Voice of the DBA

Tag: PASS

  • A Summit Contest for registering by Sept 22

    If you haven’t registered for the 2018 PASS Summit and plan to go, you might press to get registration done this week. Next week prices increase, but this week you can save.

    passpromo

    There is a promotion from PASS that will let you save $200 this week. In addition, you can beat the price increase next week, which will go up $200, so if you can register by Sept 22, you save $400 over the cost next week. Use the discount code in the graphic above.

    There’s also the chance to win a daily prize from PASSStuff.com. Plus, everyone registering this week will be entered for the chance to win a complementary admission to the 2019 Summit.

    If you’re going to the Summit, or have asked, press to get registration done this week. You’ll save some money and get the chance to win some fun SAWG and maybe even get next year’s summit registration for free.

    Register today and good luck.

  • First Wave of Sessions for PASSSummit Now Available

    The first wave of sessions for the #PASSSummit have been released. You can see the list at: http://www.pass.org/summit/2018/Learn/ConferenceSessions.aspx

    I am honored to have a session on the list. This year, I’ll be doing a session called Minimizing the Impact of Data Breaches in Dev and Test Databases. This is a partner session, and I’ll talk about some of the issues with data security in your development area and show some ways that you can mitigate the problems.

    There are some other really interesting sessions on the schedule, such as Ola’s  Analyzing Performance Problems Using XEvents, DMVs & Query Store and Faster SSIS from Andy Leonard.  Check out the complete list and start to find those sessions that will help you in your job. Use that information to help build a case for you to come to the Summit.

    I expect we’ll see releases of more sessions across the next few weeks or months. Keep an eye out for new sessions so you can update your schedule.

  • An Open Letter to PASS and John Q Martin

    Dear Mr. Martin and the PASS Organization,

    In the spirit of advocating for change in a public way, I’m writing this letter to ask you to revisit your policies and processes and embrace the transparency that we, members of the PASS organization, deserve with regards to the SQL Saturday events.

    I am directing this to you, Mr. Martin, after seeing your tweet, with the hope that you will follow through and not only provide feedback, but conduct a root cause analysis that updates future decisions. I also am hoping these are not merely words, but also the beginning of some action that you take and about which you publicly disclose the results.

    A change was recently made to the SQL Saturday site that requires speakers to register for an event before their submissions can be approved. I realized this when a fellow speaker posted a note on Twitter.  While there are potential implications here that are disruptive for event organizers and speakers, those are worthy of a separate debate. In fact, they are worthy of debate.

    Today, I examined the PASS blog to look for an announcement. This what I saw.

    2018-04-18 08_17_13-PASS Blog _ Community _ PASS - the Professional Association for SQL Server

    The last update is from Mr. Fritchey, noting how much PASS wishes to express their affection for SQL Saturday. I appreciate the Board of Directors, most of whom are fellow speakers, may feel that way, but I’m not sure the organization believes this. Again, a separate discussion.

    Early on in the life of SQL Saturday, a few people had to make decisions, but those decisions were publicized, with conversations with organizers and speakers. When fundamental changes were made, we announced changes publicly to ensure that others were informed. We setup a board of advisors to help ensure that change was made in a more open way, and to solicit feedback. Andy continued to provide updates later, even as PASS has declined to do so.

    That doesn’t seem to have been done any longer. As I scan through the blog, I see no announcements of changes to SQL Saturday. The last posts were from 2016, when the 600 mile radius was announced and then a subsequent post explaining the reasoning.

    Once again, almost two years later, PASS lacks transparency and vision. There are no discussions on slack that I find, NDA or otherwise, no emails I’ve received, no list of changes or updates.

    What I would request is that you use this as an opportunity to improve governance at PASS. Examine the timeline of when this decision was made, the timeline, and look for opportunities to engage, or at least inform, the membership of PASS of changes. There should be milestones that require

    • an announcement of potential changes, NDA or public
    • a roadmap – is there a public one? Even one without dates.
    • a roadmap update
    • an announcement of an upcoming change
    • an announcement of the change, publicly
    • an update to the FAQ

    I appreciate that there may not be funds for future changes, though there are obviously some still in progress. However, this is separate from funding. This is a process and governance issue that should be addressed.

    It’s also simple common courtesy.

    Sincerely,

    Steve Jones

    PASS member since 1999

  • In Depth Learning at the PASS Summit

    This past week the pre-conference sessions for the 2018 PASS Summit were released. There’s a good list of topics and speakers, returning and new presenters, that you can choose from. If you’re planning on attending the Summit, I would review the options and if any of these are relevant to your position, I’d bundle the cost of a session into your request for Summit funding. I’ve seen plenty of people ask for the registration fee without a pre-con and then try to negotiate additional funds later. Do yourself a favor and ask for everything at once.

    Are these sessions worth the time and money? Most are, and a single day packed with information is often easier to digest than a full week. However, you’ll still have days of random learning slots during the regular conference, so plan on spending a day learning and then shifting into a different mode for the rest of the conference. There is a lot of information presented in an all day session, and you’re likely to miss some of it. Most presenters provide a good set of materials to go with the class, but you should plan on taking lots of notes and then spending a few hours here and there across the next month reviewing and practicing what you’ve learned.

    I’ve often found that a pre-conference session is the best way for me to dive deep into a topic that I haven’t had the time to investigate on my own. Time is a precious resource and finding time in my busy work and family life is hard, especially for a full week class. I’d still like to get to a week long sqlSkills class, but I can’t seem to find the time. Maybe after next year when I have no more children at home and fewer commitments.

    I used to take a computer to classes, but the last few years I’ve moved back to paper and pen. I find that sketching out notes by hand is quicker and easier, I ignore typos, and somehow the act of writing cements things in my mind more. I’d recommend you try both, though certainly having your phone around to take a picture of something is incredibly handy at times. I’ve tried OneNote and a digital pen on a laptop, but again, it’s not as quick or smooth as pen on paper. The one thing I did like is that I could add pictures to my notes.

    A conference is a large investment, whether you make it or your employer does. Adding in a day of training on a topic is often a relatively small incremental increase. It’s worth the time and cost, if you’re already going to be gone for multiple days. I’m not sure if I’ll get to a pre-con at the Summit this year, but I’m hoping to get a day of watching and learning on a single topic in at one of the events I attend this year.

    Steve Jones

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