ATC Workflow
Plan the campaign backward from the deadline. ATC 2026 — the first ACM SIGOPS edition of the
former USENIX ATC — runs on a calendar and a review structure that both changed in the
transition: an early-June 2026 submission deadline (AoE; 1 vs. 10 June unresolved across
renderings — 待核实), a two-round, extended-abstract review, conditional acceptance with
shepherding, a separate artifact-evaluation track, and the conference in Hong Kong, 15-18
November 2026. Reopen the SIGOPS call for the exact dates before committing to any of the offsets
below.
The arc (backward from the deadline)
[T-0 Submission] paired upload: 2-page extended abstract + full paper on atc26.hotcrp.com
[Round one] two reviewers judge each extended abstract; below-bar papers cut early
[Round two] 3-4 reviewers read the full paper of survivors
[Rebuttal] ~1 page: correct factual misreadings; note prior-submission changes if any
[Decision] conditional accept / reject
[Shepherding] a PC shepherd signs off required revisions before final acceptance
[Artifact evaluation] separate post-acceptance AEC track -> Available / Functional / Reproduced
[Camera-ready] de-anonymize, satisfy shepherd, ACM Open Access metadata + production checks
[Nov 15-18] present at the Hong Kong conference; talk video/slides per the venue norm
Backward plan from the June deadline
- T-10 to T-8 weeks: lock the system and freeze the experiments. On a systems paper the testbed
and measurements are the long pole; leave prose churn for later. Pin environments now
(
atc-reproducibility) — provenance cannot be reconstructed at the deadline.
- T-6 weeks: full-paper draft complete against
atc-writing-style; baselines and honest costs
in place per atc-experiments.
- T-3 weeks: write and stress-test the two-page extended abstract — the round-one decision
surface. Have someone read only the abstract and tell you the problem, contribution, testbed,
and result. If they cannot, fix it.
- T-2 weeks: build the anonymized, runnable artifact and the claim-to-experiment map.
- T-1 week: double-blind sweep on the final PDF, abstract, and artifact; fill HotCRP fields and
conflicts; confirm the exact AoE deadline day.
- T-0: upload both the extended abstract and the paper; re-download and read cold.
Between submission and decision
- Round one is silent from your side — there is no action between upload and the round-one cut;
the abstract is your entire round-one argument. Do not start major new experiments hoping to swap
in a stronger paper mid-cycle.
- If you advance to round two, prepare for the rebuttal: keep a running list of the measurements
and clarifications a skeptical reviewer would ask for, so the ~1-page window is spent well
(
atc-author-response).
After a conditional accept
- Treat the shepherd's required revisions as binding. Make each change or explicitly justify
declining it; the shepherd holds final acceptance until satisfied.
- Start the artifact-evaluation package immediately: the AEC track has its own post-acceptance
deadline, independent of the camera-ready (
atc-artifact-evaluation). De-anonymize and archive
the artifact in a DOI-issuing repository for the Available badge.
- Prepare the camera-ready: de-anonymize the paper, fold in the shepherd's changes, and complete
ACM Open Access metadata (
atc-camera-ready). Budget for the transition APC
(subsidized for 2026; exact figure per the ACM/SIGOPS terms).
Calendar reconnaissance
[Deadline] confirm the exact early-June AoE day on the SIGOPS call (1 vs 10 June — 待核实)
[Conference] Hong Kong (Hyatt, Shatin), Nov 15-18, 2026 — plan travel/visa early for HK
[Rotation] under SIGOPS, ATC rotates Asia/Europe/North America; next-year location differs
[Artifact] find the AEC submission date on the call for artifacts (separate from camera-ready)
[Backup] if rejected, line up OSDI/NSDI/EuroSys/FAST dates via atc-topic-selection
Reverify each cycle
- The exact deadline day, notification/rebuttal dates, and camera-ready date.
- Whether the two-round extended-abstract model and the reviewer counts persist.
- Artifact-evaluation timing and the badge set; the Deployed Systems lane (待核实).
- ACM Open Access / APC terms; template file (USENIX vs. ACM) (待核实).
Output format
[ATC workflow stage] planning / drafting / abstract-hardening / submitted / round two / rebuttal / shepherding / artifact / camera-ready
[Critical path] the long-pole task (usually testbed + measurements, then the extended abstract)
[Deadline set] submission (early June AoE), rebuttal, shepherd sign-off, artifact, camera-ready
[Next action] the single most schedule-critical step, with a date
[Risk] the item most likely to slip (provenance pinning / abstract self-containment / shepherd changes)
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → ATC-Skills/skills/atc-workflow/SKILL.md
1---2name: atc-workflow3description: Use when planning an ATC (ACM SIGOPS Annual Technical Conference, formerly USENIX ATC) campaign end to end — running the year backward from the early-June deadline through the two review rounds, the rebuttal, conditional-acceptance shepherding, the post-acceptance artifact evaluation, and the ACM Open Access camera-ready for the November Hong Kong conference.4---5
6
7# ATC Workflow
8
9Plan the campaign backward from the deadline. ATC 2026 — the first **ACM SIGOPS** edition of the
10former **USENIX ATC** — runs on a calendar and a review structure that both changed in the
11transition: an **early-June 2026** submission deadline (AoE; 1 vs. 10 June unresolved across
12renderings — 待核实), a **two-round, extended-abstract** review, **conditional acceptance with
13shepherding**, a separate **artifact-evaluation** track, and the conference in **Hong Kong, 15-18
14November 2026**. Reopen the SIGOPS call for the exact dates before committing to any of the offsets
15below.
16
17## The arc (backward from the deadline)
18
19```text
20[T-0 Submission] paired upload: 2-page extended abstract + full paper on atc26.hotcrp.com
21[Round one] two reviewers judge each extended abstract; below-bar papers cut early
22[Round two] 3-4 reviewers read the full paper of survivors
23[Rebuttal] ~1 page: correct factual misreadings; note prior-submission changes if any
24[Decision] conditional accept / reject
25[Shepherding] a PC shepherd signs off required revisions before final acceptance
26[Artifact evaluation] separate post-acceptance AEC track -> Available / Functional / Reproduced
27[Camera-ready] de-anonymize, satisfy shepherd, ACM Open Access metadata + production checks
28[Nov 15-18] present at the Hong Kong conference; talk video/slides per the venue norm
29```
30
31## Backward plan from the June deadline
32
33- **T-10 to T-8 weeks:** lock the system and freeze the experiments. On a systems paper the testbed
34 and measurements are the long pole; leave prose churn for later. Pin environments now
35 (`atc-reproducibility`) — provenance cannot be reconstructed at the deadline.
36- **T-6 weeks:** full-paper draft complete against `atc-writing-style`; baselines and honest costs
37 in place per `atc-experiments`.
38- **T-3 weeks:** write and stress-test the **two-page extended abstract** — the round-one decision
39 surface. Have someone read *only* the abstract and tell you the problem, contribution, testbed,
40 and result. If they cannot, fix it.
41- **T-2 weeks:** build the anonymized, runnable artifact and the claim-to-experiment map.
42- **T-1 week:** double-blind sweep on the final PDF, abstract, and artifact; fill HotCRP fields and
43 conflicts; confirm the exact AoE deadline day.
44- **T-0:** upload both the extended abstract and the paper; re-download and read cold.
45
46## Between submission and decision
47
48- **Round one is silent from your side** — there is no action between upload and the round-one cut;
49 the abstract is your entire round-one argument. Do not start major new experiments hoping to swap
50 in a stronger paper mid-cycle.
51- **If you advance to round two,** prepare for the rebuttal: keep a running list of the measurements
52 and clarifications a skeptical reviewer would ask for, so the ~1-page window is spent well
53 (`atc-author-response`).
54
55## After a conditional accept
56
57- Treat the **shepherd's required revisions as binding**. Make each change or explicitly justify
58 declining it; the shepherd holds final acceptance until satisfied.
59- Start the **artifact-evaluation** package immediately: the AEC track has its **own post-acceptance
60 deadline**, independent of the camera-ready (`atc-artifact-evaluation`). De-anonymize and archive
61 the artifact in a DOI-issuing repository for the Available badge.
62- Prepare the **camera-ready**: de-anonymize the paper, fold in the shepherd's changes, and complete
63 **ACM Open Access** metadata (`atc-camera-ready`). Budget for the transition **APC**
64 (subsidized for 2026; exact figure per the ACM/SIGOPS terms).
65
66## Calendar reconnaissance
67
68```text
69[Deadline] confirm the exact early-June AoE day on the SIGOPS call (1 vs 10 June — 待核实)
70[Conference] Hong Kong (Hyatt, Shatin), Nov 15-18, 2026 — plan travel/visa early for HK
71[Rotation] under SIGOPS, ATC rotates Asia/Europe/North America; next-year location differs
72[Artifact] find the AEC submission date on the call for artifacts (separate from camera-ready)
73[Backup] if rejected, line up OSDI/NSDI/EuroSys/FAST dates via atc-topic-selection
74```
75
76## Reverify each cycle
77
78- The exact deadline day, notification/rebuttal dates, and camera-ready date.
79- Whether the two-round extended-abstract model and the reviewer counts persist.
80- Artifact-evaluation timing and the badge set; the Deployed Systems lane (**待核实**).
81- ACM Open Access / APC terms; template file (USENIX vs. ACM) (**待核实**).
82
83## Output format
84
85```text
86[ATC workflow stage] planning / drafting / abstract-hardening / submitted / round two / rebuttal / shepherding / artifact / camera-ready
87[Critical path] the long-pole task (usually testbed + measurements, then the extended abstract)
88[Deadline set] submission (early June AoE), rebuttal, shepherd sign-off, artifact, camera-ready
89[Next action] the single most schedule-critical step, with a date
90[Risk] the item most likely to slip (provenance pinning / abstract self-containment / shepherd changes)
91```
92
93---
94
95**Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `ATC-Skills/skills/atc-workflow/SKILL.md`
thedixitjain