Let me begin by apologizing for the late posting of my World Congress for Business Analysts review. That said, my first trip to a Project World event was very positive overall.

Tuesday:
When I arrived in Orlando on Tuesday night (11/15) I proceeded directly to the Disney "Magic Express Bus" without collecting my checked bags as I had been instructed to do. I was told that the nice folks at Disney would collect my checked bags for me and deliver them directly to my room. It never occurred to me that they would deliver my bags to my room 4 hours after I checked in (Around 2:30am).

Wednesday:
Up at 6am and a bit grumpy...  :-b
I clean up and head to the monorail that will take me from the Polynesian Hotel to the Contemporary Hotel. 5 minutes and I've arrived. Wednesday is focused on a series of all day workshops. My employer, CC Pace, delivers a workshop on Agile Project Management that exceeds the capacity of the room and results in a fire marshal warning to keep the exits clear. The popularity of the workshop resonates through the rest of the week.

Thursday:
While most attendees move from speaker to speaker, I spend the day manning the booth we have set up in the main exhibit hall. The popularity of the Agile Project Management workshop results in healthy traffic to our booth. I rarely found myself standing ideal without anyone to speak with. By the end of the day I?m wishing we hadn?t scheduled dinner with a few folks we hope to do business with. However, I was re-energized at the success of the dinner meeting and found myself heading out to Disney Downtown (The adult part of Disney) for drinks with like minded folks.

Friday:
I arrive back at my room around 7am for a quick shower before returning to the booth for our last day. 3 Espressos and I?m ready to work the booth until 2pm. I barely made it to my plane before collapsing and falling asleep. The absence of strange looks from others tells me I didn?t snore all the way back to DC.

My personal story aside, the event seem to be a big success for most and both Lean and Agile seem to be a hot topic among project managers and business analyst alike.