Sessions.

Propose a Session Here

​Propose a Session
ProductCamp Pittsburgh is an un-conference. Rather than having pre-scheduled speakers, anyone who is interested in leading a session can submit a proposal early (click on the button above) or on the day of the event.

• Proposed sessions will be voted on by the ProductCamp participants with the most popular sessions getting on the event schedule.
• Other participants will view what your session is about and vote on the morning of the event.

Examples of Session Categories

• Opportunity Analysis
  • Market Research, Market Segmentation, Competitive Analysis, Business Case, Market Problems
• Product Strategy
  • Business Planning, Business Model, Whole Product, Roadmaps, Portfolio Planning, Partnerships, Resource Allocation, Technology Assessment
• Requirements Definitions
  • MRD, PRD, Elicitation, Personas, Use Cases, Prioritization, UX
• Product Development
  • Agile Processes, Market Testing, Testing/QA, Beta Tests, Offshore/Nearshore Dev
• Go-to-Market
  • Product Launch Plans, Product Launch Readiness, Market Strategy, Marketing Plan, Pricing, Positioning, Messaging, Channel strategy, Sales Enablement
• Marketing Execution
  • Demand Gen, Events, PR, Advertising, Social Media, Marketing Collateral, Sales Tools, Sales Pipeline, Channel Mgmt, Marketing Metrics
• Product Lifecycle Mgmt
  • Portfolio Analysis, Crossing the Chasm, Brand Mgmt, End-of-life, Divestment, Customer Retention, Repositioning
• Prod Mgmt Careers
  • PM 101, Team Management, Interviews, Roles Definitions, Small v. Big Company, PM Tools
• Data Analytics
  • Data Science, In-Product analytics, Customer Surveying, Business Intelligence, Reporting Tools, Quantitative Feedback
• Create your own!
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Suggested Session Formats
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You don’t have to deliver a polished “presentation” à la TED!
Attendees are looking for insight, truth, and actionable tools they can take with them back to their job on Monday. If presenting a few slides is the best way to communicate your material, great! But don’t think that’s all that’s acceptable. Run a game that teaches them a new skill. Do role play to simulate the reality that they’ll be faced with!  Play an interactive exercise that teaches them something new without being boring. Use your imagination!

• Roundtable Breakout – A guided discussion wherein the presenter poses discussion questions, and the audience breaks out into small groups to discuss. Presenter solicits teams to share findings, comments, or team responses with the room, either periodically during the session or at the end of the session.
• Interactive Workshop – In this format, the audience is actively involved, collectively or in groups, in an exercise or application of a technique or process which has been presented by the session leader. The description should mention the portion of the session spent in the exercise and what the attendees will produce. Proposers are encouraged to have knowledgeable assistants to help answer questions and support the exercise.
• Panel Discussion – Popularly seen, this format has several people qualified to talk about the subject of the session, preferably from diverse or even counterpoint perspectives or roles. A moderator facilitates questions from the audience or a series of prepared questions for the panelists, but a significant part of the session is still interactive Q&A with the audience.
• Ask the Expert – This format is most successful with a recognized authority on a subject of wide interest, or a direct participant in some particularly interesting event or phenomenon. The expert or a moderator introduces the topic and frames some appropriate discussion and then opens the floor for questions, including those that might be somewhat specific as long as they are applicable to more people than the individual posing the question.
• Presentation – Having already suggested that this traditional one-directional delivery is less popular among the ProductCamp community, there are some exceptional topics and presenters who can make this work. Session proposers are advised to consider this carefully and be honest in citing this format if it is actually what will be delivered.