At their best, you get whisked off to cool locations like Las Vegas and New Orleans. At their worst, they are down the street from where you work, and you have to come back to the office in time for a 4:00 staff meeting.

Cool locations aside, with proper planning, a technical conference can be of real value to you, your staff, and your company. This planning is divided into two parts; picking the right conference, and budgeting your time once there.

Regarding picking the right conference, consider the following . . .