DrupalCon DC - Business Side

Training: Boosting our raw capacity to provide Drupal training

seaneffel — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Abstract:

Video not available

As fresh Drupal talent and more Drupal development shops enter the picture it is important to foster and raise supportive training operations as well. Speakers will share experiences on student knowledge assessments, curricula building, training theory, and evaluation techniques all based on familiar training scenarios. You'll walk away with a direction for implementing your own in-house training programs.

Presenters:

Sean Effel
Allie Micka
Lee Hunter
Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg

Agenda

To read followup blog entries from the presenters, look here:

Speakers

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Sean Effel talked about Drupaltherapy's beginner training.

Selling You and Your (Drupal) Services

ngiarratana — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:18:55 +0000

Abstract:

Discover how to build a thriving Drupal-focused web development business with a limited (or non-existent) marketing budget. In this session, Neil Giarratana will reveal his company's approach to marketing (and selling) their Drupal-based services without a budget.

Presenters:

Neil Giarratana

Agenda

The Secret to What You're Really Selling - Drupal? Your Expertise?
PROFITABLY Pricing Your Services
Drupal vs. the World - Key Differentiators of Your Product
The Real Drupal Advantages
Step-By-Step Guide to Making the Sale (and how to make sure you get to the end)
Top Five (Hard) Lessons Learned In Growing A Business (400% in 12 Months)

A Panel discussion about Drupal hosting options

emandel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:12:46 +0000

Abstract:

This panel discussion will review the crowded and convoluted world of
Drupal hosting. We will address the various hosting options for Drupal
that now exist—from shared to cloud to virtual to dedicated hosting—and
we discuss what options will be available in the future.

Presenters:

Eric Mandel
Frank Febrraro

Goals

For the attendees to learn about the different hosting options currently
available and understand the pros and cons of each so that they can make
an educated decision about which hosting option is best for them.

Resources

Drupal.org/hosting

Speakers

Eric Mandel, BlackMesh
Frank Febbraro, Phase2 Technology
TBD
TBD
TBD

The Business of Open Source

LizaK — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:22:00 +0000

Abstract:

Lullabot's Managing Partner, Liza Kindred, will deftly apply the technical tenants of Open Source philosophy into realistic ways for businesses to become more open and successful.

Presenters:

Liza Kindred

Agenda

Quick intro to Open Source
Overview of the tenants of Open Source
Ways each individual tenant is applicable to business
Examples of Open Source Business Models
Q&A

Drupal Process Management

Drew Gorton — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:02:17 +0000

Abstract:

Drupal's modular nature can be a double-edged sword. With so much possible, part of the challenge is to stay focused on what is appropriate.
What process will give your team the opportunity to make the best choices, stay on target, and deliver the best possible results? This session will cover best practices in managing your next Drupal project and the process developed and refined by Gorton Studios to build great Drupal websites.

Presenters:

Drew Gorton

Agenda

Managing an Effective Process
Plan, Design, Develop, Verify, Train, Support - how do they fit together?
Plan - what constitutes a solid plan?
Design - how do you keep it grounded in business goals and not boxed-in by systems?
Development - how and when do you start building?
Verify - what does it take to keep quality high?

Project Management For Fun and Profit

CrystalWilliams — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:03:27 +0000

Abstract:

Making world class Drupal sites takes more than savvy design and good programming; it takes planning and great project management. We'll discuss general project management methodologies and tools as well as the Drupal-related specifics to help you scope, architect, and deliver beautifully built sites that make the most of Drupal.

Presenters:

Crystal Williams

Agenda

General
* Why is Project Management Important?
* Adding Project Management to your Workflow (or improving what you have now)
* Overview of Tools

Drupal Specifics
* Scoping and Planning Drupal Projects
* Information Architecture for Drupal Sites
* Navigating the Open Source Community

Getting it Done

Flash CMS: Drupal as an Adobe Flex Backend

jrowny — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:48:02 +0000

Abstract:

Creating Flex applications is a lot of fun. Media clients just love them, but what happens when a client continually asks you to change stuff and you constantly have to upload new Flash SWFs? The solution is to use the power of Drupal as a backend for Flex. Give users a drupal site they can go to update the content on their media site, or create completely dynamic applications that accomplish all tasks without the user ever knowing there is a Drupal backend.

Presenters:

Jonathan Rowny

Goals
We're going to start with a basic Drupal site and then walk through creating a basic Flex application, show a few real-world examples, and explain why this solution is better than all the rest.

We'll cover:

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Installing Services and the AMFPHP module

Creating Content Types to be used with Flex

Drupal, Joomla! and WordPress (Presented by Hagen Graf, Christine Graf and Amy Stephen)

AmyStephen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:07:32 +0000

Abstract:

There are nearly 3,000,000 search results from Google for the phrase "Open Source CMS Comparison." So, what are the important features people want? How do Drupal, Joomla!, and WordPress stack up? How does "community" factor into powering innovation and deployment and what governance, work processes, and cultural differences exist? How is a competitive spirit helpful and where might strengthening collaboration between projects result in better software?

Presenters:

Hagen Graf
Christine Graf

Agenda

The presentation will begin with a discussion of who is using OSCMS solutions and what they are looking for.

A matrix of desirable features and an evaluation of how Drupal, Joomla!, and WordPress measure up will be shared, along with an overall critique of the strengths and areas for growth for each project.

The Case for Drupal in the Enterprise

Michael Caccavano — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:28:07 +0000

Abstract:

It's the worst-kept dirty little secret of Drupal...large entities are still wary of using it for critical sites. Stability, security and scalability fears drive them to more expensive proprietary systems. But are these fears founded? And what is sacrificed by using proprietary platforms? Most importantly, how do you know if Drupal is right for you?

Mike Caccavano and Matt Westgate look at the pros & cons of Drupal for enterprise-level sites and address some of the most common concerns.

Presenters:

Michael Caccavano

As Drupal "grows up," it has become an extremely powerful platform for developing versatile, feature-packed sites. While a number of well-known enterprise-level organizations have chosen Drupal as their platform, much of the corporate world still views Drupal as a young, high-risk technology. Our experience, and that of many other agencies and agency clients, shows otherwise.

Agenda