 8 or more hours, participating in ProductCamp is a commitment. The sacrifice in time and energy given by ProductCamp participants means that usually only interesting, qualified people show up – no one’s boss is making them come.

Venues typically provide basic services. Free network access, usually wi-fi, is crucial. Sponsors generally provide funding for ProductCamp’s "nice to haves" such as t-shirts, meals/snacks, happy hour, signs, lanyards, etc. Attendance is generally free of charge to the attendees and usually restricted only by the capacity of the venue. Due to the popularity of these events (and to assist in planning for meals, t-shirts, etc.) participants are usually requested to sign up in advance.

ProductCamps have generally been held on Saturdays, but Toronto's was on a Sunday in 2008. This allows participants to attend outside of their work schedules. Successful ProductCamps to date have been held at university-donated buildings, professional learning centers, and corporate offices. Pre-registered attendees arrive and pick up their name tags, t-shirts, and other sponsor give-aways. After making their way to the requisite coffee and breakfast or snack, all attendees are welcomed to a "main-tent" session to explain the format, rules, and to recognize the planners – but, more importantly, the opening session sets the tone that ProductCamp is (1) by and for the attendees, (2) open and discussion-oriented, and (3) (most importantly) fun.

Many ProductCamps use an "Open Grid" for setting the agenda. Presenters and roundtable facilitators are asked to submit topics prior to the event. The final agenda is created in real-time, by and for the attendees. The session leaders are usually given 30 seconds or so in the welcome session to introduce themselves and their subjects. Then it's time to vote! One popular technique is to give each participant 3 Post-It notes when they arrive. Volunteers post the session topics in a central area (usually on 3x5 cards or letter-sized paper) and ask everyone to stick their Post-Its under their top 3 sessions. Based on the interest level and available time slots, some topics may not make the agenda – those sessions that receive votes will be laid out on an "agenda sheet" in a way to minimize conflicts. It’s open, it's participant driven, and it really works!

Sessions usually run 45-50 minutes with a break for lunch and plenty of “slack time” for informal networking. Most ProductCamps use 3-4 rooms for parallel sessions and about six time slots for the day, resulting in 18-24 sessions for participants to choose from. Some of the best ProductCamp sessions are the facilitated roundtable discussions – leveraging the knowledge of the participants in the room. Volunteers keep an eye on the time and take notes. The notes get posted to the ProductCamp website or wiki so that all can learn.

It’s always fun to bring everyone together at the end of the day for a quick summary and to award prizes for the "best sessions". By this time, the group is fairly comfortable with the format and it can get rather lively. And, it’s a great time to celebrate the hard work, get feedback about the day, start planning the next ProductCamp, and kick-off Happy Hour!

Tips for Running a Successful ProductCamp

Don't over-plan! Think of it as a fun way to get together and meet others like you to learn and network - not like a typical conference where the events are all planned and controlled. Structure is good, but too much can defeat the purpose.

Make it VERY EASY to register and to sign to lead a session. Don't worry about security of the wiki - people won't sign up if they have to jump through too many hoops – e-mail address is all of the personal information that is really needed for follow-up.

If you have trouble getting sponsors, sacrifice things like t-shirts and Happy Hour. These are great, but they are not the reasons people are giving up their Saturday.

You need one "focal point" person. They won't do all of the work (see below), but having the one "go-to" person is very important. This individual needs to be very organized and able to delegate well. The time commitment varies (more, closer to the event), but is mostly e-mailing and conference calls to keep things on track.

There are 5 key areas that need leadership, coordination, and accountability to ensure a successful ProductCamp:

MARKETING

• Wiki, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, local Product Management Associations, etc.
• E-mail updates
• Mentions on multiple blog sites
• Mentions in relevant newsletters, websites, etc.
• Local media (newspapers, business and tech journals, TV, Radio)

VOLUNTEERS

• Initially just collecting names but a critical role on the day of the event
• Registration table set up for sign-in, t-shirt, sponsor give-aways, any information sheets, etc.
• Name Tags printed for those who pre-registered, blanks for walk-in registrations (remember to leave blank space for your participant's Twitter ID!)
• Parking assistance (if needed)
• Cleanup - after meals and at the end of day
• Hall monitors - between sessions to answer questions and help shepherd people where they need to go
• Session monitors - make sure there is a timekeeper and note-taker in each session (doesn’t have to be one of the organizers, have the presenter/moderator ask for a volunteer)
• A dedicated photographer is a plus, but encourage people to take pictures (a camera phone is often good enough) and post to the wiki

SESSIONS

• Getting people signed up to present or host a roundtable
• Overall scheduling - Introduction/welcome, lunch, breaks, closing (when and who)
• "Open Grid" scheduling
• Collecting and posting presentations and notes from the sessions
• Coordinating the "best presentation" voting and awards
• Post-ProductCamp survey

SPONSOR/BUDGET/FOOD/SIGNS/T-SHIRTS

• Getting the money commitment from the Sponsors
• Managing the budget
• Paying the bills (ideally, set up a 501(c)(3) and get a checking account)
• Ordering and paying for the food
• Ordering and paying for the signs and t-shirts
• Ordering and paying for the lanyards and trophies
• If having a Happy Hour, helping the sponsor that pays for it

VENUE

• Coordinating opening/closing times, security, parking, overall logistics with venue provider
• Room set up, including projectors, chairs, whiteboards, etc.
• Any details about the food - set up, trash cans, coffee, where to eat (in laps is OK), cleanup
• Visiting the facility day/evening before the event to make sure that everything is ready

Summary

Hopefully, if you haven’t attended a ProductCamp you are now eager to participate in one. If you have participated in one, try participating in one outside your local area (they all seem to have their own “flavor”). And if you need help in organizing one, just let us know. Pragmatic Marketing has been involved with every ProductCamp and can provide sponsorship, promotion and get involved with the planning teams as a resource for questions and guidance.

John Milburn has “walked the walk” in technology product management and has been an instructor and consultant at Pragmatic Marketing for more than 3 years. Throughout his 20+ year career, he has managed or delivered over 40 hardware and software products and implemented the Pragmatic Marketing Framework at countless companies. His perspective and experiences from companies such as Lane 15 Software, Dell, IBM, Texas Instruments, Exxon, and Vtel adds outstanding insight and real-world examples to his teaching and consulting. This perspective allows John to connect with product managers and executives from all sizes of companies in a broad range of markets.

John is on the planning team for the Austin ProductCamp and has helped the leaders of many other ProductCamps around the U.S. over the past year. Contact him at jmilburn@pragmaticmarketing.com.

Paul Young is a product management professional with more than a decade of experience in hardware, software, and services product management and marketing. Currently, he runs product management and business development for one of Dell's SaaS products. He has also held a variety of product management and marketing roles in technology startups and Fortune 50 companies such as NetStreams and Cisco Systems.

Paul is the founder of ProductCamp Austin, attracting hundreds of product management and marketing professionals from the Central Texas area. He has helped the leaders of half a dozen other ProductCamps. You can read his blog at productbeautiful.com and can contact him at pt.young@gmail.com