Feedback is the central source of agile value. The most effective way to obtain feedback from stakeholders is a demo. Good demos engage. They materialize your ideas and puts energies in motion. They spark the imagination and uncover hidden assumptions. They make feedback flow.

But, if a demo is the means to value, shouldn’t preparing the demo be a significant concern? Should it not be part of the definition of done? If so, why is the demo mostly prepared at the last minute?

That is not even all. A good demo tells a story about the system. This means that the system can tell that story. This also means that you have to make the system tell that story. Not a user story full of facts. A story that makes users want to use the system. That tiny concern can change the way you build your system.

Many things go well when demos come out right. This talk tells stories of successful demos and distills demo-driven lessons from both working in research and in industry. These lessons are meant to be used in every day projects.