Patterns can be the basis for a handbook of software engineering. They embody core solutions to problems known to arise while building systems. A complete pattern language would guide developers to produce workable software solving ordinary problems.
These conferences follow a different format than conferences such as OOPSLA. The focus here is on learning, discussion, and reflection, not on the presentation of finished work. At a PLoP™ series conference, attendees review each others material and help each other refine their work, run workshops and engage in fruitful discussions.
EuroPLoP™ offers a variety of workshops that allow you to learn about patterns, to receive feedback on your own patterns, and to discuss patterns with fellow pattern enthusiasts. We have been running most of these workshops for many years at previous EuroPLoP™ conferences; we started to successfully experiment with design fests and a special beginners' sessions in EuroPLoP™ 2001 and want to expand further the variety of activities.
Writers' workshops follow a special format which has been adopted from reviewing poetry. Before the conference, everybody reads each other's papers. In the actual workshop, authors give each other feedback on their work in a peer review fashion. Each writers' workshop contains 5 to 8 papers; a session of around an hour is devoted to each paper. In such a session, the authors of the paper under discussion remain silent while the other authors have a discussion about it, and explain what additional insights and views they have. Authors (as well as non-authors who may join) stay with their workshop over the entire conference. This way authors get a lot of ideas on how they can improve their work.
Before pattern papers are accepted for a writers' workshop, they are shepherded (non-anonymously). This means that if you submit a pattern paper, an experienced pattern author will get in touch with you and discuss your submission with you, so that you can improve your paper prior to the conference. At the end of the shepherding process, the shepherd and the program committee decide whether a paper is ready for a writers' workshop; experience shows that most submitted papers will.
Because the focus of the writers' workshops is on feedback and improvement, papers are not considered final once they have been workshopped. Authors incorporate the feedback they receive at the writers' workshop into their papers before the papers go into the final proceedings about half a year after the conference.
All aspects of software systems are suitable topics for submitted patterns or pattern languages. We invite patterns on programming, software design, project management, education, and so on. Submissions from areas which have not much been covered by patterns so far are particularly solicited. The actual subject of a pattern need not be original; it is essential that a pattern describes mature knowledge. However, patterns should always reference related work, that is related patterns as well as related non-pattern material.
Non-authors who join a writer's worshop are asked to stick to one writer's group and are supposed to read all the papers discussed in the group in advance, too.
As last year we hope have two different writing goups.
We distinguish between short and long focus groups, with a total of 3 or 6 hours, split into blocks of 1 and 1/2 hours.
We plan to have 3 or 4 focus groups at the conference. Potential focus group leaders are invited to submit focus group proposals. The submission should include the topic, the preferred length, preferred number of participants, and the rough format, e.g. if position papers are required and what the possible outcome should be.
Focus group proposals will be reviewed by the program committee. The accepted focus groups will be announced two to three months before the conference. Most focus groups allow conference attendees to simply join at the conference; however, focus group leaders are free to ask participants to register in advance and to do some kind of preparation like submitting position papers.
After the conference, the focus group leader summarizes the results in form of a short focus group report which will go into the final conference proceedings.
In this session you learn about patterns in general, you get an overview of what patterns exist, you learn how patterns can improve your software, and you get exposed to the idea of pattern languages. This session also tells you about EuroPLoP™, its traditions and conventions, and is a chance to get in touch with many EuroPLoP™ people very quickly.
The second session is the writing group, where an experienced pattern author will give an introduction into writing patterns.
The third session will follow on the third conference day. It is kind of a FAQ session, where beginners have the opportunity to ask everything they didn't understand about patterns, pattern languages, the pattern community and stuff like this. A small group of experts is supposed to find good answers to these questions.
| Date | Conference | Pattern Papers | Writing Group | Focus Groups |
| 28th February | papers due | focus group proposals due | ||
| 10th March | shepherding starts | |||
| 24th March | notification of acceptance or rejection for focus group proposals | |||
| 31st March | registration for focus groups opens (focus groups that require registration only) |
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12th May |
conference registration opens | notification of acceptance or rejection | notification of acceptance or rejection for focus group participants
(focus groups that require registration only) |
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| 30th May | shepherding ends | |||
| 2nd June | conference drafts due | registration (unshepherded papers only) |
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| 20th June | conference registration closes | |||
| 25th June – 29th June | conference | |||
| late 2003 | final versions due | focus group reports due |