Guidelines for Panel Discussion Proposals

Panel proposals addressing important and timely topics in object orientation are invited for the conference.

The ECOOP will maintain its tradition as a single-track conference, where any panel sessions are positioned in the conference program just as regular paper sessions and invited talks. ECOOP participants are usually quite experienced in one or more areas of object-orientation. Therefore, very broad and general panel subjects are not likely to be successful, unless they may result in new syntheses of ideas. In contrast, even highly focussed topics can be appropriate.

A good panel session can be the highlight of the official conference program for many attendees. It should present interesting views with solid practical and/or theoretical backing. An eclectic variety of relevant views should be represented.

In the past, ECOOP panel sessions have had a moderator and three to five panelists. The time allocated to a panel has typically been 90 minutes, i.e., the same as to a regular paper session with three papers. However, this format is not an absolute standard. These prepared presentations should be short (no longer than 10 minutes each), to allow substantial discussion with the audience. In principle, the moderator's introduction and the position papers of the panelists will be published in the Conference Proceedings.

What should a proposal look like?

A complete proposal should contain the following items:

• Title
  
  
• Motivation
  Give a brief explanation why the suggested topic is considered important and suitable for a panel.
  
  
• Issues
  Write a list of the key issues to be addressed.
  
  
• Moderator
  Give the full name of the proposed moderator, and sufficient contact information (preferably at least the electronic mail address).
  The submitter of a proposal is welcome to volunteer as the moderator.
  
  
• Panelists
  Give the same information on each as on the moderator.
  
  
• Panelists
  For both the moderator and each panelist, briefly list the main merits on which s(he) is being proposed, unless the person under consideration is someone well known in the OO community as an expert in the subject area of the panel.
  
  
• Abstracts
  Collect the abstracts or preliminary position papers of the moderator and the panelists.
  
  
• CR Position Papers
  We would appreciate to get the final position papers of the panelists (and the moderator's introduction) early enough to get published in the conference proceedings (see Deadlines below).
  For this purpose, their format should follow the publisher's guidelines as given for regular papers; the maximum length is TWO PAGES (per position paper).
  
  
• Equipment
  Please specify any equipment you need, e.g., number of slide projectors, video projection facilities, PCs , power plugs, etc.

If you plan to write a complete panel proposal, you are welcome to discuss your ideas with the panel board at an earlier stage.

For additional questions or clarification, or for your suggestions, please feel free to contact the Panel Chair.