Editorial: The State of TSE

I am pleased to report several changes at the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering that will make the processing of papers more timely and more effective. First, we have removed the length restriction on submitted manuscripts. This should allow authors to document results in appropriate length papers. Despite the change, authors are encouraged to keep papers as short as possible. Second, we have moved TSE manuscript management to the Webbased Manuscript Central system. This system makes all aspects of manuscript processing much more efficient, and it allows everybody involved in processing papers, including authors, to obtain details of the state of manuscripts as they are processed. Third, preprints in the future will be available online two months before the issue cover date. This will allow readers to access the material in the TSE sooner and author’s materials will be accessible sooner. In addition, we are able to publish online supplemental material (e.g., appendices, multimedia) as part of the permanent archive in our digital library. Finally, we have made numerous changes to reduce the submission-topublication time, and it has improved considerably recently. The peer review process has improved as well thanks to the move to Manuscript Central. We are planning additional changes that will provide further improvements in the near future. Publication of the TSE is the result of tremendous amounts of effort by a large number of people. We are very grateful for the anonymous efforts of our reviewers and the work undertaken by the editorial board. The dayto-day operations of the TSE are handled by the following dedicated staff at the IEEE Publications Office in Los Alamitos, CA: Selina Norman, Transactions Assistant, YuTzu Tsai and Steve Wareham, Electronic Media Assistants, Spencer Roper, Production Editor, Suzanne Werner, Peer Review Supervisor, and Alicia Stickley, Transactions Production Manager. It is my pleasure to take this opportunity to thank them for all of their work. Software remains a critical industry to the world. The impact of software is tremendous, both when it works and when it doesn’t. There remain major challenges ahead if we are to reach a point where large software systems can be developed in a timely manner with the required dependability and at reasonable cost. These challenges must be tackled, at least in part, by the TSE community. In responding to these challenges, I am anxious for the TSE to publish papers that help document developers’ experience as well as those that report traditional research results. I hope to see the elements of the solutions to the challenges in the TSE in the future and look forward to receiving those submissions. John Knight Editor-in-Chief IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, VOL. 30, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2004 81