This was my second year attending and speaking at DynamicsCon Live, and it truly didn’t disappoint!

Here are 8 takeaways I’m bringing home with me from this event:

1. When in doubt, bring a little “Chaotic Good” to your session

I had this idea for introducing rubber ducky debugging during my session on “Choosing the Right Reporting Tool for the Job” to keep attendees engaged and equip them with a tangible problem-solving tool to take home. I giddily made a bulk order for an armada of tiny, adorable rubber ducks with the idea that I could toss to them people who asked or answered questions during the session.

The idea alone made me giggle, and I figured that playing chuck-a-duck would be a good way to fight the late afternoon doldrums that come with a 4:00 PM session, when many attendees would already be resisting the urge to go take a nap.

All the way up to my presentation, I second guessed this idea and worried it would fall flat. I wondered if throwing tiny rubber ducks might be an insurance issue (what if I beamed someone in the eye?)

Despite all my fears, people seemed to really enjoy it! Was it a bit chaotic? 100%–my aim is mediocre at best, but! I had more a great time presenting, and I think the attendees enjoyed the session more as well.

This audience participation strategy definitely passed the test …and since I’ve got about 170 more rubber ducks to distribute at future sessions, that’s a very good thing.

(LinkedIn Image https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jamiewillisrose_powerbi-dynamicsconlive-dc-activity-7196280015322259456-nrms)

2. Power Automate Desktop is a thing! And it’s free!

Every time I’ve leveraged Power Automate, it’s been on the cloud; I had no idea there was a free desktop version—how amazing that you can leverage automation on desktop to cut down on the repetitive stuff for zero extra dollars!

Dynamic duo Kylie and Andrew Kiser went full-on DND for their session on Power Automate Desktop, but you can (and should!) also check out their how-to presentation on YouTube if you missed it. Wield Power Automate to Slay Your Dragon-sized Projects – April 2024 Washington, DC User Group (youtube.com)

3. Everyone deals with little “Gremlins” in their systems

Amanda Meyer presented on D365 BC during my first session on room monitor duty. D365 BC isn’t a tool I’ve had many reasons to learn about, so my ears perked up when she noted her own particular “gremlin” (i.e., recurring bugginess) when plugging in the general posting type.

Working in tech, we know there will always be little funky bits that we need to be aware of and work around, at least until they’re fixed in a future product release. I find it oddly comforting that we’re all fighting an occasional system glitch.

4. Conference Wi-Fi is a myth: plan accordingly

Conference Wi-Fi is notoriously iffy, despite the best efforts of conference organizers and hosts alike. In a way, this is a symptom of a very good thing: DynamicsCon Live had record attendance this year. Our enthusiasm just means we gave the Wi-Fi the hug of death.

If you’re presenting, your session (and your nerves) will really benefit from a “Murphy’s Law” preparation approach.

Here are a few of my strategies for thwarting Murphy’s law:

• Assume that the internet will fail. Record and embed any demos directly in your Power Point presentation (not sure how to do this? I wrote up instructions here on my blog). Take screenshots of any online pages rather than hoping they webpages will load as expected.

• Rely on presentation tools you already know will work. Sometimes the room has a presentation clicker that syncs easily with your computer, and sometimes it’s missing, out of batteries, or requires your laptop to refresh just when your presentation is about to start. I just bring my own dedicated clicker and test it in my hotel room beforehand to avoid any headaches. It’s better.

• Save a backup of my presentation on a thumb drive, just in case something horrible happens to my computer and I need to present on a loaner.

• Fully charge my laptop before the presentation and plugging in my laptop anyway, just in case.

Excessive? Maybe, but Murphy can be a wily jerk; I do what I can to minimize what can go pear-shaped.

And if you’re just trying to sneak in a few meetings along with the conference…maybe schedule them for the following week instead. A hotspot works in a pinch, but it’s still a hassle to juggle work meetings and deadlines between so many worthwhile sessions and events.

5. Some documentation on Microsoft Learn is crowd sourced (which means you can help make it better!)

Have you ever noticed that little pencil at the top of an article on Microsoft Learn?

That’s Microsoft inviting you to add your input and guidance to the article, a bit like with Wikipedia. Not all articles have that little pencil opening the door for you to recommend updates, but when they do, clicking on the pencil icon will take you to GitHub where you can contribute your recommendations. If your recommendations are accepted, you’ll be listed as a contributor, which is pretty cool

Full credit to Chris Gibbs, who clued me into this lesser-known fact about Microsoft Learn.

6. TechFluent is amazing; you should absolutely volunteer with them (and/or give them money)

For the uninitiated, TechFluent is a mostly volunteer-run nonprofit that helps individuals in under-resourced communities so they can find their path in the Microsoft tech community. I’ve been a fan of TechFluent for a while, and I was proud to learn that Caf2Code was a sponsor for TechFluent’s first gala!

From Left: Caf2Coders Lenore Flower, Lauren Wooll and Brittany Burke at the TechFluent Gala

Beyond feeling genuinely inspired by the speakers at the gala, which included a few of TechFluent’s recent graduates, I learned that TechFluent is growing fast and needs our support to scale their impact up to 100 TechFluent students this year. While you can sign up to be a trainer or mentor, they also have less demanding volunteer opportunities that can fit into any busy schedule, such as volunteering a few hours to review resumes. And like any nonprofit, they could always use more financial contributions to support their efforts!

You can join me in signing up as a TechFluent volunteer here:
Apply for an Open Volunteer Leadership Positions | Techfluent Academy
If you’re slammed and can’t commit your time, consider making a donation instead:
www.techfluentacademy.org

7. Even experts say “I don’t know”—and that’s a beautiful thing.

I love hearing a session presenter say “I don’t know” unapologetically when responding to a question! Often, they’ll follow it up with “but here’s someone who probably would” and suggesting another person’s blog, which is also very helpful. The main appeal to me, however, is the permission it gives everyone else to feel OK about their own knowledge gaps.

The Microsoft ecosystem is perpetually growing and changing—even Microsoft MVPs need to narrow their focus to avoid knowledge overload. We’re all allowed to not know things—and approaching that not-knowing with curiosity makes room for excitement and growth that can otherwise get crowded out by guilt or shame.

8. DynamicsCon Live will be at the Hyatt Regency in CHICAGO next year from May 13th-16th

There are so many things to be excited about for next year’s conference, but I’m personally most thrilled about the conference being in the backyard of our very own DynamicsCon Newbie Award-winner, Madeline Merced!

Practically-speaking, that means that I have about 360 days to work on my superhero-themed conference wardrobe in preparation for next years’ event, which might be just enough preparation time to give Mary Myer’s famous tiaras and tutus a run for her money.

Either way, I can’t wait to be back next year for DynamicsCon Live!