San Francisco Bay Area California, USA

Brussels Belgium, EU

QW/QWE Consolidated Conference Material Inventory

Mission Summary
The mission of the QW/QWE Conferences is to bring advanced technology R&D work relating to internet and software quality, testing and process, contemporary internet and software quality and testing needs, and knowledge and experience from the internet and software quality industry together in a balanced technical forum.

QW/QWE Conferences are distinguished from other technical conferences and workshops by how the technical program is composed and by how the conference is run.

Conference Advisory Board
The Advisory Board reviews and controls the content of the conferences.

• QW/QWE papers are reviewed/refereed by a distinguished and experienced International Advisory Board. Only the highest-scoring papers from the review process are presented at each QW/QWE event.
• Paper proposals submitted for QW/QWE by International Advisory Board members are also evaluated by the Board, but to avoid conflicts of interest a Board Member cannot vote on his own submission.

Conference Technical Content and Positioning
QW/QWE is aimed to be mid-way between a pure Academic Conference and a pure Trade Show.

• QW/QWE Conferences take the view that Quality is broader than just QA or Testing or Review or Automated Tools or Process or Certification, etc. QW/QWE's view is that quality includes all of these but is fundamentally about fulfilling customer quality needs, from initial software system requirements capture through actual use. Quality, from QW/QWE's point of view, should be thought of as a combination of constituent technologies.
• QW/QWE aims to strike a balance between industrial and academic R&D, new technology developments, and practical experience from the field.
• QW/QWE Conferences have in-depth high-tech sessions, practical experience tracks, tools & solutions tracks, applications tracks, management tracks, and Tutorial and QuickStart tracks. QW/QWE Conferences are designed to provide benefits at multiple levels of technical sophistication.
• QW/QWE aims to have it said that, "If it's new, you probably heard about it first at Quality Week."
• To attract the best possible paper/presentation proposals, and to encourage the widest possible participation, QW/QWE policy is not to charge accepted speakers attendance fees for the conference.
• QW/QWE Conferences are scheduled in a regular yearly time-slot and at a regular conference location, to avoid questions like "Where will Quality Week be held next?"
• The QW/QWE review process is timed so that the very current results and thinking can be presented. Typically there is less than six months between the "Call for Papers/Participation" and the event.
• QW/QWE Conferences should be viewed as a very strong Technical Conference combined with a very comprehensive Products and Services Exhibition, rather than as primarily a Trade Show with a Technical Conference thrown in. The QW/QWE goal is a balanced event.

Conference Sponsors and Affiliations

• QW/QWE Conferences generally are "co-sponsored" or "in affiliation with" international, national, and local professional societies and groups.
• QW/QWE Conferences make clear distinctions between commercial and non-commercial sponsors.

Affinity Group Meetings and "Birds of a Feather" Sessions

• Recognizing the importance of affinity groups within the attendees, every attempt will be made to provide for Conference Sub-Meetings as appropriate. This includes Birds of a Feather sessions with specific topics announced very close to the conference dates.

Keynote and Special Speakers

• We usually invite Keynote Speakers to the QW/QWE Conferences who have not "been on the lecture tour before". QW/QWE Keynote Speakers are often later invited to the other conferences after first presenting at QW/QWE.

Awards

• The Best Paper Award of a USD$500 cash prize. This award is decided by QW/QWE Advisory Board votes and confirmed by the award sponsor.
• The Best Presentation Award of an expense-paid trip to the next QW/QWE Conference. This award is selected by votes from the conference attendees and confirmed by the award sponsor.

Venue and Logistics

• QW/QWE Conferences are, as much as possible, priced at slightly above gross costs and are intended to represent extremely good value for money.
• QW/QWE Conferences are held in a high quality environment to assure the minimum interference with the true goal of the conference: education and transfer of technology and experience.

Special Events

• QW/QWE Conferences include appropriate cultural and social events that enhance the professional nature of the event and take advantage of local opportunities.

Conference Exhibition

• QW/QWE recognizes the importance of exhibitors to the overall success of the event and in coming QW's and QWE's there will be increased emphasis on exhibitor and sponsor exposure and needs.
• QW/QWE Conferences include a Vendor-paid Products and Services Exhibition (Trade Show). Participating companies understand that "selling" is restricted to the Products and Services Exhibition area.

Organizational Structure

• QW/QWE Conferences are operated by SR/Institute (SR's educational subsidiary). SR's policy is to maintain strict and clear separation of its commercial product sales and consulting/services activities from the QW/QWE events run by its subsidiary. SR participates as an equal in the Products and Services Exposition.
• QW/QWE Conferences are co-sponsored by selected Professional Societies and other Professional Organizations as well as by commercial companies.