Digitising the Web Summit’s Network

Background Context

Over a 4 day period in November, 80,000 people gather in the dome in Lisbon to connect, network and share ideas. While the founder had grandiose notions of leveraging data science to engineer the serendipity that arises at this conference, and incorporating graphic design to make the experience all feel cohesive, there was a blindspot for how both design and data science could be valuable for the team producing the conference, as well as the guests.

What I did

Having a unique perspective and regularly pressure filled position, I came to realise how much of the system had breaks and leaks in it, and that this was due to inefficient and out of date information circulation infrastructure. I mapped out all the things that each of the teams, sent to all of the types of people, and presented this in an analog format to the then CEO of web summit. Having had no experience building digital products, I supported and learned from a CPO, an agile coach, and team of engineers in building the V1 of what we envisioned to become a white-labellable intelligent operating system for the conference. We specced a two way communications platform to sit between web summit curators and web summit attendees, investors, partners and administrators.

What the outcome was

What I learned

• You’d be surprised how much stuff that should be automated, still isn’t

• You’d be terrified to know how much is dependent on human input aka just how fragile the systems upon which societies operate are

• Founders who care, matter

• What it feels like to be WILDLY out of your depth

• Small chunks vs small versions.