Event Format

REFSQ is a highly interactive event. Sessions are organised so as to provoke discussion among the presenters of papers, discussants and all the other participants. Typically, after a paper is presented, it is immediately discussed by a pre-assigned discussant, then subject to a free discussion involving all participants. At the end of each session (or after a group of sessions), a discussion takes place about all the papers that were presented in this session (or group of sessions). This discussion is triggered and concluded by one or two discussion facilitators (depending on the number of paper sessions being discussed).

Which roles are there?

Four particular roles can be distinguished in this organisation:

Session Chair (SC) - introduces the presenters of the papers in a session. The SC takes care of the time, organises the discussion of a paper after its presentation, and gives the word to speakers in the audience during discussions. He also moderates session and plenary discussions.

Presenter (PR) - presents a paper. A PR is also often a discussant (see below).

Discussant (DC) - prepares the discussion of a paper. Each paper is assigned one DC. DCs are typically presenters of other papers in the same session, but can also be presenters of papers in another session. The DC gives a critical review of the paper directly after its presentation by presenting a slide that provides answers to a predefined set of questions (PDF, RTF).

You can find out the papers assigned to you on the Programme and Schedule page. Instructions to download the papers will be sent to you by e-mail.

Discussion Facilitator (DF) - starts up the plenary discussion with an opening speech (i.e., a short and sharp statement on the critical issues of the presentations) usually (but not necessarily) with a couple supporting slides. At end of the session, he will summarise all discussions, usually (but again not necessarily) with a closing slide.

How do I know which role I have and what I have to do?

PR - Your paper has been accepted and you will be the author who presents the paper. It is highly recommended that you attend both days of the event and take an active part in the discussion of the other papers. Prepare your presentation and bear in mind the available time: full papers (full research papers and experience reports) are restricted to 20 min, and short papers (i.e., position papers, problem statements and research previews) are restricted to 10 min.
Unlike other workshops and conferences, REFSQ requests that your last slide follows a predefined template (PDF, RTF). The idea is to help you summarise your contribution by answering a set of questions. The use of the REFSQ templates is mandatory.

DC - If you are a PR, you are also probably a DC for another paper (you can ask a co-author to replace you in this task). Please have a look at the programme to check which paper you should discuss. Read the paper you are assigned to. Prepare a one-slide summary using the question template (PDF, RTF). Focus on the main ideas. The slide should not take more than 1-1.5 min to present. If possible, please prepare this slide using a real transparency; there are two reasons for that: first, experience has shown that using the support of a transparency is much faster and much more practical than using laptops (they have to be plugged to a videoprojector, then de-plugged, sometimes switched on, etc.), second, we (the organisers) will take your transparencies to prepare the REFSQ summary.

DF - You have received an invitation to be a DF. You have nothing to prepare before the event (except maybe read the papers of the session or group of sessions to be discussed). Take notes during the paper presentations and session discussions. Note issues that may raise an interesting discussion. Start the discussion based on the notes you made (you can use slides if you wish) and thereby trigger reactions in the audience. At the end of the session, present a summary, typically using a closing slide.

SC - You have received an invitation to be a SC. You have nothing to prepare before the event (except maybe contact the authors to get more information about them and have a look at the papers). Open your session and introduce the PRs. Keep the time and give the PR signs when the end of the time slot is approaching: full papers (full research papers and experience reports) are restricted to 20 min, and short papers (i.e., position papers, problem statements and research previews) are restricted to 10 min presentation. Invite DCs and organise the individual paper discussion, i.e., ensure that the discussion is structured. Close the paper discussion and hand over to the next PR. After the last paper discussion, moderate the session discussion. Finally, close the session when the time is over. You might also have to moderate a plenary session. You will find schedule information in the final programme.

How does it all fit together?

A typical session consists of at least 2 presentations. The flow of events is as follows:

Opening

• The SC opens the session.

Paper presentation and discussion

For each paper:

• The PR presents her paper (10 min for a short paper, 20 min for a full paper).
• The DF takes notes.
• Individual paper discussion (10 min for a short paper, 20 min for a full paper):
  • The DC presents her one-slide summary of this paper.
  • All participants ask questions and discuss the paper in the remaining time.
  • The DF takes notes.
• The SC closes the paper discussion and hands over to the next PR.

Session and plenary discussion

• The DF starts the (session or plenary) discussion with a short and provokative statement.
• All members of the audience participate and the SC moderates.
• The DF takes notes for the closing slide.
• The DF closes the plenary session discussion.

After the last session, there will be a general discussion, possibly including a brainstorming session about areas or topics of RE research that the participants perceive as important.