Kim Peterson Shares the Inside Scoop on GPUG Summit 2014

This week, I had the opportunity to chat with GPUG Program Director Kim Peterson about the upcoming GPUG Summit 2014.  This year’s event – slated for October 14-17 in St. Louis, MO – will be the 8th annual conference for the Dynamics GP User Group. 

Michelle Spitzer (MS): Let’s just get right to it: why should Dynamics GP users come to St. Louis this October? What makes GPUG Summit so special?

Kim Peterson (KP): It’s a coffee shop experience – social and purposeful. Users come together to learn from one another and willingly share their experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly – to help each other learn at a deeper level about Dynamics GP.  GPUG Summit offers boutique-type content – rather than high-level sessions, we dig deep into the different functional areas of the software.  You will learn about what tool to use for what from a user’s experience, how to build reports, what add ons work for what and the list goes on!

The networking also sets it apart from other events.  Every one of the more than 850 folks we’re expecting at this year’s event are from the Dynamics GP community, so you know that every person you bump into or sit next to walks in your shoes every day.  We make a concerted effort to help connect folks with similar interests…for example, we turn our meals into networking opportunities – one day you’ll sit with attendees who live near you and another day you’ll be seated with others who share an interest in a specific Dynamics GP topic. 

MS: You mentioned the sessions.  How many are on tap for this year’s event?

KP: We’ve topped the 200 mark and will have around 210 sessions in St. Louis.  We’ve got about 120 different speakers preparing content –we have a lot of new voices and new ideas coming from these great presenters! Our Summit planning committee has done an awesome job of putting together fresh sessions – of the 210 planned, only about 20 of them have ever been presented at GPUG Summit in the past.  

MS: 210 sessions is a lot of content to pull together – how do you come up with the sessions?

KP:    We have an outstanding planning committee made up of GPUG members – users and subject matter experts who live and breathe Dynamics GP day in and day out.  These folks are active in GPUG all year, so they’re always engaging with fellow users, participating in interactive webinars, meeting face to face at Chapter meetings.  We use all of these opportunities to understand what’s trending amongst Dynamics GP users, what the important topics are, which webinar topics draw the highest attendance and get the best feedback.  Pam Misialek – Product Manager for Dynamics GP - is a great friend of GPUG who helps contribute session ideas and content, and we always come home from Convergence with a notebook full of ideas that we’ve gathered from Dynamics GP folks.  We combine all of this insight with a formal Call for Proposals to put together a stellar session lineup for GPUG Summit. 

MS:   What are some of those trending topics that attendees can expect to learn about in St. Louis?

KP: Dynamics GP 2015 is scheduled to be released in December, and attendees will have a chance to see a first glimpse of the new release and start to prepare for that.  We have content on Dynamics GP 2015 and a track dedicated to upgrading.  There’s a lot of interest in BI and reporting, as many organizations are making the switch from FRx, so we’ll have plenty of coverage in these areas – we have 3 breakout rooms dedicated to reporting throughout the event.  We’ve also heard a lot of chatter around analytical accounting and grant management, so we’ve added these two new topics that have never had much coverage at GPUG Summit in the past.  In total, we have 14 different tracks including BI, Reporting, Financial, HR/PR, IT Professional, GP Admin, Tool Time, Industry, Strategic, New to GP, Upgrades, Partner Showcases, Leadership, and Grab Bag (those sessions that just don’t fit neatly into another track!).

MS: I know one of the main goals of GPUG Summit is for folks to go home with answers to their specific questions and solutions that they can implement right away.  How do you achieve this?

KP: It’s woven into everything we do…from helping folks get connected to others in their role, their industry, others who think like them – to structuring the sessions to cater to a specific role, topic, industry or level of expertise.  We have a wide range of Dynamics GP users – from newbies to seasoned vets – so we’ve placed a focus this year on providing sessions for all levels of expertise, including beginner, proficient, and expert-level sessions.  If you take a look at the session line up on the website, you’ll notice you can also sort by role to really get at those sessions that are designed specifically for you.  The interactive nature of the sessions also lend themselves to better learning – we have ’50 Tips in 50 Minutes’ sessions in almost every track for rapid-fire learning; ‘Wisdom While You Walk’ sessions that pair up like-minded folks; How2 sessions that lead you step-by-step through a process; Ask the Expert sessions to address specific questions.  Also, new this year are our ‘GP Medics’ who will be stationed in The Hub….we’ll have subject matter experts on hand just waiting to answer your questions – it’s free support!

MS: This is your 4th Summit as the GPUG Program Director.  What are you most excited about, personally?

KP: GPUG Summit is like a family reunion.  We have members that have been coming to GPUG Summit for years and there really are strong friendships within the community.  I’m also excited about some of the ways we’re welcoming newbies and first-time attendees.  GPUG Collaborate – our online community - has helped make some warm virtual introductions and I know that folks are looking forward to meeting fellow members face-to-face that they’ve been interacting with via the discussion forums.  We have some mentoring activities planned for St. Louis to help connect newer folks with Summit veterans to help them better understand how to get value out of GPUG and GPUG Summit.  We have a lot of new first-time, yet experienced, Summit presenters.  For me, that is one of the most rewarding parts of my job…watching our members grow both personally and professionally, and giving them an avenue to share their expertise with their peers.  I can’t wait!

You can learn more about GPUG Summit 2014 and register at www.gpugsummit.com.  Experience It!