2014 Fall ITPF
Participant Survey
November 20, 2014
1. Attending this conference was a
valuable use of my time.
50
Strongly agree
Agree
39
Neutral
Disagree
56
Strongly disagree
Not Applicable
Value
Percent
Count
Strongly agree
39.2%
60
Agree
56.2%
86
Neutral
4.6%
7
Disagree
0.0%
0
Strongly disagree
0.0%
0
Not Applicable
0.0%
0
Total
153
Total
Responses
153
2. Overall, how satisfied were you
with the presentations and topics?
9
102
Very Satisfied
27
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
61
Not Applicable
Value
Percent
Count
Very Satisfied
26.8%
41
Satisfied
61.4%
94
Neutral
8.5%
13
Dissatisfied
1.3%
2
Very Dissatisfied
0.0%
0
Not Applicable
2.0%
3
Total
153
Total
Responses
153
3. Overall, how satisfied were you
with the IT Professionals Forum?
5 10
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
37
Neutral
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
58
Not Applicable
Value
Percent
Count
Very Satisfied
36.6%
56
Satisfied
58.2%
89
Neutral
4.6%
7
Dissatisfied
0.7%
1
Very Dissatisfied
0.0%
0
Not Applicable
0.0%
0
Total
153
Total
Responses
153
4. If you were dissatisfied or less than satisfied
with any of the previous items, please tell us how
we can improve.
Count
Response
1
A mobile app for the forum that does what the handouts do now and more would be
great
1
AOK as is.
1
I can see how the forum is useful. It is just not directly related to my job.
1
I was very satisfied.
1
I was very satisfied. It was excellent.
1
Looking for two extremes: more soft skills sessions and also detailed technical
sessions.
1
Need more web-based topics for web designers
1
Not sure if 2 a year are necessary. Maybe make one online?
1
The morning sessions were good, but afternoon sessions were not as
interesting.
4. If you were dissatisfied or less than satisfied
with any of the previous items, please tell us how
we can improve.
Count
Response
1
Several of my fellow IT pros could not attend due to schedule conflicts. It might
be helpful to have recordings of sessions (or Lync casts) where the speaker
consents to such recordings, to help increase the reach of the events.
1
I think recruiting presenters is always a challenge, but continued variety and
content is very welcome.. engagement with other areas of campus to present
how they're using IT is always so interesting.
1
I think there needs to be a slightly better description provided. I continually am
getting into ones that are not exactly what I thought.
1
Publish the breakfast menu ahead of time. Many that I spoke with were
expecting a continental breakfast, and therefore ate before coming (as did I).
Also, a 5 to 10 minute warning bell prior to the start of the next session is
VERY helpful. It cuts down latecomers and helps everyone concentrate on the
presenter rather than the door.
1
The only glitch was breakfast being cleared away at 9:15 instead of 9:30. A
small thing, but I had stopped to chat instead of getting food and turned around
to see the food tables recently cleared. Probably this was related to the lastminute switch in times, so not a big thing, but irritating at the start of the day.
1
Not providing a reason that the Keynote speaker was cancelling was a mistake.
If he was ill, that is reasonable and appreciated. If he got called to something
considered more important, share high level details so hundreds of attendees
don't feel slighted.
4. If you were dissatisfied or less than satisfied
with any of the previous items, please tell us how
we can improve.
Count
Response
1
You've probably gotten a lot of comments about the breakfast, and how the
hotel wasn't told that it had been extended half an hour in the email that went
out to attendees. It did make for a rough start to the morning.
1
Someone on the planning committee should vet the titles of the sessions. From
this event, the "Open-Source, Web-Based Project: Universal System Manager
- for monitoring, control, and reporting" was inappropriately named since it
failed to mention that it was specifically directed for AV devices, and had barely
anything to do with "open-source" or "systems management"
1
some topics were pie in the sky vs. practical information that could be
leveraged to support our customers
1
I was looking forward to hearing from our new CIO. I was very disappointed his
keynote was cancelled.
1
There weren't as many topics that interested me as there have been at
previous IT Pro Forums. Could the sessions be getting diluted since it's
happening twice a year?
5. What kinds of sessions and topics would you
like to see at future events? (this can include the
next full-day ITPF or at focused workshops,
training, and half-day events)
Count
Response
1
Current trends just like this time. Excellent topics.
1
Elevator speeches
1
Facilitation training, project management training
1
GIS integration in mobile applications
1
I hope you will reschedule the security session that was cancelled.
1
I would like some more action/hands-on activities in the sessions.
1
I would like to attend or present a topic about Data recovery
1
I'd like to see more workshops or training style events.
1
Kaltura hands-on workshop for audio and video.
1
Media-related topics, branding, communication strategies
1
Missed the plenary session(s) this time
1
More Open Source projects
5. What kinds of sessions and topics would you
like to see at future events?
Count
Response
1
More Technical!
1
More hands-on sessions, perhaps. Most I saw were overview sessions.
1
More on mobile development and accessibility
1
More sessions on software and web development
1
More technical topics such as: Group Policy, Windows management software
and scripting.
1
More topics on mobile devices and the cloud
1
Security... Video... Instructional Technology and practices.
1
Technical workshops Sessions for lessons learnt/sharing projects/process
improvements.
1
The mix of technical and non-technical was good this year; please continue.
1
There were more technical sessions this time and I liked having that option.
1
Vendor presentations
1
connecting Lync and Skype chat
5. What kinds of sessions and topics would you
like to see at future events?
Count
Response
1
data storage
1
hands on training
1
keep having technical topics
1
more mobile professional development workshops
1
more of the same
1
more topics on software development
1
n/a
1
training-workshops
1
I'm a programmer, and I feel like there needs to be more presentations on this.
For example, what APIs are available to us and access to data.
1
Panel discussion on who provides what resources. CITES has resources - who
can access them? What about AITS? Public Affairs? CTL? etc.
1
More topics that can be applied to work outside of the University of Illinois.
Guests to the conference will get more out of the sessions if the session topics
use University projects as examples to explain a broader topic, as opposed to
just summarizing a University project.
1
A few more technical topics dealing with coding but overall, there seemed to be
enough variety for every technical/non-technical level.
5. What kinds of sessions and topics would you
like to see at future events?
Count
Response
1
Please continue to encourage leadership presentations. Especially ones that discuss
campus IT goals and strategies, and activities aligned to those. In fact, it might be nice to
call those out somehow. For example: in this IT Pro Forum, the Wireless Data
Expansion directly aligns strongly to the campus IT strategy and approved by the
campus IT Governance committee.
1
Some of the presentations felt like they were largely based on personal experience, i.e.
"this is a thing that we did that might work for you." I'd prefer to see presentations that
are more rooted in research, practical methods, tactics. It's fine if you want to share an
approach that worked for your department, but I want more than just anecdotes to
convince me to try it.
1
Case studies from different departments that can spark more discussion. Possibly some
support from ITPF to facilitate continued discussion after the conference.
1
Sessions with (1) advice/tips on keeping up with technology (for developers, etc.) (2)
Overview of the many shared services on campuses / UA - not just one-at-a-time, but a
more comprehensive list including contact info
1
sessions about existing campus services with more details about how they can be
leveraged by the IT community. I also think a roadmap/future investigations/works-inprogress would useful for planning/feedback purposes.
1
Professional development sessions (i.e., how degrees can help your career, what the
university offers, leadership skills) Maybe more topics on Big Data and Data
Visualization Topics on how collaboration can happen between IT pros and business
5. What kinds of sessions and topics would you
like to see at future events?
Count
Response
1
What are the emerging areas of research across campus? How are cross-discipline
endeavors challenging our IT structure? Reports on conference experiences? Training
for IT Pros - AD, IDM, LMS, etc.
1
Networking: Cross-node vlan support Systems: VMware vs. Hyper-V vs. Xen bakeoff
Systems: OpenStack & local cloud solutions
1
A presentation on where mobile technology is headed over the next 20 years, wearable
technology, etc. would be interested. The credit card presentation was very good
1
I'd like to see major services just have a big Q&A session time block. For instance,
"everything you want to know about email" -- have everyone who is responsible for
everything related to email delivery on campus in one room on a panel and have
everyone fire away questions. Do this for all major campus level services.
1
Although I liked the range and ability to sample a variety of topics, I'd also find longer
more in depth sessions more useful.
1
Box.com in the U of I ecosystem Remote Banner and Eddie RDP pilot/production
service ATLAS Form Builder, academic units, and you! Campus implementations of iLink with touch screen kiosks Poster session about University Surplus and IT equipment
disposal "What Do You Use?" - an open discussion about the tools of the trade. Might be
more suitable for a Caffeine Break.
1
I really enjoyed the research based IT topics that I have attended, both in this session
and the previous ITPF
5. What kinds of sessions and topics would you
like to see at future events?
Count
Response
1
Quarterly or bimonthly updates on major initiatives (Research Data Service,
Cyberinfrastructure, ID management, etc.) are always welcome.
1
Even more technical topics introductions to open source (or low cost) software
tools that I might not be using yet. More business requirements analysis tips and
tricks talks. More best practices talks. So...keep it up, I guess. :)
1
Continue updating us on the progress of the Knowledge Base tool and when it
will be available to the rest of us.
1
Would be interested to see some sessions on Banner, especially in the Financial
and Student areas. I work with the HR area of Banner and would like to see how
these other areas relate to what I support.
1
I value topics that help me to envision future possibilities for using IT in Research
and for streamlining Administrative Processes.
1
More presentations where peers from other institutions present how they are
doing things that are different from our methods.
6. Is there anything we can do to improve your
experience at this event?
Count
Response
1
A minor thing, but the food should be closer to the breakfast and lunch area.
1
AOK as is.
1
Breakfast buffet should be near the rooms with tables for eating.
1
Buffet lunch would be nice :-)
1
I don't think so, I had a great time.
1
I tend to lean toward sessions focused on communication and would like to see more of
those.
1
It was very well executed.
1
Less food.
1
Make name tags easier to read. Hang some clocks on the wall.
1
More Soda! :) and Breakfast.
1
No. Great location, topics, and presenters.
1
Nope. You did a great job!!
1
Not really.
1
Nothing comes to mind. I thought it was run very well.
6. Is there anything we can do to improve your
experience at this event?
Count
Response
1
Offer a gluten free lunch.
1
Offer a paperless schedule/conference information.
1
Provide paper/pens for notes. There were none available throughout the day.
1
The lunches were kinda just there, but the breakfast was great.
1
iHotel is working out great.
1
it was well done.
1
recording for later reference
1
Provide presenter slides (electronically) - ahead of time would be ideal, but having them
soon after would be good.
1
Several rooms did not appear to have sessions going on, but the doors were open, they
seemed set up and people were casually using them. If these were open for people to
check email, take a call, etc., please add appropriate signage next year. This kind of
resource would be awesome.
1
Something other than the same boxed lunches next time would be a nice change. The
breakfast is a great way to kick off the morning and is appreciated.
1
The breakfast was far from the registration table and where we would ultimately be
sitting, so I went back and forth across the conference center a few times just to register,
get food, and find a table to eat. Also, the vendors in the hall made it a bit hard to get
through, especially when other pedestrians were in the hallway.
6. Is there anything we can do to improve your
experience at this event?
Count
Response
1
There seems to be a lot more either new or UIS/UIC folks in attendance. If there was
some way to help introduce, inter-mingle, etc these people, that would be great -- but I
have no idea how that might be accomplished.
1
How do you stop people from coming into a session 5, 10, even 15 minutes late? That is
very, very distracting.
1
Is it possible to have the presentation material in paper or online so we can look up the
topic or needed info later when needed?
1
Record the presentations and make available afterward. I spend a lot of the day
socializing with other IT professionals and vendors, and would like to see more
presentations.
1
Breakfast was advertised to be served until 9:30 but it was gone by 9:15. I was not
pleased to have no breakfast! Plus the beverages were not well stocked all day.
1
Better chairs. I don't remember any problems at the Spring 2014 ITPF, but the chairs,
especially in the Chancellor's room, were terrible. I was uncomfortable within a few
minutes of sitting in them and constantly changing positions, and all of my coworkers
also specifically mentioned how bad the chairs were.
1
One cool idea: an app for mobile devices that integrates the iHotel map, the talk
locations, and your personal schedule to show you your destinations by time. Mostly this
is just cool, but it does mean less flipping between schedule/map paper and hangtag to
remember which room is next. And it would be good for new folks who haven't yet
memorized the room layout.
6. Is there anything we can do to improve your
experience at this event?
Count
Response
1
Leave breakfast open til the first thing starts. I know the timing was off, but could the
food that was out at least have stayed out? Also, put the snacks in two places--by the
time through the snack line I didn't have any time to talk to vendors. On a more practical
side, there was no wireless networking in at least one presentation room. That was
annoying as I waited for the session to start.
1
I would have liked to see more "hands-on" or interactive sessions and a some more
technical options. This may have been based on the sessions I attended.
1
It would be helpful if there was a clear description of each of the sessions in printed
material that was distributed. Additionally, it would also be nice if a small notebook or
some pieces of paper were also included.
1
There were a lot of complaints about the lunches. I was fine with them, but a LOT of my
co-workers complained about the quality: hard cookies (burned?), bland sandwiches,
etc. I would consider upgrading lunch, if possible.
1
If there could be a designated wiki space for presenters/posters to be linked (hosted on
Box?) after-the-fact, that would be immensely useful. There often isn't time to ask after a
presentation, and there's no guarantee of a prompt follow-up (or any follow-up, if you
wrote your email address illegibly). Also, it would be great as a record for ITPF topics
and an archive about where we've been and where we're going.
1
no.. really it was great. I mean if there were more parking that would be awesome, but
that only matters on days that it's raining.
7. Please add any additional comments or
concerns here:
Count
Response
1
Enjoyed the sweet and savory afternoon snacks. Please continue with that. It was quite
yummy.
1
Excellent job by everyone that was involved.
1
Food was great, but maybe too much? Felt like all I did was eat and sit.
1
Great job on an event well done. Kudos to the team!
1
I think these are wonderful events and I was glad to be able to attend.
1
I was sad to hear Mark Henderson was not able to attend.
1
Overall, a good conference.
1
Some of the session descriptions didn't quite match the actual content.
1
Thank you for doing such a great job at communication!
1
To the team and presenters: Great job!
1
Well done!
1
all in all it was an enjoyable and informative day.
1
love the prize drawings.
1
the upgraded lanyards are a HUGE improvement and bring a more professional feeling
to the event.
7. Please add any additional comments or
concerns here:
Count
Response
1
I really like having the IT Pro orientation session. We sent lots of new people to it, and I
think it's a great place for that to just live as a repeated session. Really good set of
presentations this year. I wish I could watch some of them on recording that I couldn't
make.
1
The conference was very well organized, the workshop sessions were on target and the
social time with other peers was very beneficial. It was truly disappointing that Mark
Henderson could not speak as the keynote.
1
Loved the full breakfast. I got there later and didn't get any (my fault), but the plates
looked wonderful - much better than the usual bagel or Danish fare.
1
I have been on campus only 6 weeks, so this was my first ITPF. I'm very impressed.
Every aspect for me went smoothly. I could find my rooms, the food was excellent, the
presentations I attended were all worthwhile, the posters and vendors were informative.
1
I thought the drinks and snack offerings were great this year. Avoiding Project
Management Pitfalls had a group activity at the end which I was sure I would hate, but I
found to be very useful instead. Expanding on group type activities within a fixed time
allotment would be useful.
1
Thanks for providing a map on the sessions sheet distributed at the event. Thanks for
announcing the next IT Pro day already.
1
good job ITPF committee! Unfortunately some immediate issues caused me to miss
most of my schedule. I hate when that happens but CITES clients had to come first.
1
I think this conference keeps getting better by the year. I very much like the leadership
track but also the technical track has matured significantly over the years.
7. Please add any additional comments or
concerns here:
Count
Response
1
This is the second IT Pro Forum I have attended since starting at UI, and have found
both to be very helpful. I was only here a week when I went to the first one, so I got more
out of this second one. I was unable to attend the last two afternoon sessions due to
workload, but still learned a lot.
1
You really went over and above on the food and beverage. Excellent job! Check-in was
smooth, materials were simple and it was fairly easy to figure out the map/session guide.
If the powerpoint files were available online in advance or during the meeting, I did not
see that email. It would have been nice to have been able to pull those up on my tablet
or print them for taking notes. I agree that providing copies is a complete waste of
resources. Also - collecting name tags and lanyards for recycling for next year is
something you might consider.
1
It would be super helpful if the sessions I registered were sent as *individual* calendar
invite (for each session I registered, send a separate invite, not a full day event invite).
Serves several purposes but most importantly 1) My calendar for that day is marked with
exactly where I will be 2) As I am finishing up a session, I get a reminder on my phone
where and what is my next session.
1
Very good Conference and I will attend again! I look forward to the next one, they get
better and better each time!
1
the breakfast was once again truly amazing and a highlight that I will continue to look
forward to. In fact I planned intentionally to meet a colleague from across campus as
soon as breakfast opened so we could enjoy the tasty meal and catch up. It is truly
great. yay bacon!!
7. Please add any additional comments or
concerns here:
Count
Response
1
the food was amazing. The full breakfast was amazing. In fact I met someone for
breakfast at the forum and was able to do some great networking during that time!
1
I wish the breakfast had been extended into the opening remarks hour. Some of us can't
get there until 9am. :-) Also, this survey doesn't take into account the schedule changes
(i.e. Keynote change, no "Help! I've Been Hacked!")
8. Please select the sessions you attended so
that we can ask for your evaluation of them.
Value
Percent
Count
1A: Keynote by Mark
Henderson
6.9%
10
2A: Urbana Campus
Mobile Computing
Initiatives - Let's
Collaborate!
37.0%
54
2C: Bomgar: Weird Name
for Great Remote Support
18.5%
27
2D: From Entrepreneurial
to Enterprise: IT Grows Up
13.0%
19
2E: Resarch Data Service
15.1%
22
2G: IT Pro Orientation
8.9%
13
3A: A Year of
Cyberinfrastructure at
Illinois
15.8%
23
3B: Kaltura: It's Here Now,
No Really It Is
17.1%
25
Total
Responses
146
8. Please select the sessions you attended
so that we can ask for your evaluation of
them.
Value
Percent
Count
3C: Completing the Puzzle:
Bringing Mobile Devices
into the Managed Picture
12.3%
18
3D: AD Migration the
Engineering IT Way
13.0%
19
3E: Personal Touch from a
Distance
15.1%
22
3F: Case Study: The Library
and Data Center Shared
Services
6.2%
9
4A: Wireless Data
Expansion
19.9%
29
4B: Avoiding Project
Management Pitfalls at the
University of Illinois
21.2%
31
4C: Help! I've Been
Hacked: An introduction to
Information Security
Response
7.5%
11
4D: From Banner 8 to
Banner XE
11.6%
17
4E: AITS Mobile
Development Services: Let
us help you be successful
at mobile
9.6%
14
4F: Search Party: Finding a
Google Appliance Solution
11.6%
17
Total
Responses
146
8. Please select the sessions you attended so
that we can ask for your evaluation of them.
Value
Percent
Count
5A: Credit Cards: About to
become a relic of the past
29.5%
43
5B: Elevator Speeches:
Delivering your message
when it counts
19.2%
28
5C: Open-Source, WebBased Project: Universal
System Manager - for
monitoring, control, and
reporting
13.0%
19
5D: Dissecting Learning
Spaces
8.2%
12
5E: Making Campus
Mailing Lists Work for
YOUR Users
8.9%
13
5F: I am Virus Free and I
Have a Skinny Footprint!
2.7%
4
6A: SharePoint: More than
document storage
15.1%
22
6B: Getting Your People
Started with Video
5.5%
8
Total
Responses
146
8. Please select the sessions you attended so
that we can ask for your evaluation of them.
6C: University
KnowledgeBase: Solving
your support puzzle
19.9%
29
6D: Scanning, Two-Factor,
and Exposure - Security
Tools
13.0%
19
6E: IT Risk Management:
Blank checks, escalation,
and other scary stuff
explained
18.5%
27
6F: CITES PaperCut for
Departments
4.8%
7
Total
146
Total
Responses
146