There are also Registration FAQs with information about invoicing and the refund policy.

What’s this all about?

LAST exists to raise the levels of people who create digital products and services. We do this through in-person events and online learning opportunities. 2024 will be the sixth time the event will be held in Sydney. There are also versions in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide.

In 2024-25, we are focusing on Building Digital Products and Services in The Age of AI.

We have grown from grass-roots, collaborative, practitioner origins in the meetup community, with people from small and large organisations, and a wide range of industries participating. The primary audience is drawn from the communities in Sydney, although you’re also welcome if you are from elsewhere. The event will be participatory, and collaborative. Workshops, activities, and discussions are favoured ahead of one person speaking at the front of the room in front of a slide deck.

Our Principles

Our guiding principles are:

• Increase knowledge, understanding and capability.
• Provide affordable, accessible, and valuable in-person and online learning opportunities.
• Involve our community as session leaders, content creators and local organisers.

Why LAST?

LAST stands for “Lean, Agile, Systems Thinking”. We focus on people in all types of job roles, who work on developing digital products and services.

Our day was inspired by the Agile Tour, the inaugural Australian instance was held in December 2011, in Sydney. The organisers of LAST in Melbourne, thought that their community could really benefit from something similar, and so LAST Conference was born. Here’s Ed’s writeup of that event. He also explains “Why I started LAST Conference”.

What is the Diversity Charter?

This charter is for event organisers, speakers, individuals, employers, sponsors and venues, and was founded by Emily Webber. By signing the charter, we publicly committed to doing what we can to increase diversity. This includes engaging with groups in the community to encourage as wide a range of submissions to the conference as possible. We also provide support for people who may not otherwise have the confidence/experience to facilitate a session.

Do you have a Code of Conduct?

Yes. We want to create a safe and inclusive event for the participants. Read our Community Code of Conduct.

Who’s organising it?

LAST grew from the Agile and Lean community in Melbourne that holds regular evening user group events throughout the year. Colleagues in Sydney and Brisbane also wanted to run their own flavour of LAST Conference. Tabar, are the organising sponsors of LAST Melbourne, and they also support the local organisers in other cities. Tabar is a group of agile practitioners who provide coaching, training and consulting services…and events!

For Sydney 2024, David Martin, Gareth Bowell, Ed Wong and James Harris, are leading the organisation of the event, along with others in the local agile community.

Who should come?

The event is aimed at people of all levels who want to level up their skills by learning from peers, and for those who want to share their experiences with others in an inclusive, collaborative, and interactive environment.

We are interested in topics that contribute to this. A sample (but not exhaustive) list of topics could include:

• Product management
• technology developments (e.g AI)
• digital “transformation
• modern Systems Thinking
• workplace change
• software and product development
• user and customer experience
• leadership and management
• organisational design and strategy
• project management and process improvement
• innovation and creativity

This may include but is not limited to: Developers, Product Managers, Business Analysts, Product Owners, Designers, UX Designers, Iteration Managers, Testers, Scrum Masters, CTOs, Project Managers, Trainers and Coaches. Technical and non-technical practitioners are welcome.

Should I come if I’m a beginner?

We want to be more inclusive and help people with a wide range of knowledge to level up their skills and understanding. Don’t be afraid to ask and learn from others.

Submission Process

What is the submission process and structure of the event?

LAST Conference is a place where the community can gather and exchange ideas and experiences. We encourage people who haven’t “spoken” at many/any events to contribute a session idea. You will be able to receive support on our Slack channel and through some other initiatives that are planned in the lead-up to the event.

Although a main focus for this year is how we work with AI, we are also open to topics that are focused on other things.

We will start announcing the sessions for the day in August. We encourage activities and workshops, as well as talks, about real-world experiences (both positive and problematic).

We will build the schedule iteratively, adding sessions if great new ideas come in or if there is a gap that needs to be filled.

Be as detailed as possible in your submission, as this will help you to refine your idea in your own mind, help the content curation team select your session, and allow people who are coming to LAST to decide that they want to come and participate in your session/s. Having said that, Session leaders are also free to alter their session in the lead-up to the event if they need to.

Can I come from interstate or overseas? Will you pay my travel costs?

As we are focused on the local community, we don’t expect people to travel from interstate or overseas to participate, although you are welcome if you choose to come. As LAST is an event with low registration prices, we need to keep overheads low. Therefore, we generally do not reimburse travel and accommodation or pay a fee to session leaders/speakers.

Be as detailed as possible in your submission, as this will help you to refine your idea in your own mind, help the content curation team select your session, and allow people who are coming to LAST to decide that they want to come and participate in your session/s.

Interpret the brief widely. Pitch us your ideas.

The submission process is open until the end of July, with the schedule being released in August.

Registration

When will Registration open?

Registration is now open. Previous events have sold out weeks before the date, so it’s best to get in quick. Once full, please join the waiting list, and if any spots become available, they will be released to the waiting list first.

Please read these Registration FAQs to understand the process, such as invoicing and the refund policy.

On the day

Will there be stress balls/t-shirts/bags/schwag/tchotchke?

Not really. Our view is that there is too much tchotchke at a typical conference, so we aren’t having very much, if any. We want to focus on communication, interactions and value rather than schwag.

If you have a lanyard holder from a previous event (and we bet that you’ve got a few), please bring it. Otherwise, your name badge is self-adhesive, so stick it on your shirt! Similarly, you’ll probably have your own bag, so you don’t need another one, right?

Don’t worry, we still love you though, and have thought about all of your really important needs.

We don’t include the cost of a shirt in the registration fee, but we will have a 2023 conference t-shirt available for purchase.

You can also get a LAST Conf t-shirt

Will there be food?

You’ll be adequately fed and watered at lunch, and morning and afternoon breaks.

We often have a post-event gathering, with sponsored drinks. Make sure you allow time to stick around and engage in stimulating follow-up conversations about the day!