This letter was used as a suggested template for the one Shepherds use to introduce themselves to their authors and to introduce the shepherding process. Also see Shepherd Letter Steve and Shepherd Letter David.

Dear <author_contact_name>,

My name is <shepherd_name>. Thank you for submitting your paper, "<paper_title>," for PLoP '99. We're now beginning the shepherding process, and I will be your shepherd for this paper. What this means is that I will help you improve it prior to the conference so that you can present the best possible paper for comment at the conference. It is also up to me to decide whether or not your paper is good enough for the conference. It's in your best interest to use this opportunity to improve your paper as much as possible. People who make the most of this process will have the best chances of being accepted to the conference.

Assisting me in the shepherding process is a member of the conference's program committee, <pc_member_name>. He'll keep an eye on the progress we're making and help us if we need any. I'll CC him on all my mail to you; please do the same when you write me.

Here's the schedule for what's due when:

    Shepherding Recommendations Due    Fri, June 18, 1999
    Notification of Acceptance         Thu, July 1, 1999
    Final Conference Copy Due          Fri, July 16, 1999
    Conference Dates                   August 15-18, 1999

So we have between today and June 18th to work on your paper. If I accept your paper, you'll have another chance to make changes to your final draft for the conference. It is then due by July 16th.

I will be contacting you within a few days with my initial comments on your paper. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the review process or the conference, feel free to contact me at <shepherd_email_or_phone>.

I look forward to working with you.

<shepherd_signature>

contents of this page originally posted on www.c2.com

The position of Program Chair is one with rewards and recognitions But to get to that point, there are a number of things that must get done.

• Conference -1 year

1. Work with Hillside and the Conference Chair to determine the dates of PLoP
2. Any special plans that you might have for the conference that can change the usual number of days needs to be communicated and planned for. The facility might not be available, or the dates might have to shift slightly.
3. Consult with the conference chair to make arragements for
   • special speakers/attendees
   • game-master

• Conference -9 months

1. Start serious work on the call for papers.
   • Will it be only Writers' Workshops, or will there be some other kind of activity. Does that other activity need a leader to self-volunteer (like a hot topic at ChiliPLoP, or a "focus group")? What are the parameters around the focus group that need to be advertised?

1. Prepare the website and call for papers
   • The Hillside website needs to be updated to point people to the current year's conference.
   • The conference website should have enough information for a focus group/hot topic leader to know what they need to do to submit one.
2. Begin looking for shepherds
   • An initial call for shephers has sometimes been done.
   • Discussing the shepherding season schedule with your peers at the other conferences that meet in the summer & fall can help avoid *everyone* needing shepherds at the same time.
3. Assemble program committee
   • These folks can give advice & counsel about general topics.
   • Traditionally they "oversee" the shepherding process by looking over author's shoulders
   • They might be able to draw in attendees also

• Conference - 8 months

1. Send the call for papers to all the websites and journals of interest

• Submission Deadline - 1 month

1. Turn on the submission website
2. Personal invitaitions to regulars/strong participants to encourage papers/attendance
3. What is the conference going to look like? What special touches do *you* want to add to PLoP? Start thinking about this.
4. Revise website.
   • Make sure dates are correct for shepherding schedule
   • Add any new thoughts about focus groups/hot topics
5. Reminder call for papers (Since CFP/website has been modified)

• Submission Deadline

1. Begin Triage of papers
   • Are they patterns?
   • Are there too many from the same author?
   • Are they ready for shepherding?
2. Announce shepherding start
   • Support shepherds collecting papers
   • request additional shepherds
   • assign shephards and PC members to papers
3. Watch shepherding and handle any issues
4. Define 99% correct schedule for the actual conference. The Conference chair will want this to help start logistics of events and meals.

• Paper Acceptance Deadline

1. Collect recommendations from shepherds and PC members for each paper
2. Decide which papers (if any) to reject
3. Start grouping patterns into workshop groups. Use whatever method makes the most sense to you. (In 1997 the "non-OO" workshop group had a Smalltalk pattern

• Pre-Conference Paper Deadline

1. Accept the revised papers that are ready for workshopping. Ensure that you have all the latest ones, since the Conference Chair is going to burn CDs
2. Prepare the pre-conference paper website with workshop information so people know which papers to read
3. Identify workshop group leaders
   • These are the people that will get the group started,
   • train the newbies on how to act in a Writer's Workshop,
   • act as the final arbiter of conflict in the workshop group,
   • lead any of your special initiatives that relate to workshop groups,
   • mentor other members of the workshop group in pattern writing and writers' workshop moderation/leadership style.

• Conference - 3 weeks

1. Advertise the pre-conference paper website
2. Encourage people to read papers in advance
3. Encourage registration
4. Prepare final schedule
5. Encourage workshop groups to start an email dialog
   • Some issues can be settled in advance, like paper order, basic introductions, etc.

• Conference - 1 week

1. Final reminders
2. Do you have your own plane tickets?
3. Are the workshop groups all set? leaders ready?
4. papers still all set (any papers that need to be removed because of non-registration)?
5. Arrange demo Writers' Workshop

• Select pattern to workshop
• Who will participate? (usually "old-heads" and workshop group leaders)
• Who will fill what roles? (Need a traditional moderator AND a meta-moderator)

• Conference

1. Introduce the conference
2. Introduce Writers' Workshops
3. Introduce workshop process (demo)
4. Handle problems as they arise

Set dates for the conference.

• Joe Yoder and the Conference Chair will help with this.

Establish the PC members.

• Don’t talk anyone into it. Rather, make sure each person is interested and excited about doing it (or he/she won’t be much help).

• Put the Conference Chair on the PC.

• Ask the past year’s Program Chair to be on the PC.

Get the web page going.

• Even if you don’t have all the information, post a placeholder stating that more information is coming soon.

Include Dates for:

• Conference registration

• Paper submissions due

• Shepherding begins

• Shepherd recommendations due

• Notification of acceptance to the authors

• Conference drafts due

• Registration deadline

Write the Call for Participation.

• Think about what events you want in addition to the usual Writers’ Workshops (focus groups, BoFs, etc.)

Decide on a submission system (and make sure it is working).

• Ask PC members and other friends to help test it.

Budget.

• The Conference Chair should work on this with help from Joe Yoder and with your input.

Plan the Special Activities, such as:

• games

• special “big name” speakers

• evening events

• etc.

Keep in touch with shepherds and authors throughout the shepherding!

• Send regular “how is it going?” emails, with reminders, during shepherding.

Handle the papers when they start coming in.

• Get shepherds (and PC members) assigned to papers. Allow at least two weeks for this, but better yet, start lining them up before the papers come in.

• Remember sound guidelines when accepting papers for the conference.

Assign to writers workshops.

• Get help/input from PC members when doing this.