Information for Submitters

bpmNEXT is about seeing BPM technology in action, doing something worth doing, and doing it live on stage.  It doesn’t have to be shrink-wrapped and ready to ship, but it needs to demo well.  We only have around 20 presentation slots, so selection is competitive.  Submission is a two-step process.

Submission Process – Step 1

The first step is a text description of the submission, using the form provided on this site.  In addition to basic contact information, Step 1 is essentially the elevator pitch, similar to what you might see at a startup-oriented event for VCs: 1) What problem are you trying to solve, and why is this important?  2) What will users be able to do with the help of your offering?  3) What is especially innovative or otherwise noteworthy about your implementation or approach to the problem?  4) How and in what form do you expect to make the offering available?

Step 1 submissions are open now.  An individual or organization may make any number of submissions.  Just make sure you provide a separate form for each submission.

Submission Process – Step 2

Around October, 2012, we will select a list of finalists from the list of Step 1 submissions.  Finalists will be invited to submit a narrated screencam video, 5-10 minutes in length, essentially an early version of the final presentation at the event.  The first couple minutes should provide the elevator pitch as in Step 1.  The rest of it should demonstrate the technology or offering in action.  If some aspect of the functionality is not real but simulated in the video, you must indicate that clearly in the submission.

Submitters will use their own resources to host the video on one of the oEmbed-compatible websites listed below.  oEmbed is a format that works well with the WordPress platform used by the bpmNEXT website.

The deadline for submissions is tentatively scheduled for November 30. This is almost 5 months in advance of bpmNEXT, so we understand that the submission may not be as complete as the real thing.  But the submission cannot just be a proposal for future development.  It has to be working in some form or fashion.

Guidelines for Submitters

We expect more submissions than we will have time for at the event, so making a compelling submission is important.  Two elements in each submission are critical.  First is the elevator pitch: why is this important?  what problem does it solve in a new or better way?  who needs it, and why?  That should be the first 20% or so.  The rest of it should show the demo in action.  You probably will not have enough time to explain how you did it, or the technical architecture.  If it includes a design tool, you won’t have time to show how everything is configured to do the magic that comes next.  The key thing is a demo that makes us believe that it works, and really does represent something new and different, useful and  cool, and important to the next generation of BPM.