Practitioner Reports

Important Dates
Submission deadline: March 19, 2007
Notification of acceptance or rejection: May 11, 2007
Deadline for camera-ready copy: July 30, 2007
Conference begins: October 21, 2007

Overview
The original OOPSLA Conference organizers were a practical bunch. They knew theory was important, of course, but they were especially interested in applying theory in the real world. In fact, two of the words represented by "OOPSLA" are "Systems" and "Applications". The Practitioner Reports are where the OOPSLA community looks to hear about what's working (or not!) in leading-edge systems, applications, methodologies, frameworks, patterns, and management techniques. They are a key embodiment of the "reality check" that is an integral part of the OOPSLA Conference.

OOPSLA Practitioner Reports present actual experience and reflections, together with supporting evidence for any claims made. Of particular interest are reports that discuss both benefits and drawbacks of the approaches used. Reports may focus on a particular aspect of technology usage and practice, or describe broad project experiences. They may describe a particular design idea, or experience with a particular piece of technology. Some reports focus on people, process, or development challenges.

One unique aspect of the Practitioner Reports is that the committee is committed to mentoring authors through the paper writing, editing, and submission process. We want to hear from people who have never published before, those in the trenches who actually know what it's like to, for example, use aspect-oriented programming in a sizeable application, apply agile methods in a large organization, use model-driven development, or develop a mission critical web service. Take this opportunity to tell the OOPSLA community what you're doing, what is and isn't working, and why.

Submission and Selection Process
Proposals for Practitioners Reports will be submitted electronically through the OOPSLA submission system. You are invited to submit a four to twelve page report for consideration. The report should clearly identify, and discuss in detail, the issues and insights that are your contribution. The submission must include a short abstract suitable for inclusion in the Advance Program, should it be accepted.

The review process for Practitioner Reports requires personal contact with potential presenters. Therefore, your submission must name a primary contact including postal address, telephone and fax numbers, and electronic mail address. Phone interviews will be required to discuss the topic and your presentation. We will select reports on the basis of relevance, importance, and clarity. If your report is accepted, you will be expected to further refine the report in line with the feedback we will provide, and provide a final version to be published in the OOPSLA Conference Companion and the ACM Digital Library. You will also be expected to develop and present a talk at the conference itself. Note that the committee will also review and provide feedback on your presentation. At the conference, practitioner reports are typically 20 minutes in length. Reports are organized into sessions where several presenters discuss their experiences and answer questions from the audience and the session moderator. You are expected to present a draft of your presentation to the committee for review prior to the conference.

Submission Format
Because of tight time requirements, your initial submission must be complete enough for making a decision, and, if accepted, publication of abstract and presenter information in the Advance Program. The submission must be in English and be from four to twelve pages in length. All papers must be submitted electronically in PDF format. Final camera-ready papers must be formatted to conform to ACM Proceedings requirements: Nine point font on ten point baseline, two columns per page, each column 3.33 inches wide by 9 inches tall, with a column gutter of 0.33 inches, etc. We strongly encourage you to use this layout for initial submission as well. You can save preparation time by using one of the templates provided at the ACM Proceedings page. Note that Open Office or Microsoft Word documents should be converted to PDF before being submitted. A paper must have an abstract that describes the contribution briefly but comprehensively. All author names and affiliations must be given. Information on the primary contact MUST include: name, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, and electronic mail address.

For More Information

For additional information, clarifications, or answers to questions, please contact the Practitioners Reports Chair, Ralph Johnson, at practitioners_reports@oopsla.org.

Practitioners Reports Committee

• Ralph Johnson, University of Illinois (chair)