FAQ: Leading a session at the SPA Conference


Why submit a session proposal?

Help, I've never led a session before?

Don't worry - the most important thing is to have a good idea - either for the topic to be discussed or the format and process of the session or ideally both! You will need to capture your ideas in to a short web-based form to give the Programme Review Committee the information they will need to assess the session.

We provide examples of previous successful proposals to allow you to see the best way to present the information needed.

Session Type Example proposal
Workshop A Taxonomy of Models
Case Study A set of heuristics for improving precision in UML models
Tutorial Easy EJB
We are grateful to the session leaders of the above sessions for allowing us to make public their proposals.

If you need any help in creating your proposal or would like to discuss the idea before finalising your proposal, please do contact the Programme Chair. We have a well established shepherding process to guide you from the proposal stage to leading the session at the conference.

What information do I need to provide?

Title A short, informative title to allow participants to rapidly identify sessions likely to be of interest. If it can be eye-catching without obscuring the subject, then all the better.
Description One line session description to amplify the title.
Session Format Which of our standard session formats you feel would best fit your plan for the session - or identification of the session as using an original format.
Abstract A few paragraphs to introduce the subject matter, define the specific focus of the session and list the session objectives.
Audience Background Define any skills or prerequisite knowledge participants would need. May also indicate sort of participant session is most likely to be of interest to.
Benefits Identify what the participant will gain by choosing to attend the session.
Materials List the materials you will provide for the session. SPA will duplicate copies of any Power Point etc you provide to us. Also SPA is happy to duplicate worksheets etc provided they are delivered by the materials deadlines.
Process Describe what will happen in the session with special attention to describing exercises, group discussion, feedback times etc.
Timetable Provide a time-table to allow reviewers to see how you will use time allocated for the session. A good timetable will be aggressive but achievable.
Outputs The majority of sessions that feature any kind of interactivity should produce outputs. This will act as a lasting record for those attending the session and a chance for those who could not attend to share some of the learning. They also often act to "ground" the session by forcing participants to come to concrete conclusions. The outputs may initial exists as flip-chart posters, index card sets etc. While these are welcome and are fantastic to display in the public areas of the conference, SPA also asks that session leaders commit to capturing outputs and recording them on the conference wiki for use after the conference.
History If the session has been presented on other occasions or is a development on previous or similar sessions, please indicate here.
Topics and Themes Please use these tick boxes to tell us what areas you expect the session to cover. This information will be used by the review panel to help construct a varied and balanced programme.
Session Leader information Please ensure that your biography information and contact details are up to date on your profile page. Experience and roles describe on the personal profiles will be taken into account by the review committee when assessing the likely success of a proposed session.


What makes for a good session proposal?

A good session proposal will show that you have a clear and interesting idea and that you have thought sufficiently about how the session will operate to ensure that all participants will be able to achieve the stated objectives of the session. To maximise the chances of the session being accepted on to the programme: Look at some of the proposals which have been successful in the past for suggestions on how best to present your proposal for the different types of session.

What's all this about shepherding?

All sessions that are accepted onto the SPA Conference programme are allocated a "shepherd". She/he acts as an independent 3rd party who will give you help and advice on your session as it progresses. The SPA/OT series of conferences has promoted a philosophy of working together in sessions that encourage learning through involvement. There are many way to do this, all rather different from the usual format of presentations, and they have proved popular and effective. However, this does require additional techniques and practices to run effective interactive sessions and these "tricks of the trade" are not easily picked up as most of us do not attend such sessions during our work. The shepherding relationship teams up presenters with experienced session leaders who can collaborate in making sessions truly effective.

The Shepherd's chief role is that of a consultant and mentor, rather than a collaborator or helper. They should ask and answer questions, make suggestions, and refer to relevant sources of information rather than write notes or draw diagrams. They may not be an expert in your subject matter, but they will know a lot about how SPA conference sessions run best. They will also act as your conscience to ensure you meet deadlines for the submission of materials etc.

How are the session proposals reviewed?

The session proposals are reviewed by a panel of Software Practioners most of whom have lead very successful sessions at SPA and other conferences. Each proposal is reviewed independently by a number of reviewers. The reviews rate the session using a standardised review form. These reviews then form the basis of a ranking exercise carried about by small panels of reviewers. This then allows us to build a balanced and varied programme based on the best proposals across different topic areas and session types.

The final construction of the programme is the responsibility of the Programme Chair. They will also work to avoid a single presenter appearing too many times on the programme while balancing the range of topics, session formats and durations.

When will I know if my session has been accepted?

We will inform you of the results of the review by the end of October. You will receive copies of completed review forms for your sessions to assist you in further work on your session and to help you improve future submissions.

The decision of the Programme Chair regarding your session will be one of the following:

Accepted on to Programme: At this point your session will be included in the Programme. You will then be expect to comply with the conditions of being a session leader including meeting all booking and materials deadlines. If you fail to comply we reserve the right to remove your session from the programme at a later date.

Provisionally accepted on to the Programme: The Programme Chair would like to include your session in the programme, but the review process will have highlighted some areas of the proposal that need further discussion or modification.

Held on reserve list: Since we often have a number of high quality session that we are not able to schedule into the programme initially, we ask to keep some session on a reserve list. We will keep you updated as the continuing status of your proposal while it is on this list.

Not accepted: We are not able to accept all sessions submitted even if they are of a high quality, due to our desire to create a well balanced and appropriately varied programme. If your session was not accepted, we encourage you to still attend and participate in the conference. You may also find you can organise a Birds-of-a-Feather session around the topic you wished to consider.