Research Demonstrations

Research demonstrations enable conference participants to view research systems in action and to discuss the systems with the people who created them. Research demonstrations are intended to show early implementations of novel software engineering concepts. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their potential as demonstrations, their originality, and their promise for bringing new and exciting ideas to the conference. We consider any system which is at least six months away from appearing in a commercial product as a "research system". Commercial systems will not be accepted as research demonstrations.

Deadline

Types of Research Demonstrations

Formal Research Demonstrations

Formal research demonstrations are for mature presentations that can be communicated effectively in front of a large audience using projection technology. Formal research demonstrations will be scheduled into 40-minute blocks of time. In addition to the formal demonstration, a booth will be provided in the demonstration room to allow informal demonstrations throughout the conference. A 2-page description of each formal demonstration will appear in the conference proceedings.

Informal Research Demonstrations

Informal research demonstrations are appropriate for work that is very new, in a prototype stage, or otherwise not as fully developed as a formal research demonstration. Informal research demonstrations can also be used by presenters who feel that their work may be more effectively presented to a small audience. A booth will be provided in the informal demonstration room to allow ongoing demonstrations throughout the conference. There will be no description of informal demonstrations in the conference proceedings.

Review Process

Formal Demonstrations

Submissions as formal research demonstrations will be reviewed for both content and presentation by at least three reviewers.

Acceptance criteria for formal demonstrations include:

• originality, significance, and relevance of the work;
• maturity of the system as demonstrated by the script outline and screen pictures;
• quality of the demonstration, indicated by the script outline and screen pictures.

In addition, the number of demonstrations accepted may be limited by space and time.

Informal Demonstrations

Submissions as informal research demonstrations will be reviewed for content only.

Acceptance criteria for informal demonstrations include:

• originality, significance, and relevance of the work;
• maturity of the system as demonstrated by the script outline and screen pictures.

In addition, the number of demonstrations accepted may be limited by space.

Format

Formal Demonstrations

Submitters of formal demonstrations should prepare a proposal for purposes of review. The proposal should contain:

• a statement of why a demonstration is an appropriate way to present the work;
• a description of the relevance of the work to the software engineering community, emphasizing its novelty, uniqueness, and sound rationale;
• a statement about the commercial status of the technology. (Commercial products should be demonstrated in the exhibits area.);
• a description of who the presenter is (developer, designer, etc.);
• a detailed description of the necessary equipment support. Researchers are strongly encouraged to bring their own computing equipment;
• a two-page summary (see below);
• a script outline (see below).

Two-page Summary

Submitters of formal demonstrations should prepare a two-page summary, suitable for publication in the ICSE 97 proceedings. It must be prepared in the Conference Proceedings format. Since this summary will be read by many people who will not view the system, it must be understandable without seeing the demonstration. It should contain appropriate references to papers and computer implementations that are closely related.

Script Outline

Submitters of formal demonstrations must also include a script outline which will be used to review the submission. The script outline should include at least the most important screen pictures. The outline should begin with a statement of the problem and the proposed solution, and how it addresses the problem. It is recommended that presenters refer to the screen pictures liberally throughout the text. Presenters should also refer to related work in the field, specifically to other implementations of similar ideas.

Informal Demonstrations

Submitters of informal demonstrations should prepare a proposal for purposes of review. The proposal should contain:

• a statement of why a demonstration is an appropriate way to present the work;
• a description of the relevance of the work to the software engineering community, emphasizing its novelty, uniqueness, and sound rationale;
• a statement about the commercial status of the technology;
• a description of who the presenter is (developer, designer; etc.);
• a detailed description of the necessary equipment support. Researchers are strongly encouraged to bring their own computing equipment.

Computing and Projection Equipment

Researchers doing demonstrations are expected to provide their own computing equipment, cables, and power cords whenever possible. Foreign researchers should remember to bring converters to 110V AC. If it will be impossible for you to bring your own equipment, you should provide a list of the equipment you would like the conference to provide. The conference might be able to provide a limited number of monitors and keyboards. The conference will not provide CPUs or disk drives as the likelihood of incompatibility with the software being demonstrated is very high. If you request equipment, acceptance of your demonstration will be contingent upon availability of the hardware.

The conference will provide projection technology to be used in the formal demonstrations. More details about the specific projection technology will be provided to those with accepted formal demonstrations.

Upon Acceptance

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by the end of December 1996.

The primary author of each accepted formal demonstration will receive an Author Kit with detailed instructions on how to submit camera-ready materials for publication. These materials are due on 24 February 1997.

At the Conference

Formal and informal research demonstrations will be held in rooms dedicated to this activity throughout the conference. Formal research demonstrations will occur at scheduled times during the conference. Informal demonstrations will be ongoing; researchers are expected to be available throughout the conference.

Ground Rules

1. Your submission must be in English.
2. Electronic and fax submissions are not accepted.
3. Submissions which arrive after the deadline will not be considered.
4. Your submission should contain no proprietary or confidential material and should cite no proprietary or confidential publications. Your submission should not be a demonstration of a commercial product.
5. Responsibility for permissions to use video, audio or pictures of identifiable people rests with you, not ICSE 97.
6. If your submission is accepted, it will not be published without copyright release forms signed by the first-listed author or a representative of the first author's institution.
7. We strongly suggest the use of express mail or a courier service, for speedy delivery. Customs labels should bear the words "Educational materials with no commercial value."

Checklist

1. Read the Invitation To Submit.
2. Fill out Cover Page One.
3. Prepare a Proposal for review, as described above.
4. If submitting a formal demonstration, prepare a two page summary in the Conference Proceedings format for publication, as described above.
5. If submitting a formal demonstration, prepare a Script Outline for review, as described above.
6. Collect your demonstration proposal (including Cover Page, summary and script outline for formal demonstrations) in a packet, and make 6 copies of the packet. Use 8.5 x 11 inch or A4 paper.
7. Make sure each copy of the packet is STAPLED, not loose or held by clips.
8. You may include a self-addressed reply postcard which will be mailed to acknowledge receipt of your submission.
9. Send the 6 copies of your submission packet, and the reply postcard, to one of the research demonstrations coordinators at the Send To address shown below.

Send To

Volker Gruhn
LION GmbH
Universitaetsstr. 140
44799 Bochum, Germany

E-mail: gruhn@lion.de
Tel: +49-0-234-9709-0
Fax: +49-0-234-9709-111

or

Barbara Lerner
Department of Computer and Information Science
Lederle Graduate Research Center
PO Box 34610
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-4610 USA

E-mail: lerner@cs.umass.edu
Tel: +1-413-545-3787
Fax: +1-413-545-3729

For more information

To contact the ICSE 97 Research Demonstration Coordinators send e-mail to icse-97-researchdemos@ics.uci.edu