Call for Papers

Goal and Scope


The IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution is a renowned forum for researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, experiences, and challenges in software maintenance and evolution.
We invite high quality submissions describing significant, original, and unpublished results. We solicit submissions relating to all aspects of software maintenance and evolution. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Reverse engineering and re-engineering
Software refactoring and restructuring
Software migration and renovation
Software and system comprehension
Software repository analysis and mining
Code cloning and provenance
Concept and feature location
Change and defect management
Evolution of non-code artefacts
Software testing
Maintenance and evolution processes
Software quality assessment
Run-time evolution and dynamic configuration
Human aspects of software evolution
ICSME is a selective conference, but welcomes innovative ideas that are well presented and timely even if the findings are preliminary. All submissions must position themselves within the existing literature, describe the relevance of the results to specific software engineering goals, and include a clear motivation and presentation of the work.
To establish a consistent set of expectations in the review process, the authors are asked, as part of the online submission process, to identify their papers with one or more of the following categories:
Analytical: A paper in which the main contribution relies on new algorithms or mathematical theory. Examples include new bug prediction techniques and algorithms for dynamic and static analysis. Such a contribution must be evaluated with a convincing analysis of the algorithmic details, whether through a proof, complexity analysis, or run-time analysis, among others and depending on the objectives.
Empirical: A paper in which the main contribution is the empirical study of a software evolution technology or phenomenon. This includes controlled experiments, case studies, and surveys of professionals reporting qualitative or quantitative data and analysis results. Such a contribution will be judged on its study design, appropriateness and correctness of its analysis, and threats to validity. Replications are welcome.
Technological: A paper in which the main contribution is of a technical nature. This includes novel tools, modeling languages, infrastructures, and other technologies. Such a contribution does not necessarily need to be evaluated with humans. However, clear arguments, backed up by evidence as appropriate, must show how and why the technology is beneficial, whether it is in automating or supporting some user task, refining our modeling capabilities, improving some key system property, etc.
Methodological: A paper in which the main contribution is a coherent system of broad principles and practices to interpret or solve a problem. This includes novel process models and maintenance methods. The authors should provide convincing arguments, with commensurate experiences, why a new method is needed and what the benefits of the proposed method are.
Perspectives: A paper in which the main contribution is a novel perspective on the field as a whole, or part thereof. This includes assessments of the current state of the art and achievements, systematic literature reviews, framing of an important problem, forward-looking thought pieces, connections to other disciplines, and historical perspectives. Such a contribution must, in a highly convincing manner, clearly articulate the vision, novelty, and potential impact.
All papers are full papers, and papers may belong to more than one category. Note that papers from any research area can fall into any of these categories, as the categories are constructed surrounding methodological approaches, not research topics (e.g., one could write an analytical paper on a new analysis technique, an empirical paper that compares a broad range of such techniques, a technological paper that makes an analysis technique practically feasible and available, or a perspectives paper that reviews the state of the art and lays out a roadmap of analysis techniques for the future).
Evaluation

All submissions that meet the criteria and fit the scope of the conference will be reviewed by three members of the Program Committee except in the case of an unexpectedly large number of submissions. Submissions will be evaluated on the basis of soundness, importance of contribution, originality, quality of presentation, and appropriate comparison to related work.
Submissions that are not in compliance with the required submission format or that are out of the scope of the conference will be rejected without reviewing.
Submitted papers must comply with IEEE plagiarism policy and procedures. Papers submitted to ICSME 2015 must not have been published elsewhere and must not be under review or submitted for review elsewhere while under consideration for ICSME 2015.
How to Submit

All submitted papers must conform to the IEEE Conference Publishing Services (CPS) formatting instructions available at http://www.computer.org/portal/web/cscps/formatting, and must not exceed 9 pages for all text, inclusive of figures, tables, appendices, with up to one additional page for references only. All submissions must be in PDF.
Submissions must be submitted online via the ICSME 2015 EasyChair conference management system at www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icsme2015.
Accepted papers will be published in the IEEE Digital Library.
Papers must be submitted electronically by the stated deadline. The deadline is firm and not negotiable.
Important Dates

Abstract submissions March 27, 2015
Paper submissions April 1, 2015
Notification to authors June 15, 2015
Conference September 29 - October 1, 2015
Program Chairs

Jens Krinke, University College London, UK
Martin Robillard, McGill University, Canada