Software Engineering Notes (SEN) and the SIGSOFT Blog
By Jacopo Soldani, SEN EiC, and Cristian Cadar, SIGSOFT Blog EiC
The SIGSOFT Blog was launched to complement SIGSOFT’s other informal publication platform, the Software Engineering Notes (SEN). In this short blog post, we remind the community about SEN, and discuss the envisioned connections between the two SIGSOFT platforms.
Software Engineering Notes (SEN) has been SIGSOFT’s informal publication since 1976, reaching its 47th volume this year. SEN is appropriate for contributions in all areas of software engineering, from formal requirement specification to software maintenance and practical experiences. SEN provides a platform for open and lively discussion of research and development aspects in software engineering. This is done through long-running regular columns (like Alex Groce’s book reviews and Peter Neumann’s risk lists), other contributed columns (such as a recent one discussing the pains and gains of peer reviewing in software engineering), and one-shot articles discussing hot topics in software engineering. In addition, SEN publishes reports on workshops held at SIGSOFT conferences, helping to disseminate their outcomes.
So, why should you publish in SEN? SEN publications are published and archived by the ACM, hence getting the visibility that ACM publications typically have, and being accessible through the main indexing platforms, such as DBLP. At the same time, authors retain the copyright of their contributions, being then entitled to freely publish them in other venues, this blog included. SEN is not peer-reviewed, but rather relies on authors to openly share their contributions, ranging from recent research results to (potentially provocative) positions on hot topics in software engineering. As indicated in SEN’s publication guidelines, this can be done by contacting (or being invited by) the editors to discuss the suitability for publication in SEN. In short, SEN enables researchers and practitioners to openly contribute to the SE research community, with ACM-indexed articles, and with the ultimate goal of stimulating lively discussions on hot topics in software engineering.
Those of you who read the post launching the SIGSOFT Blog might notice the similar objectives of the two platforms. Indeed, both the SEN and the SIGSOFT Blog aim to introduce readers to different software engineering research themes activities and communicate and debate issues relevant to the software engineering community. Nevertheless, the two platforms follow slightly different publication models, complementing each other well. For instance, SEN is published four times a year, aggregating a number of articles in each edition. By contrast, the SIGSOFT Blog has no predetermined publication times, and together with its support for comments, it can act as a more timely venue for certain types of discussions. On the other hand, and as discussed above, SEN articles are published and archived by the ACM, while blog posts are not. Finally, the two platforms are more attractive to different readers: some prefer the blog format, others the magazine format.
Our intention is to have the two platforms feed each other articles. For instance, some SEN articles might be redirected to the SIGSOFT Blog and vice-versa, some blog posts could be republished in SEN for archival purposes, and some posts and articles could be republished in a shortened or extended form in the other platform.
Please consider contributing to SEN, the SIGSOFT Blog, or even better to both of them! Do not hesitate to get in touch with either of us if you have any queries.
Cristian and Jacopo,
April 2022
Disclaimer: The posts in the SIGSOFT Blog are written by individual contributors and any views or opinions represented in their posts are personal, belong solely to the blog authors and do not necessarily represent those of ACM SIGSOFT or ACM.
