I stated in my previous blog about the value and benefits of volunteering that SAS Global Forum is designed to bring users with questions together with users with know-how. This goal is accomplished primarily in breakout and ePoster presentations. During his keynote address at SAS Global Forum 2014, Futurist Thornton May described and demonstrated how to make presentations more interesting and engaging by interacting with the audience.

Beginning in Dallas this April, SAS Global Forum will act on Thornton May’s advice by organizing additional opportunities for users with questions to query users with know-how. The all new Table Talk sessions are intimate, round-table discussions among a dozen or so participants. Table Talk presenters are subject matter experts who will open and facilitate discussions important to all those attending.

This format recognizes and leverages the fact that a user with a question and a user with know-how are often the same person. This concept reminds me of the franchise hardware stores in Canada called Home Hardware. Their tag line is “Home owners helping home owners.” Sharing the objective of the ever-popular Code Doctors, I am excited that Table Talks are all about SAS users helping SAS users.

Here are three SAS Global Forum 2015 Table Talk sessions that I am personally interested in. Many more are scheduled so be sure to look for them in the Session Catalog and add one or two to your schedule.

2760       Agile Analytics 

Lead by Ryan McNaught, Matthew Lawrence and John Berg of Slalom Consulting

This Table Talk discussion details how to apply Agile to analytics development. At the end of our discussion, you will understand how Agile can be used for both descriptive and predictive analytics in a very similar process. The Agile Development Lifecycle (ADLC) was first used for developing software. Agile reduces misunderstandings and incorrect assumptions that lead to developing unnecessary software features, a problem that permeates many organizations’ use of analytics. The concept of software features is replaced by analytic questions answered. Cause and effect diagramming drives what data to include in modeling. Data sets grow with each sprint and data is prioritized based on value and availability. Models go through many more iterations than with other approaches and the users tend to understand the final result much better. The final models tend to more closely align with the questions that drive the most value for the user.

1753    Handling Sticky Situations      

Lead by Stephanie Thompson of Datamum

Have you ever been asked to perform an analysis for which you were presented with the expected outcome? What about analyzing personnel data to help with salary negotiations or promotions? Report on metrics that can’t be measured? These and other scenarios will be discussed in an effort to help you as an analyst perform your task while also making it meaningful and ethical.

2509    Real-World Applications Using SAS® Metadata DICTIONARY Tables and SASHELP Views 

Lead by Kirk Paul Lafler of Software Intelligence Corporation

SAS® users can easily and quickly access metadata content with a number of read-only SAS data sets called DICTIONARY tables or SASHELP views. During a SAS session, information (or metadata) about system options, library references, table names, column names and attributes, formats, indexes, and more can be accessed. This Table Talk opens up discussion about SAS metadata applications using DICTIONARY tables and SASHELP views.

I look forward to meeting you at one of the Table Talks in Dallas.