Over the years, I’ve organized PHPCamp and many WordCamps in Pune. So, when I got to be part of the WordCamp Asia organizing team, I took it casually. I thought, “After organizing so many events, how different could this be?”
Well, I was in for a surprise. During the first town hall meeting, I realized that a team of almost 70+ organizers (that’s the size of an average WordPress company!) would be working together to organize this event. And most of us hadn’t even visited the host city yet.
This was my first time organizing an event remotely, and this post is about what I learned from the experience.
Learning #1: Town Halls and Accountability
The first thing I copied and adapted for WPoets was how the town halls were run and the template used. It was the best way to keep teams responsible and accountable.
Learning #2: Recording Meetings and Taking Notes
Next, I saw how important it was to record all meetings and use tools like Fathom to capture notes. I introduced tl;dv for recording and note-taking in WPoets, and now it’s a key part of all our internal and external meetings.
Learning #3: Communicating in Channels, Not DMs
Since this was my first time working in a fully remote team, I realized how important it is to communicate in channels instead of DMs. At WPoets, we’ve been using Microsoft Teams for a while, but most conversations happened in DMs. Now, we’ve slowly moved most project-related communication to channels.
Learning #4: Empowering Teams and Stepping In When Needed
Another big learning was how the leads empowered teams and stepped in only when needed to keep things on track. This is something I’m trying to bring into my own work.
Learning #5: Documenting Processes for Future Teams
I also admired the focus on documenting processes for future teams. I haven’t fully adapted this at WPoets yet, but I’m working on some ideas to roll it out soon.
Learning #6: Retrospective Meetings Done Right
Lastly, I loved how the retrospective meeting was conducted and the Starfish Retrospective Framework template used. I plan to use this directly at WPoets for team retrospectives after every project release.
These were the major learnings, but I also had some personal takeaways from working with my program team members.
Want to Be Part of WordCamp Asia 2026?
If you’re interested in becoming an organizer for WordCamp Asia 2026, the application form is still open.