INCOSE SA Western Cape Branch Event: How to write a paper for INCOSE International Symposium (IS) in 2020

A vision to host INCOSE international events in South Africa was met with some scepticism at the 2009 INCOSE International Symposium in Singapore (IS2009). Undeterred, the vision was pursued with determination, resulting in the INCOSE SA Chapter hosting the first ever EMEA Systems Engineering Conference on the African continent in Somerset West in 2014 EMEASEC2014). The huge success of the conference, and continued promotion at international INCOSE events resulted in INCOSE Board approval, in April 2018, to host IS2020 in Cape Town. Having landed the coveted flagship event, the South Africa Chapter is now faced with the challenge to support the INCOSE Events Committee to ensure that IS2020 goes down in INCOSE annals as a most memorable and successful event. The participation of our South African members is important, hence we present a short tutorial to kick-start preparations for IS 2020 paper submissions. The following will be covered in the tutorial:
• What is the role of a paper in a profession?
• What is the difference between a presentation, a conference paper, and a journal paper?
• The double-blind paper review process determines the quality of a paper.
• System engineering is a social science and demands social science research.
• Who should write a paper? What’s in it for the author?