Connections Sessions Evals

I’ve kind of been embarassed to post these despite the fact that I received them a couple of weeks ago. Overall, I’d say they’re very good, and I’m quite proud of them, but one comment still has me upset. Anyway, here we go:

DMV’s For Performance Tuning (same session as PASS): 7 responses

Q1. Speaker’s knowledge of topic
Your average score for this session: 4.0
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.74
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.0

Q2. Speaker’s presentation skills
Your average score for this session: 3.86
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.47
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.0

Q3. Content of Speaker’s slides/visual aids
Your average score for this session: 3.86
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.48
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.5

Q4. Speaker’s ability to control discussions and keep session moving
Your average score for this session: 3.86
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.53
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.33

Q5. Accuracy of session description
Your average score for this session: 4.0
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.5
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.33

Q6. Overall evaluation of this session
Your average score for this session: 4.0
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.5
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.25

Comments:
• I loved the session. Excellent information presented in a “fun” format.

My comments? What’s not to like? I love how you see the highest speaker score, the average speaker score and the lowest speaker score. This really allows you to place yourself in context to the other speakers (PASS, please take note).  Based on this, the only area that I think I need work is on controlling discussions… except I really like to have more discussions, so I’ll just have to watch the balance on this one.

Scouting Out Execution Plans: 18 responses

Q1. Speaker’s knowledge of topic
Your average score for this session: 4.0
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.74
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.0

Q2. Speaker’s presentation skills
Your average score for this session: 3.83
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.47
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.0

Q3. Content of Speaker’s slides/visual aids
Your average score for this session: 3.82
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.48
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.5

Q4. Speaker’s ability to control discussions and keep session moving
Your average score for this session: 3.72
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.53
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.33

Q5. Accuracy of session description
Your average score for this session: 3.88
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.5
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.33

Q6. Overall evaluation of this session
Your average score for this session: 3.88
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.5
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.25

Comments:
• Good session and overview of Performance Point.
• Please have Grant back next year!
• Great examples. Hope these are part of the slides that we will have access to. One of the best sessions at the conference.

Again, I’m pleased as punch by the evals and the comments. Assuming it’s not the week after the PASS Summit again, yes, please have me back next year. I think at least one eval here was mislabeled. Performance Point? Again, comparing my ability to control sessions with the average & max, I can work on this a bit. Now for the embarassment.

More Unnecessary Query Tuning: 16 Evals

Q1. Speaker’s knowledge of topic
Your average score for this session: 3.94
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.74
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.0

Q2. Speaker’s presentation skills
Your average score for this session: 3.69
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.47
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.0

Q3. Content of Speaker’s slides/visual aids
Your average score for this session: 3.56
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.48
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.5

Q4. Speaker’s ability to control discussions and keep session moving
Your average score for this session: 3.69
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.53
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.33

Q5. Accuracy of session description
Your average score for this session: 3.5
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.5
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.33

Q6. Overall evaluation of this session
Your average score for this session: 3.63
Highest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 4.0
Mean average score (all SQL speakers for this question): 3.5
Lowest score (all SQL speakers for this question): 2.25

Comments
• Very rude to participants.
• Good focus on useful topics.
• Hope you feel better, Grant.
• Clear examples that illustrated the problems and solutions.
• Great examples of common pitfalls to watch out for before there is a problem.

Very rude. This could be three things, only two that are under my control. I did actually have to walk out of this session, right in the middle of it for about 2 minutes because I was physically unwell (and that’s all I’m going to say). If that was how I was rude, I’m sorry, but things happen. But, maybe it was because I joke with audience. I talk about cowboy developers and hyper-control freak DBA’s and stupid support calls, really ignorant management decisions, nHibernate & Oracle. I make fun of all of them. Lastly, it could have been this topic. I’m calling your baby ugly in this one. I’m telling you that using NOLOCK hints, DISTINCT operators, WHILE loops & CURSORS, and any number of other silly crutches are hurting your performance and making it necessary to tune queries when they should just be written correctly to begin with. It’s one of these three. If it’s one of the two I can control, I’d sure like to do better. I’m frankly bothered by this.

This was my lowest eval of the three and I’m just bummed because I put the most work into this session. Still, it appears it was helpful for the majority of the audience, so I’d say it was successful, but that “rude” comment stings a bit.

That was my Connections conference. I did enjoy presenting there and I hope I get invited another time. I mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again, having the high, low & average so that you can compare your performance to others really makes these much more useful.

6 thoughts on “Connections Sessions Evals

  • Please don’t take the odd negative comment too much to heart; I was at the session (although I missed the illness incident due to a long coffee queue on the way in). I heard nothing that I’d consider remotely rude. It was a great session, full of excellent technical content, and delivered with energy, passion and humour. Long may it continue!

    Tony.

  • I would chalk it up to somebody taking offence where none was intended. If none was intended and offence was taken – then let it be on that persons head. Also, you were in Vegas for the conference. Shouldn’t what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas? 🙂

    Bad Code Rude Comments

  • scarydba

    Thanks Tony. Means a lot coming from you. I know I’m hung on a single statement and probably that one eval pulled down the average, but we get so little feedback on these things… it’s hard not to obsess just a bit.

  • I’ve got to admit that I would be upset by a comment that I was “very rude”. I’d also be upset at the commenter because they did not tell me what I did that was rude. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what it was.

    Like Tony and Jason said I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in that single comment especially since all the other comments were positive for that session and all the other sessions.

  • scarydba

    Classic problem with evals. Not enough information to help you improve. I usually fill mine out, but I think I’m going to concentrate on detailed notes from now on. Give the presenter three sentences that actually say… something.

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