ISSTA Topic Selection
Use this before writing. ISSTA is the venue for techniques that test or analyze software — that
find, characterize, or reason about program behaviour and defects — evaluated on real subjects. The
routing decision is mostly about whether that is the core of the contribution, or an ingredient in
something broader.
Fit test
- Prefer ISSTA when the contribution is a testing or analysis technique: test generation, fuzzing,
symbolic or concolic execution, static/dynamic analysis, fault localization, program-repair
evaluation, sanitizers, or an empirical study about testing and analysis.
- Route to ICSE or FSE when the contribution is broader software engineering: requirements,
design, process, developer studies, or a technique whose testing angle is secondary. These are
the general SE flagships; ISSTA is the testing/analysis specialist.
- Route to ASE when the core is automation of an SE task and the testing/analysis content is a
means rather than the end.
- Route to ICST when the work is testing-focused but a better fit for a testing-specific
audience, or is more applied/industrial than ISSTA's research-track bar.
- Route to PLDI, POPL, or CAV/TACAS when the contribution is primarily a language/analysis
foundation or a verification result, and the empirical bug-finding evaluation is secondary.
- Route to an SE journal (TSE, TOSEM, EMSE) when the work needs journal-length exposition or is
an extended empirical study beyond a conference's scope.
Fit signal table
| Signal in the project |
ISSTA reading |
| A technique that finds bugs / analyzes behaviour, evaluated on real subjects |
Core fit — the house genre |
| A shared benchmark or testing infrastructure others will reuse |
Core fit (see Defects4J lineage) |
| A rigorous empirical study of a testing/analysis technique class |
Core fit — evaluation is a contribution |
| A broad SE process, requirements, or human-factors result |
Better at ICSE or FSE |
| A formal analysis/verification result with a thin empirical side |
Better at PLDI/POPL or CAV |
| A tool-automation contribution where testing is incidental |
Better at ASE |
Vignette: where a repair project goes
A project produces an automated program-repair technique with a new patch-ranking method and an
evaluation on Defects4J. ISSTA reading: strong fit — a testing/analysis technique with a real
benchmark and a bug-finding-adjacent evaluation. Reframe it as a study of why existing repair tools
produce incorrect patches and it is still ISSTA (an evaluation contribution). Turn it into a formal
soundness result about the repair calculus with little empirical evaluation, and PLDI or CAV becomes
the better home; grow it into a broad process for integrating repair into developer workflows, and
ICSE fits better.
Sharpening moves before committing
- Name the technique and the property it targets. If the core is not a testing/analysis technique or
a study of one, the ISSTA framing does not exist.
- Confirm an established benchmark exists or can be built; an evaluation a reviewer cannot compare to
prior work is a quiet fit failure here.
- Check the evaluation can be run at a fair, equal budget against the nearest tool — ISSTA's
comparison bar is high.
- Topic emphasis drifts between editions; scan the current call's topics of interest before final
routing.
Is the core a technique that tests or analyzes software,
evaluated on real subjects against a fair baseline?
yes -> ISSTA is a strong candidate
broader SE / process / human factors -> ICSE / FSE
automation-first -> ASE ; testing-applied -> ICST
formal / verification-first -> PLDI / POPL / CAV
Output format
[Fit] strong ISSTA / possible ISSTA / better elsewhere
[Best venue] ISSTA / ICSE / FSE / ASE / ICST / PLDI / CAV / journal
[Contribution sentence] <one sentence naming technique + property>
[Top rejection risk] <originality / evaluation / comparison / scope>
[Next action] <technique work, benchmark choice, framing, or venue switch>
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → ISSTA-Skills/skills/issta-topic-selection/SKILL.md
1---2name: issta-topic-selection3description: Use when deciding whether a project is a strong ISSTA fit versus ICSE, FSE, ASE, ICST, PLDI/CAV, or an SE journal, identifying whether the contribution is a testing/analysis technique, characterizing its evaluation shape, and sharpening the framing before writing begins.4---567# ISSTA Topic Selection89Use this before writing. ISSTA is the venue for techniques that **test or analyze software** — that10find, characterize, or reason about program behaviour and defects — evaluated on real subjects. The11routing decision is mostly about whether that is the *core* of the contribution, or an ingredient in12something broader.1314## Fit test1516- Prefer ISSTA when the contribution is a testing or analysis technique: test generation, fuzzing,17 symbolic or concolic execution, static/dynamic analysis, fault localization, program-repair18 evaluation, sanitizers, or an empirical study *about* testing and analysis.19- Route to **ICSE or FSE** when the contribution is broader software engineering: requirements,20 design, process, developer studies, or a technique whose testing angle is secondary. These are21 the general SE flagships; ISSTA is the testing/analysis specialist.22- Route to **ASE** when the core is automation of an SE task and the testing/analysis content is a23 means rather than the end.24- Route to **ICST** when the work is testing-focused but a better fit for a testing-specific25 audience, or is more applied/industrial than ISSTA's research-track bar.26- Route to **PLDI, POPL, or CAV/TACAS** when the contribution is primarily a language/analysis27 *foundation* or a *verification* result, and the empirical bug-finding evaluation is secondary.28- Route to an **SE journal** (TSE, TOSEM, EMSE) when the work needs journal-length exposition or is29 an extended empirical study beyond a conference's scope.3031## Fit signal table3233| Signal in the project | ISSTA reading |34|---|---|35| A technique that finds bugs / analyzes behaviour, evaluated on real subjects | Core fit — the house genre |36| A shared benchmark or testing infrastructure others will reuse | Core fit (see Defects4J lineage) |37| A rigorous empirical study of a testing/analysis technique class | Core fit — evaluation is a contribution |38| A broad SE process, requirements, or human-factors result | Better at ICSE or FSE |39| A formal analysis/verification result with a thin empirical side | Better at PLDI/POPL or CAV |40| A tool-automation contribution where testing is incidental | Better at ASE |4142## Vignette: where a repair project goes4344A project produces an automated program-repair technique with a new patch-ranking method and an45evaluation on Defects4J. ISSTA reading: strong fit — a testing/analysis technique with a real46benchmark and a bug-finding-adjacent evaluation. Reframe it as a *study of why existing repair tools47produce incorrect patches* and it is still ISSTA (an evaluation contribution). Turn it into a formal48soundness result about the repair calculus with little empirical evaluation, and PLDI or CAV becomes49the better home; grow it into a broad process for integrating repair into developer workflows, and50ICSE fits better.5152## Sharpening moves before committing5354- Name the technique and the property it targets. If the core is not a testing/analysis technique or55 a study of one, the ISSTA framing does not exist.56- Confirm an established benchmark exists or can be built; an evaluation a reviewer cannot compare to57 prior work is a quiet fit failure here.58- Check the evaluation can be run at a fair, equal budget against the nearest tool — ISSTA's59 comparison bar is high.60- Topic emphasis drifts between editions; scan the current call's topics of interest before final61 routing.6263```text64Is the core a technique that tests or analyzes software,65evaluated on real subjects against a fair baseline?66 yes -> ISSTA is a strong candidate67 broader SE / process / human factors -> ICSE / FSE68 automation-first -> ASE ; testing-applied -> ICST69 formal / verification-first -> PLDI / POPL / CAV70```7172## Output format7374```text75[Fit] strong ISSTA / possible ISSTA / better elsewhere76[Best venue] ISSTA / ICSE / FSE / ASE / ICST / PLDI / CAV / journal77[Contribution sentence] <one sentence naming technique + property>78[Top rejection risk] <originality / evaluation / comparison / scope>79[Next action] <technique work, benchmark choice, framing, or venue switch>80```8182---8384**Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `ISSTA-Skills/skills/issta-topic-selection/SKILL.md`
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