Survey
Posted by Joseph Wurcher on December 3, 2006
Every year we ask attendees for feedback on AU. Over 2000 folks reponded - here are some highlights. We asked if attendees were very satisfied with AU. 94.44% agreed. 1.06% (22 out of 2072) did not agree. Only 16 out of 2100 would not recommend AU. Only 15 out of 2105 think AU is NOT a good value.
More survey results are coming in but if I was an election offical and had to call this one, I think it is fair to say that AU 2006 was a huge success. Not only did we have record numbers of participants (7438 when I checked last Thur.), it also looks like the event delivered what attendees expected. Last Thursday was also our first meeting for AU 2007 - and I am looking forward to repeating this years success.
December 5, 2006 at 1:34 am
I attended the AU 2006 Conference this year and it was absolutley fabulous. The comedian that AU had still has me laughing. It was what helped me get through with my waiting ten hours to fly back to the east coast on Friday. The programs, the instructors (Lynn Allen is the best) the food and the hotel were all first rate. All I can say is hope to see everyone at the Venetian again in 2007!
Tony Manfre
December 6, 2006 at 12:41 am
I was one of those that filled out the survey, and cannot agree more than this was by far the best AU I’ve attended and it is not based on just last year at Orlando. However I must say that AU-Online seemed easier to use and navigate last year and 2004 than it is this year. Why can’t we see the class # listed before the description of the course? I for one knew there were other classes going on that I would have wanted to attend, more so by day and class times and not so much by trying to remember the name of a class.
By the way what happened to the disk we were supposed to receive of handouts at the end of the conference? The people helping me when I completed the survey looked at me like I was from a distant planet when I asked them for it? Just wondering? Now I guess I will just have to try and fuddle through the AUONLINE posting and try and see what comes available.
December 6, 2006 at 3:13 am
I filled out the survey, and also picked up my “Certificate of Attendance” (that’s where you got the CD of the class handouts) across the way. I’m almost certain there was a pretty fair amount of “greatest ever”, etc… But I felt it was far from best ever. Scheduling was a joke. 7500 people all getting out of class at the same time meant it was a “Soylent Green” procession to the escalators. Placing the snack/coffee carts in the middle didn’t help either- everyone went to the cart and stopped. This stopped everyone behind them from getting out of the hallway leading TO the carts. And the lunch crush was worse that a PS3 line at Walmart. While the # of different classes has increased dramatically over the years, I find myself shut out of most of them. Due to the various vertical elements like Inventor, Civil3D, etc…, there are fewer “All-around Autocad” classes that I haven’t taken at previous AU’s. The AUGI ‘tips & tricks’ hasn’t really changed since 2001, and Matt Murphy can only “reveal” so much about Dynamic Blocks that hasn’t been covered at previous AU’s. The classes themselves? Great stuff most of the time and I’ve always gotten something “nuggetty” out of each class- and the instructors, for the most part, are right on the ball. But best ever? no chance. Most crowded and ill-scheduled? Absolutely. I would say that Orlando was better than this AU, even with it’s problems.
December 6, 2006 at 7:45 am
Best Ever! I think not. The halls were too crowded. The escalator “jams” were unsafe. The hotel that I was stuck in, the Flamingo, is an old run down dump. The “every 15 minute” shuttle service was not even close to every 15 minutes. How good was it to be herded into a huge room to be fed morning , noon and evening . . MOOOO. I think the size and popularity of AU has grown out of control. Maybe it’s time to split into two AU’s - east and west. . . I tried to do the survey, but the laptop kept re-starting.
Most of the classes I attended were great. I see the value of the AU experience, but I won’t bother going again until the format is changed. This was my 5th AU.
December 6, 2006 at 9:15 am
I know what you mean by those crowds and managing them better will be one of our top priorities next year. Like you, we don’t want a good thing get killed by it’s popularity. A few ideas that are floating for next years to reduce crowding:
–> Arrange schedule that not everyone goes to lunch/break at the same time.
–> Request more space and have fewer classes per floor/more spread out.
–> Perhaps have something like an AU Extension Campus in a different hotel - maybe for Powertrack.
Long term goal is to have AU’s in different locations and/or perhaps have a industry focused, more advanced level AU.
The growth of this year AU was a clear message that AU is what users want - but also that we need to scale up to manage the popularity of AU better - while maintaining the DNA of what makes AU such a great event. I am on it.
December 7, 2006 at 5:34 pm
I think having separate industry focused events would be a mistake. A lot of the Buzz is the fact that so many from varied backgrounds come together at the same time.
Perhaps not for everyone but I appreciate the chance to “cherry pick” classes across the spectrum. This year did AutoCAD, ADT, Management, Training, Revit, FM and Buzzsaw. Staggered start times could make this tricky…
December 7, 2006 at 10:56 pm
I completely agree with Loren. This was my first AU so I really have nothing to compare it to but I do know that getting around was extremely difficult. I also had the misfortune of staying in the Flamingo it would have been nice to have an option. I emailed Autodesk several times and also called a few times to try to switch to another hotel but nothing. I thought that most of the classes where great. The speakers where excellent I think that Dave Espinosa-Aguilar was the best instructor. I also filled out the survey but it did not go through the person helping with the survey said that they had to do it manually so hopefully it went through.. AU needs to do something about accommodations and organization of the overall conference for me to want to go again.
December 13, 2006 at 6:53 am
This was my first AU and I will definitely try to go back next year. I thought the Venetian did an excellent job at feeding the large crowds of people. I found the first day really crowded going for lunch, but the rest of the week i didn’t find it that bad. There was still a large crowd of people, but i never had to wait longer than 10 minutes to get my food.
I didn’t have a problem changing hotels. I was originally booked at the Flamingo and when they opened up the Treasure Island hotel, i sent an email to change hotels. I got a response back the next day that i was changed to Treasure Island.
I also think it would be a mistake to split up AU. I like the fact that I can take any courses from any of the campuses if I want.
I found the instructors, which i saw, where top notch. My only complaint with AU was the fact that there were no vest sizes larger than a small when I registered Tuesday morning. I was looking forward to wearing some AU gear when I got back home. I think that next year they should get everyone’s sizes at the time they sign up for AU. That way they would have enough correct sizes for everyone.