Guidelines for Writing a Conference Abstract from the SEPG NA 2011 Technical Program Co-Chair

Writing a conference abstract can be a time-consuming and frustrating endeavor. To increase your chance of acceptance, it is essential to effectively communicate your presentation or tutorial abstract in the number of words allotted. An abstract should capture the significance or importance of your topic and what it contributes to the field of study or knowledge base. It is important when writing a presentation or tutorial abstract to keep jargon to a minimum.

The below provides an example structure and guidance for writing an abstract. The use of this structure and guidance is a suggestion only and not a requirement.

Section 1

The main focus of the first section should be the significance and/or importance of your presentation or tutorial. One option is to begin with a sentence that states the issue, problem, or concern that your presentation or tutorial addresses. This sets the stage for presenting solutions (i.e., best practices, approach, suggestions, metrics, research results). Alternatively, you can open with a sentence stating what the presentation is about and then contextualize it with a general statement about how it connects to an issue, problem, or concern.

Section 2

This should be the heart of the abstract. State here what your presentation offers as solution to the issue, problem, or concern described in section 1. You might briefly discuss what you are trying to do, how it is being done today, and what is new in your approach. Briefly give details about the presentation.

Section 3

The focus of this section is the big picture.  How do these findings address the issue(s) raised in section 1? What does this imply or contribute to the field of study or knowledge base? This discussion need not be lengthy, but it should convincingly convey that your presentation or tutorial has significant implications.

Best of luck with your abstract submissions!

Palma Buttles

SEPG North America 2011 Technical Program Co-Chair

SEPG North America 2011 Call for Participation Now Open

The SEPG North America 2011 team at the Software Engineering Institute has been hard at work preparing for this year’s conference. Now, we are pleased to announce that the call for participation is now open.

We’re looking for individuals who have real-world examples, lessons learned, innovative ideas, or an exciting perspective on a cutting edge topic to share with the software process improvement community.  We want to hear from people are interested in serving in a presenter or abstract reviewer role for the SEPG North America 2011 conference—which will be held March 21 -24, 2011 in Portland, Oregon—and helping to promote the power of process.

This year’s Call for Participation focuses on the critical challenges and issues in process improvement and how we can harness the power of process to implement smart solutions.

The Call for Participation is now open until midnight on October 29, 2010. Individuals interested in submitting an abstract should visit the SEPG North America 2011 call for participation page for information on the topics, format, terms and conditions, and submission link.

Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@SEPGConferences) for regular news and updates regarding SEPG North America 2011.

We hope to see you in Portland!