We, the Overall Papers Chairs (OPCs) for IEEE VIS 2025, are pleased to announce several important changes to the review process that will be implemented for the upcoming conference. These proposals were initially presented and discussed at the IEEE VIS 2024 town hall, where we gathered feedback from the community both through Zoom, Discord, and email. After incorporating this feedback, we presented formal proposals to the VIS Steering Committee (VSC) in November 2024, which conducted two separate meetings, one month apart, to thoroughly review and discuss each proposal.

We are now happy to share these approved changes to the greater community. The changes have already been incorporated into the VIS 2025 call for papers.

Extended Deadline for Supplemental Materials

To enhance the quality of supplemental materials while maintaining the rigor of the review process, we will now provide authors with an additional week after the full paper deadline to submit their supplemental materials. This means that while abstracts and full papers are still due on March 21 and March 31, respectively, you have until April 7 to submit your supplemental material (including any videos). Of course, those authors who wish to finalize their submission by March 31 (as for past VIS deadlines immemorial) may still do so.

This approach, similar to that used by ACM CHI and UIST, allows authors to focus on their main paper for the initial deadline while ensuring high-quality supplemental content. This change aims to improve replicability and reproducibility while giving authors more time to properly anonymize supplemental materials for double-blind submissions. While this does create a slightly more complex submission timeline, we believe the benefits to submission quality and author well-being outweigh these considerations. We have confirmed the technical feasibility of this approach in the PCS submission system.

Opt-In Publication of Anonymized Reviews

In a step toward greater transparency in the peer review process, we are introducing an opt-in system for publishing anonymized reviews of accepted papers. Both reviewers and authors will have the choice to participate, and reviews will only be published when both the authors and all reviewers of a paper agree. In other words, all reviewers and the corresponding author have to agree before the reviews are published. The reason for this is that for this first year, we want to avoid confusing situations where only a partial set of reviews are published, potentially skewing the perception of an accepted paper.

Reviewers will indicate their willingness to participate at the start of the review process through a checkbox on the review form, while authors will make their choice upon paper acceptance. Approved reviews will be archived as supplemental material in IEEE Xplore.

While we acknowledge concerns about reviewer privacy and potential fingerprinting, we believe these risks are minimal and comparable to existing risks in anonymized submissions. This experimental change represents a measured step toward open reviewing while respecting all participants’ preferences.

Student Reviewer Program

To nurture the next generation of reviewers and enhance the diversity of perspectives in our review process, we are introducing a student reviewer program for full paper reviews. Primary reviewers will have the option to invite a Ph.D. student as an additional reviewer, supplementing the existing three-reviewer structure (primary, secondary, and external). The student reviewer is merely advisory.

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Call for Program Committee Volunteers for VIS 2025

As the new Overall Papers Chairs (OPCs) for VIS 2025, we—Niklas Elmqvist, Holger Theisel, and Melanie Tory, along with our OPC Assistant Petra Specht—are excited to begin preparations for next year’s conference. Following the significant steps taken to increase transparency in the VIS Full Papers program last year (detailed in our “The Road to VIS 2024” blog series), we anticipate a more focused set of updates this year, highlighting only new initiatives and particularly important matters.

One of our first priorities is to announce the opening of volunteer applications for the VIS Full Papers Program Committee (PC). While preparations for VIS 2025 are already well underway, we need your expertise and dedication to make this conference a success.

The VIS 2025 Papers Chairs Committee (PCC) will carefully evaluate all volunteers while considering several key factors. At a minimum, PC members must have

• A Ph.D. degree (or equivalent);
• Published at least one full paper at VIS (preferably within the last five years); and
• Reviewed at least one full paper for VIS (preferably within the last five years).

Additional factors that will influence selection include

• Publication record at VIS and related venues;
• Reviewing experience at VIS and related venues;
• Academic qualifications in our field;
• Previous PC experience for related venues; and
• Areas of expertise.

Please note that while volunteering does not guarantee a position on the program committee, we deeply value and carefully consider all volunteers.

Serving as a PC member represents a significant commitment; much more work than that of a regular reviewer. Before volunteering, please carefully consider whether you can accommodate the workload, particularly during the summary review period, which requires substantial effort within a short, fixed timeframe. Key responsibilities include:

• Conflict management: Managing conflicts of interests is a crucial aspect of maintaining the integrity of our review process. PC members should
  • Bid on all paper abstracts;
  • Carefully identify and declare all conflicts of interest with paper authors (recent co-authors as well as current and former advisors/advisees);
  • Complete all conflict declarations between abstract and full paper deadline; and
  • Maintain strict confidentiality throughout the process.
• Submission management: All PC members will be asked to serve as Primary or Secondary reviewer for 4-6 papers:
  • Recruit at least one expert reviewer per paper they serve as Primary;
  • Ensure timely submission of high-quality reviews; and
  • Find replacement reviewers when necessary.
• Reviewing: All PC members review papers and are expected to model best review practices:
  • Write their own high-quality reviews of all assigned papers;
  • Monitor and ensure quality of external reviews; and
  • Lead and/or participate in the reviewer discussion for each paper.
• Summary Review: Primaries will be asked to write a summary review for each paper:
  • Write summary reviews capturing all reviewers’ assessments;
  • Suggest an initial recommendation for each paper they are managing; and
  • Complete summary reviews within approximately one week after the review deadline.

The volunteering period closes on December 20, 2024. Please go to the following form to volunteer: Link

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