Congratulations and welcome to the Agile2009 Conference official program! Thank you for accepting your speaker agreement and participating in this great conference.

The conference is taking place August 24th - 28th, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Hyatt Regency Chicago
151 East Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois, USA 60601

This webpage will serve as the “home base” for any information you may need during the planning process of the Agile2009 Conference. Please read through the entire page thoroughly. Should you have any additional questions, please contact our Speaker Coordinator:

Jessica Ambrose
Agile Speaker Coordinator
Elastic Communications & Events Inc. | 2309 Kenbarb Road, Mississauga, ON L5B 2E9 | F: 905.281.9824
T: 905.281.0555 ext. 112 | speakersagile@elasticevents.com

Please also be sure to add speakersagile@elasticevents.com to your email allowed list in order to successfully receive all email communications.

Thank you, looking forward to seeing you in August in Chicago!

AGILE 2009 COMPENSATION POLICY:

We have completely revamped and improved the Agile2009 Conference compensation package.

PLEASE READ THE COMPENSATION POLICY CAREFULLY.

We are pleased to offer the 1st speaker associated with each accepted session the following compensation. Regretfully, we cannot offer transferring of compensation packages to additional speakers.

180 MINUTE SESSIONS

• Conference registration fee waived
• (4) Complimentary hotel nights
• $500 US

90 MINUTE SESSIONS

• Conference registration fee waived
• (4) hotel nights paid
• $250 US

LESS THAN 90 MINUTE SESSIONS [INCLUDING EXPERIENCE REPORTS]

• (1) Free Conference Registration

NOTE: Compensation is NOT available for the following session types: Panel member, Panel moderator, Poster, Research-in-progress, Take a S.E.A.T.

Please note you cannot accumulate complimentary hotel nights and/or registrations. You are able to accumulate monetary compensation for every session you present.

HOW TO REGISTER:

To secure your Complimentary Conference Registration as a speaker, please go to http://agile2009.agilealliance.org/ and click on “Register”. Please read instructions carefully. When you get to the bottom of the page, click “Register”. Please register as a SPEAKER.

During Step 2 of the registration process, you will be asked to enter your Discount Code. Your speaker discount code was sent to you via email from speakersagile@elasticevents.com. Should you have any questions, please email Jessica Ambrose at speakersagile@elasticevents.com.

DEADLINE: Your speaker discount code is valid until May 29th.

Note: When registering, please be sure to indicate a fee type (Member/Alumni, Non-Member, Academic) because we need this information for our demographics - you will not be asked to make a payment.

MAKE HOTEL RESERVATIONS

To reserve your room at the official Agile2009 Conference hotel - Hyatt Regency Chicago, please Click Here. You do not have to provide a code to book your room. Please book your entire stay and we will arrange to deduct the free nights from your bill. For example if you are planning to stay for 6 nights, we will deduct for 4 nights.

DEADLINE: The deadline to book your room is June 12th, 2009. NOTE: If you book after the deadline, you may subject to a higher room rate. Agile will only cover your compensation at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel and up to the negotiated conference rate. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact speakersagile@elasticevents.com.

LETTER OF INVITATION

If you require an official letter of invitation in order to participate in the Agile2009 Conference, please email the following information to speakersagile@elasticevents.com.

1. You official name [as read on your passport]
2. The Office in which you would like the letter addressed to [Ie. Canadian Embassy, United States]
3. Travel dates [Ie. August 23rd - 29th, 2009]
4. Where you are rooming during your stay [ie. Hyatt Regency Chicago]
5. Any family members also travelling with you [if applicable]

HONORARIUM PAYMENT

Speakers who are to receive a monetary honorarium will be able to pick up their payment checks from Phil Brock at the Agile Alliance booth during the conference. You are able to accumulate your honorarium for each session you present. The Agile2009 Planning Committee will be tracking the number of sessions and thus your payment amount. Checks will be written in $US funds.

Speakers who are required to fill out a W-9 or W-8B Form will be contacted on an individual basis.

ROOM SETUP, CONFERENCE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

The default room setup is “Rounds” - chairs around round tables [up to maximum room capacity].

Equipment & Supplies

Each room will have a standard set of equipment [listed below]. Please ensure you read all information thoroughly. Should you have any additional questions, please contact speakersagile@elasticevents.com.

• Data projector and projection screen
• Microphone & Audio capabilities [for presentation]. Note: If room is small, audio capabilities will be provided however, microphone may not be necessary.
• 1 flipchart, paper pad and (2) marker(s)

Speakers are responsible for bringing their own supplies [ie. markers, stickies, index cards, etc] for their presentations [see below for session handout & reference materials details]. To help you plan for your presentation below is information regarding shipping to the Hyatt Regency as well as room capacities [set in rounds] for all session rooms to help you plan for quantities. Please check which room you session has been assigned to.

MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Please note the following:

• Laptops - You are required to provide your own laptop. If you do not have a laptop computer then please make arrangements to borrow a laptop. If this is not possible, please advise speakersagile@elasticevents.com.
• Wireless Internet will NOT be provided in the meeting rooms. Please download your electronic presentation materials to a USB key prior to arriving.

Session Rooms & Capacities & Floor Plans

Hyatt Regency Floor Plans are available online at http://chicagoregency.hyatt.com/hyatt/images/hotels/chirc/floorplan.pdf

Shipping & Receiving

The hotel’s shipping address is:

Hyatt Regency Chicago
151 East Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Phone: (312) 565-1234
Fax: (312) 565-2966

AVT is the operator of the Business Center located in the East Tower, Purple Level. (312) 239-4410.

Handling fees are as follows for all incoming packages:

• Letters …………………… $6.00/letter
• Packages up to 5lbs ………… $7.00/box
• Packages 6 lbs. to 20 lbs …. $13.00/box
• Packages 21 lbs. to 50 lbs …. $24.00/box
• Packages 51 lbs. And over ….. $60.00/box
• Skid ……………………..$240.00/skid

The handling fee for all outgoing packages:

• Domestic (per >10 lb. box) ….. $7.00
• International (per box) ……. $12.00

All packages must contain a label with the following information:

• Return address
• Name of group/convention
• Name of person who will claim the package
• Date of person’s arrival
• Date meeting is to be held and location in hotel

The hotel is not liable for the safe or timely arrival of packages sent to the hotel by or for any group. The hotel accepts no liability for lost, stolen or damaged goods.

The hotel will not accept cash on delivery (C.O.D.) shipments. Please note that storage is extremely limited. Upon arrival, please contact our Package Room at extension 6525 or your Convention Services or Catering Manager to arrange for delivery.

Delivery of Federal Express, Airborne and UPS packages occurs daily at approximately 10:00 a.m. Packages are picked up daily at 5:00 p.m.

The Business Center also offers services for shipment of packages. For more information or to make shipping arrangements, contact your Convention Services or Catering Manager.

SESSION HANDOUTS & REFERENCE MATERIAL

If you require session handouts and/or reference material for your session, we will be printing these onsite at the conference this year. Please bring your documents to the Speaker Business Centre during the breakfast period [7:30am - 9:00] on the day you present or before. The limit for printouts is 10 pages front and back maximum. Please note we will not be able to provide colour copies.

The Speaker Business Centre will be located on the Gold Floor, East Tower in the Grand Suites area beside the registration desk. This room will be open 7:30am - 5:00pm everyday.

CONFERENCE CD

Agile is going green! Instead of producing a conference CD, we are offering the option for delegates to download presentations directly from the Agile2009 website. Presentation slides will be viewable in each individual session detail page [node] as well as linked by an icon in the Program Schedule view on the website.

Please note: Anyone who wishes to download presentation materials will be required to have a user profile in the system and will have to be logged in. Presentation materials will not be searchable on the web. An email will be sent during and after the conference to notify delegates of this feature. You are also encouraged to announce the feature during your sessions.

How to Upload: To upload your slide presentation, please log into the submission system and click to edit your session. At the bottom of the page, click the “file attachment” option to upload your presentation material.

File Parameters: Your presentation file must be pdf and no larger than 5MB.

DEADLINE: The deadline to upload your presentation to the submission system is July 30th

If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Ambrose at Elastic Communications & Events.

Jessica Ambrose
Agile Speaker Coordinator
Elastic Communications & Events Inc. | 2309 Kenbarb Road, Mississauga, ON L5B 2E9 | F: 905.281.9824
T: 905.281.0555 ext. 112 | speakersagile@elasticevents.com