ICSE 2022 Program – A Three-Phase Model

This year’s ICSE program is presented in three phases: (1) preprints and video-recorded paper presentations available prior to live presentations, (2) an entirely virtual conference, followed by (3) an entirely in-person conference. Our intention is to provide ample opportunities for authors to promote their work and attendees to listen to the material on their own time, but also to meet and interact both virtually and in person.

Phase 1 – Offline Papers and Talks (mid April 2022)

Starting one month before the conference, authors make pre-prints available for all papers of all tracks to all attendees, accompanied by 20-minute videos each. This allows attendees to select and study the material at their leisure (the “Netflix” model) well in advance of the conference; it also allows authors and the conference to promote their work.

Phase 2 – Virtual Conference (Main track: May 10–13, 2022)

Short talks, long discussions

On the four days of the virtual conference, the focus is on meeting and interacting. The program will feature short talks and ample space for questions and interaction. Instead of full talks, authors will give 5-minute talks to ignite discussions.

Shorter sessions, blended program

Paper sessions will be sixty minutes long and will feature six five-minute paper presentations followed by a discussion moderated by the session chair. Given that presentations take only five minutes, we expect some starter questions for clarifications, thus breaking the ice. The authors are advised to read the other papers in advance, and participate in the session discussion; they have the opportunity to ask details and discuss with the other session authors, all within the same research sub-area. We have an unlimited supply of virtual rooms, so all sessions are open-ended; other sessions may start while discussions continue in earlier sessions.

To foster topic-related interaction across different types of papers at the conference, ICSE 2022 will have a blended program: each session will include talks from multiple tracks, whereby technical track authors present their work together with authors of, for example, journal first or SEIP papers.

Time bands – how many talks can the audience attend?

The conference presentations will be split into three time bands (Atlantic / Indian / Pacific), that are roughly eight hours apart and take four hours each. Most attendees can join live presentations in two of these time bands (the third one being in the middle of the night). Furthermore, each paper will be presented twice, in two time bands that suit the paper authors; this allows mixing with attendees and authors from different time bands. Also, sessions in the two time bands will have different presenter sets, further promoting exchange.

Keynotes and Plenary Sessions

ICSE keynotes will be held virtually this year so that everyone can participate. A dedicated time-band that is accessible to “almost everyone” will host these sessions.

Workshops and Co-Located Events

ICSE is known for its rich and varied set of workshops and co-located events. These will be held this year as part of the virtual conference spaced among the dates of May 8-9 and May 16-20. Each of these events is organizing its own schedule to optimize interaction among its participants. Detailed schedules for these events will be available in early April.

Phase 3 – In-Person Conference (Main track: May 25–27, 2022)

A poll of authors of ICSE publications across tracks indicates that 36% plan to attend in-person and that another 16% may attend. With 400 contributions to the ICSE tracks we expect between 150 and 200 talks.

A Typical Day

As with the virtual conference, the focus is on meeting and interacting. A typical day will consist of paper presentation sessions, poster sessions, and birds of a feather discussion sessions along with the traditional community meetings and social events. For example,

• 8:30-9:30am : 4 parallel Paper Sessions (6 papers per session)
• 9:30-10am : break
• 10-11am : 4 parallel Paper Sessions (6 papers per session)
• 11-11:30am : break
• 11:30am-12:30pm : 4 parallel Paper Sessions (6 papers per session)
• 12:30-1:30pm : lunch
• 1:30-3pm : Poster Session, 3 parallel Birds of a Feather sessions
• 3-3:30pm : break
• 3:30-5pm : 4 parallel Birds of a Feather sessions
• 7pm-… : Reception

We will scale the number of parallel sessions based on the number of in-person registrants.

Poster Sessions

In addition to contributed posters we are inviting all authors of ICSE papers to prepare and present a poster. The poster session provides an opportunity for deeper conversation about the work presented in the mornings during the paper sessions.

Birds of a Feather Sessions

Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions provide an informal venue for conversation about technical and non-technical issues of interest to the ICSE community. In early April registered participants will be queried to determine their interest in specific BoF topics and the ICSE PC members will lead those sessions.

In addition to community BoF topics, ICSE is organizing several sessions on topics that relate to the keynote addresses. For example, Phil Koopman will help lead a session on “Safe Autonomous Systems” and Jevin West will help lead a session on “Doing Good Science (aka Calling Bullshit)”.

Receptions

ICSE 2022 will host a “newcomer’s reception” on the evening of May 24 to welcome new members of the community. Receptions on the evenings of May 25 and 26 will provide ample opportunity for the community to connect for the first time since ICSE 2019.