A Typical Two-Phase Workflow Guide

This guide walks you through setting up a typical two-phase workflow: Initial Submission followed by Camera Ready collection for accepted papers.

Understanding the Mental Model

Before diving into the setup, it's important to understand how PaperFox handles multi-phase workflows:

Key Concept: Submissions Are Versioned with Phases

You don't need new submissions for revisions or camera-ready uploads. Each submission in PaperFox maintains a complete version history with phase-specific fields:

• Version 0: Initial submission (Phase 1 fields)
• Version 1: First revision, e.g., camera-ready (Phase 2 fields become available)
• Version 2, 3, ...: Additional revisions if needed

When authors update their submission for camera-ready, they simply edit their existing submission. The system automatically creates a new version while preserving the complete audit trail. Each phase can have additional fields (like Camera-Ready PDF, Response to Reviews) that only appear when the paper moves to that phase.

What This Means for Track Chairs

1. Close submissions after the deadline - This prevents new papers from being submitted, but existing papers can still be updated
2. Authors update, not resubmit - Accepted authors edit their existing submission to upload camera-ready files
3. Full audit trail - You can view any previous version of a submission at any time
4. No duplicate paper IDs - The same submission ID (e.g., icai2027-42) is used throughout the entire workflow

Phases Control What Authors See

Phases control which form fields are visible to authors at each stage:

• Phase 1 (Submission): Shows fields like Title, Abstract, Authors, Paper PDF
• Phase 2 (Camera Ready): Shows additional fields like Camera-Ready PDF, Response to Reviews, Copyright Form

See Configure Track Phases and Configure Submission Forms for details.

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Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Create the Camera Ready Phase

By default, your track has one phase called "Submission". Add a second phase for camera-ready collection:

1. Navigate to your track's Settings → Phases
2. Click "Add Phase"
3. Name it Camera Ready and save

You should now see two phases: Submission (Phase 1) and Camera Ready (Phase 2). See Configure Track Phases for details.

Step 2: Add Camera Ready Form Fields

Add fields that will appear only in Phase 2. Common camera-ready fields include:

• Camera-Ready PDF (File Upload) - Final paper incorporating reviewer feedback
• Response to Reviews (Textarea) - How author addressed reviewer comments
• Copyright Agreement (Checkbox) - Copyright transfer confirmation

When adding each field, select "Camera Ready" as the Phase. See Configure Submission Forms for details.

Step 3: Run the Review Process (Phase 1)

With your phases configured, proceed with the standard review workflow:

1. Open submissions and collect papers
2. Close submissions after the deadline (prevents new papers but allows updates)
3. Invite reviewers and assign submissions
4. Collect reviews and monitor progress

Step 4: Make Decisions

Once reviews are complete, make acceptance decisions from the Decisions page:

1. Go to your track's Decisions page
2. For each submission, click "Make Decision"
3. Choose a decision:
   • Accept: Paper accepted for publication
   • Conditional Accept: Accepted with minor conditions
   • Major Revision: Significant changes required
   • Minor Revision: Small changes required
   • Reject: Paper not accepted
   • Desk Reject: Rejected without review

Step 5: Move Papers to Camera Ready Phase

After making decisions, use Manage Phase Transitions to move papers in bulk:

1. Go to Submissions page for your track
2. Click "Manage Phase Transitions" button
3. Select target phase: "Camera Ready"
4. Filter by decision types (Accept, Conditional Accept are pre-selected)
5. Review the count of papers to be moved
6. Click Continue → Confirm

Papers are moved to Phase 2. Authors will now see the Camera Ready form fields when editing their submission.

Step 6: Notify Authors

Send notifications to inform authors of decisions and next steps. Filter recipients by Decision: "Accepted" or Phase: "Camera Ready".

Key points to include in your acceptance notification:

• Congratulate authors on acceptance
• Explain how to update their submission (edit existing, don't create new)
• List the camera-ready fields they need to complete
• Emphasize that updating preserves their original version
• Include the deadline

See Send Notifications for details on composing and sending notifications.

Step 7: Monitor Camera Ready Submissions

Track progress of camera-ready uploads:

1. Go to Submissions → filter by Phase: "Camera Ready"
2. Check the Updated column to see which authors have submitted updates
3. View submission versions by clicking on a submission → Version History

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Key Points to Remember

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can authors still see their reviews after I move them to Phase 2? A: Yes, all review information is preserved and visible to authors.

Q: What if an author accidentally submits a new paper instead of updating? A: Close submissions after the initial deadline to prevent this. When submissions are closed, authors can only update existing papers, not create new ones.

Q: Can I add more phases (e.g., Revision → Camera Ready)? A: Yes, you can add as many phases as needed. See Configure Track Phases.

Q: Do I need to set up reviewers for Phase 2? A: Not typically. Camera-ready collection usually doesn't require peer review. However, you can configure reviews for any phase if needed.

Q: Can I move papers back to a previous phase? A: No, papers can only be moved forward to later phases, not backward.