The document details a case study of a virtual micro-conference conducted by Agile Dimensions in January 2010, emphasizing the cost and time savings achieved through the use of virtual worlds like Second Life compared to traditional face-to-face events. It highlights tangible benefits such as significant cost reductions, lower carbon emissions, and enhanced networking opportunities, while also discussing the challenges of virtual formats, including cultural gaps and the need for orientation. Key learnings stress the importance of applying project management principles to virtual events, ensuring accessibility, and fostering a positive perception of online platforms.

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AGILE DIMENSIONS
CASE STUDY
A VIRTUAL MICRO CONFERENCE:
AGILE WORLDS - JANUARY 2010”
AgileBill Firehawk, Jokay Wollongong,
Pamala Clift, Phelan Corrimal
AgileBill Firehawk / Krebs, CEO Agile Dimensions LLC
© 2010, Agile Dimensions LLC
In partnership with Rockcliffe University Consortium

2. Context
 May 2009
 Second Life™ was selected as business critical
tool by AgileBill‟s consulting company
 To reach new clients
 To save travel cost and, more importantly, time
 To teach *better* using immersive techniques
 Other virtual world tools have targed uses
 January 2010
 Hosted a business conference

3. Speaker‟s view

4. Audience View

5. Cost Benefit
Value Delivered Savings
Attendees 35 Face to Face cost $35,695
Education Hours 200 Minus Virtual Costs ($8,567)
Week‟s Web Clicks 1,330 Net Savings $27,128
Green
27.0
Tons of Co2 Saved
Intangible benefits include organizational
experience, and network building
Expenses for virtual was 24% of face to face

6. Analysis Detail

7. Analysis Footnotes
 The analysis accounts for combined costs for both  Care has been taken not to overstate the savings of
attendees and the hosting organization. If different using virtual worlds.
companies pay for each, most of the cost benefits go
 We assume 3 hours of training is required per
to the attendees from travel time and cost savings.
attendee. For future events this would be zero
The benefits to the hosting organization is the ability to
appeal to attendees who have little travel budget after  We include the cost of specialists for marketing
they become open to using virtual worlds for business. work. Similar costs may be useful for face to
face but are assumed to be zero.
 Is 3d web almost as good as face to face? Or is it
*better*? You can network more quickly through  For face to face, we assume 15% of the
reading profiles and the use of „backchat‟. Immersive attendees would have been local and would not
models can deliver better education. Intended body incur travel cost.
language and some gestures can be shown. But it  Travel cost assumes US Domestic flights, even
takes while to be comfortable using these techniques, though we had some international participation.
so we assume face to face and 3d web benefits are
similar.  Data taken from comparison of two actual events:
Agile Worlds 2010 (virtual), and Agile Coach Camp
 Labor costs are based on the “2009 Agile Practitioner 2010 (face to face)
Salary Survey” by VersionOne and ASPE
http://bit.ly/aspesalarysurvey which represents the  Volunteer Labor is used for both events. These
target audience of this event. An average salary of people should be paid as the market matures.
99,000 was multiple by 1.2 for benefits  Carbon emissions assume 0.97 lbs of Co2 per air
 Travel costs assume an average of 1,500 passenger passenger mile for an average of 1,500 miles for 30
miles (half way across the US), $350 for air, $210 for (out of 35) travelling attendees. A small amount was
two nights of hotel and fees, $30 for meals, and $60 added from ground travel for face to face, and
for ground transport. These numbers are increased use of electricity for the virtual event.
conservative, especially since some attendees come
from overseas.

8. Benefit: Traffic Delivered
The event brought web traffic
Upsurge of 1,330 clicks
Global potential, but English
speaking for now (US,
Canada, UK)

9. Content comparable to face to face conference
and delivered by the same experts

10. Pros and Cons
 Benefits  Challenges
 Price Gap
 Less time wasted travelling  Expectation in virtual worlds is
free education
 Less money wasted travelling
 Expectation in physical world can
 Greener be hundreds of dollars per day
 Culture Gap
 Takes an investment to orient
 Turbo networking environment people to virtual world tools, and to
 Able to create custom venues change perception of virtual worlds
from questionable toy to mission
 Possible to increase learning critical business tool
through interactive techiniques
 Labor Gap
 Volunteers should eventually be
paid for their hard work

11. Lessons Learned
 Apply the same project management
principles you would for any mid sized project
 Prepare risk mitigation plans for
 Lossof voice
 Cancelled speakers
 Security
 Screen and monitor attendees
 Performance
 Balance load on virtual venue tools

12. Include Everybody
 Make your event accessible
 Transcribe for those without hearing
 Build for those with poor motor control
 Readable fonts for those with poor eyesight
 International English and translators for diverse
languages and culture
 For wide ranges of virtual world familiarity
 Consider world time zones
 Pace the event to allow breaks

13. Key Roles
 The conference organizer will focus on content
and building a team
 Pair the conference organizer with a skilled virtual
coach
 Pair the speaker with a „wingman‟ to help with
location, wardrobe, sound, and slides
 Identify docents who can move the crowd

14. Going Forward
 Share
 Learn
 Be Green
 Be Accessible
Virtual worlds do not enhance life. They *are* life.
Gentle Heron – VirtualAbility.org

15. Read More
AgileBill Krebs http://www.agiledimensions.com
Dawn Cannan http://www.passionatetester.com
Meadhbh Hamrick http://lindenlab.com
Janet Gregory http://www.janetgregory.ca
Alice Krueger http://www.virtualability.org
Alan Atlas http://www.rallydev.com/agileblog/about/#alan-atlas
Kevin Feenan http://www.urockcliffe.com
Jo Kay http://jokaydia.com

16. Bravo Team!

17. See you next time!