Barcamp 101: Everything about Barcamps on one page

As co-organizer of the syscamp.north I was asked how to communicate the rule to the participants on the day of the event in an understandable way. I assumed that surely someone had already put something like this together. However, I couldn't find anything suitable. I would therefore like to present Barcamp 101 here: A checklist and list of rules for Barcamp participants. It is compactly explained on one page:

• What a Barcamp is
• How a Barcamp works
• How to set good topics
• How to moderate a session

The list may be used under the Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 4.0) can be used or extended. Suggestions for improvement are welcome in the comments section. These will then be incorporated promptly.

Download Barcamp 101 >>

What rules already exist

First rule: You talk about the Barcamp

Sure, there are barcamp rules. Many are based on the rules of Fight Club:

• 1st Rule: You do talk about BarCamp.
• 2nd Rule: You do blog about BarCamp.
• 3rd Rule: ...

Or they are very concise summaries, such as The golden barcamp rules.

Second rule: You blog about the Barcamp

Barcamp 101 should be seen as a supplement to the many helpful materials that already exist.

Barcamps in engineering

Barcamps have been around for many years. The Systems Engineering Barcamp, which I have already reported on, has also been around for some time. But it feels like a lot has happened this year. On the one hand, the SE Barcamp was handed over to the GfSE, and on the other, a bouquet of related Barcamps was created, such as the Functional Safety Barcamp and the Requirements Engineering Barcamp.

We can only speculate as to why this is the case. On the one hand, it may simply have to do with the fact that the format has reached a critical mass: Enough people know about it, of these there are enough who have the energy to set up their own barcamp, which in turn attracts more interested people.

However, it could also be that barcamps simply satisfy a need that did not exist a few years ago. In particular, barcamps allow people to think outside the box, which is difficult to achieve with other formats. I am referring in particular to cross-company professional discussions.

Only the Barcamp allows systematic cross-company professional discussion [tweetthis]Only the Barcamp allows systematic cross-company professional discussion[/tweetthis]

In traditional conferences, communication is primarily one-way, from the lecturer to the audience. Although there is also a professional exchange during the breaks, this only happens on an ad hoc basis and only in very small groups. At a barcamp, on the other hand, there is the opportunity to choose the specialist discussion. The groups are also much larger.

I have observed that conferences address these issues. For example, the breaks are relatively long these days. Furthermore World Cafés or workshops are organized. However, these tend to be fringe events, whereas the focus of the barcamp is on the exchange of ideas.

What I am still missing

After every Barcamp, I take a lot of good ideas with me. Unfortunately, these also disappear again quite quickly. That's why I've gotten into the habit of publishing a summary of the results of my own Barcamp sessions. I think it's a shame how much good knowledge that has been acquired doesn't last. It is of course difficult to mobilize people to do this. Not many people like to write.

The next dates

This year also saw the start of another format, the clustering of barcamps. This year there was a two-part series on functional safety and requirements engineering. A series of three is planned for next year, on functional safety, requirements engineering and systems engineering.

A new format: Barcamp clusters [tweetthis]A new format: Barcamp clusters[/tweetthis]

Here is the list of the barcamps I know about engineering:

• 17./18.11.2016 - edaBarCamp: Electronic Design Automation (Hanover)
• 19.11.2016 - Modeling Craftsmanship Camp (Hanover)
• 03.12.2016 - Systems Engineering Camp North (Hamburg)
• 23.02.2017 - Functional Safety Barcamp (Munich)
• 24.02.2017 - Requirements Engineering Barcamp (Munich)
• 25.02.2017 - Systems Engineering Barcamp (Munich)

I am sure that we will see a lot more barcamp activities in the coming years.