It’s crazy for me to think the OpenStack Summit is over now. All the planning which goes into making the event happen and then, just like that, it’s over before you even know it. I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on my own experiences and memories before they become faded.

The Good⌗

Without question, the event staff did a tremendous job. The venue was perfect. Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. The location was prime, with beautiful views. Everything about the actual event went smoothly, from the keynotes to the conference sessions to the design summit sessions. Overall, a superb conference. My hat goes off to those who spent months planning and organizing for this, it really showed.

The Bad⌗

I was exhausted by the end of the week. I did pickup a cold, but even without that it’s hard to work for 5 days straight from 6AM until late into the evening. I wish I had more time to spend 1:1 with people while at these events as well. The face time is very valuable, but there are just so many people it becomes challenging. You really need to fight hard to get time with the people you need to see.

The Ugly⌗

It’s hard for me to say the Neutron Design Summit sessions were useful for much. We still have a problem where we attract upwards of 200+ people to each session. Even worse, I scheduled us with some working group rooms (which hold about 25 people or so) to try and make progress on some issues. But even there, we ended up with 100+ people in the room, stacked three deep sitting on the floor. My takeaway is that in the future we should only use fishbowl rooms for Neutron sessions.

But even by only choosing fishbowl rooms I remain unconvinced of the usefulness of design summit sessions with that many people in them. While it would be great to resolve things face to face and make decisions, the reality is we instead use the time to allow people to showcase their ideas. It’s less useful, but it turns out to be the best use of the space and time. This has been the case for years now for the Neutron design summit sessions.

Looking to the Future⌗

I was recharged with my love for all things OpenStack after last week. It’s easy to get down on things, especially working remote, with so many things pulling you in so many directions. But seeing what a great community exists in person is enough to make you fall in love with something all over again. This was the case for me. Specifically in Neutron, we have a vibrant group of contributors. I continue to be proud to lead this team. The Summit made me even more excited to continue allowing them all to make progress as we strive to make Neutron better from all angles.