How to Navigate SAS Global Forum: Part 1 - There's an app for that

[gmbaker]

Hello all,

The conference committee and SAS Global Forum teams thought it might be helpful to offer a 'How to navigate the conference' series here as you prepare for your time in Dallas. Someone from our teams will be posting weekly with information that will hopefully help #SASGF attendees make the most of their conference experience with ease. Please chime in with your additional tips and tricks each week.

Part One: There's an app for that!

SAS Global Forum attendees to the Users Program and Partner Forum received an email today announcing that the conference mobile app is ready to be downloaded. The current state of the app includes sessions, conference resources, new features like Escape Rooms and Lunchtime Chats, and so much more. And that's not all of it. More updates will be made in the coming weeks as we approach the conference. 

Please refer to your attendee communication from March 20 for instructions to download the app. The biggest functionality is the ability to build your personalized agendas into the My Agenda icon. There are hundreds of sessions just in the Users Program. Be sure to use the filters in the Users Program Sessions icon to find the right sessions for you. Then once you see the session and description, you easily can click on the + to add it to My Agenda. 

And new this year, thanks to the conference content teams, is a filter for Sample Agendas that offers 28 different agendas that have identified a sampling of sessions by topic or role to help you get started. 

What other tips do you offer to those that may be building their #SASGF agenda for the first time?

[SAS_DataRich]

I love having an app that allows me to build my own schedule.  I always double, triple (and sometimes quadruple) book myself to attend sessions.  This allows me to figure out where I need to go in case a session I want to see is already full and I can't get in the room.  By overbooking myself I have the next session ready at my finger tips.  I also use it as reminder for me to go back and pull those papers so I can read them on my own after the conference is over.

[LoriGoldman]

I'm starting to use the app.  I have some feedback.

I see that the Monday and Tuesday networking events (Happy Hour and Kickback) appear in My Schedule, but the Sunday events, Opening Session and Welcome Reception aren't there, yet.  I'm sure they'll show up eventually 🙂 

It would also be nice if the Quad Hours could be made to show up in My Schedule as well. 

Thanks,

Lori

[gmbaker]

Thanks for the feedback @LoriGoldman. 

Yes, the other General Sessions are going to be automatically applied to all calendars in the coming week or so. 

At this time the app platform does not allow The Quad hours to be added since The Quad is systematically not a session. But good news. You can add personal time to your calendar and add those hours in by clicking on the + sign in the upper corner of the My Agenda icon. 

Hope that helps. Keep the feedback coming. 

[LoriGoldman]

@gmbaker - since you asked ...

When I registered for the conference, I used my work email, but I was also able to enter another email to get communication as well.  I believe that was set up in case someone else was doing the booking for someone.  But for me it represents my work and home email.

When you set up the app, you are sent a code to the primary email used when registering for the con.  For me it was my work email.  I was trying to set up the app at home at night and had to wait to the next day when I was at the office to get the code so I could get in. I tried entering my home email that I also used when registering for the con, but it did not work.

I don't have 2 cell phones. I only have a personal phone and my work email is not on it.  If I need to restart the app while at the con and get a new code, I will be locked out of the app if there is no other way to receive the code.  Can we enter a cell # in our app profile and have it texted? Or allow the email to be sent to a choice of email addresses?  

Is there something that can be done before the con?

Thanks,

Lori

[TBarker]

Gail,

I don't see the filter for Sample Agendas. Are they not in the app yet?

[gmbaker]

When you open Users Program Sessions, do you not see Sample Agendas as the second option? If not, switch out of the event and back in as there have been some updates.

[TBarker]

Aha! I was looking under the daily session filters, not under the main menu for Users Program Sessions. It is indeed there, along with many other session filters. Thank you!