hpca-submission

HPCA Submission

Use this for an HPCA paper submission audit. Reopen the current

20XX.hpca-conf.org call for papers, the HotCRP portal, and the IEEE template

before giving deadline-ready advice — every cap and date below is a cycle snapshot.

The two-step July gate

HPCA collects an abstract-and-conflict registration roughly a week before the

full paper, both on HotCRP (hpca<year>.hotcrp.com). The registration step is not a

placeholder: it finalizes the conflict list and seeds reviewer assignment, so a

missed registration can forfeit the paper slot even if the PDF is ready. For HPCA

2027 the paper deadline is July 24, 2026 (AoE), with registration about a week

earlier.

• Register the real title, abstract, authors, topics, and complete per-author

conflicts by the registration cutoff — not placeholders you plan to fix.

• Treat the paper step as a second hard deadline, not an extension of the first.

Format and anonymity audit

• Apply the current IEEE template without margin, font, or spacing hacks. Recent

cycles cap the main body at 11 pages excluding references, with a minimum

10pt font and 12pt leading.

• References are unlimited and uncounted — but **each reference must list all of

its authors**, or the paper can be rejected. Never abbreviate an author list with

"et al." in the bibliography to save space.

• Enforce double-blind: no author names anywhere outside the HotCRP form, scrubbed

PDF metadata, and fully anonymized artifact links (repositories, dataset hosts).

• Keep references de-anonymized: cite your own prior work in the third person,

but do not remove or blind citations for anonymity.

• Disclose any AI-generated content in the acknowledgments per recent CFP

wording; the acknowledgments themselves stay anonymous until camera-ready.

Blocking risks

• Missed abstract-and-conflict registration, or an incomplete conflict list.
• Overlength main text or a modified template.
• A reference that omits authors (a stated reject trigger), or a bibliography blinded

for anonymity.

• Author identity leaking through PDF metadata or a non-anonymized artifact link.
• Headline numbers with no named instrument (simulator/fidelity or machine/state).

Desk-reject and triage table

| Trigger | Severity at HPCA | Repair window |

|---|---|---|

| Missed registration step | Lost paper slot | None after the cutoff |

| Overlength main text | Desk reject | None after the deadline |

| Template tampering | Desk reject or chair flag | None |

| Reference omits authors | Reject per CFP | Only before the deadline |

| Identity leak in PDF or artifact link | Desk reject | None |

| Missing AI-use disclosure | Policy flag | Fixable before the deadline |

Final-week sequence for a simulation-plus-silicon paper

1. Freeze the mechanism description and figure set; renumber so reviewers can

cross-reference.

1. Regenerate every figure from a scripted pipeline so PDF and artifact cannot

diverge.

1. Verify each bibliography entry lists all authors, then scrub PDF metadata and

anonymize every artifact URL.

1. Confirm the HotCRP abstract matches the PDF abstract, all fields are filled, and

status reads submitted (not saved).

1. Re-run the registration-vs-paper check: the conflict list from step one still

matches the author list.

Output format

[HPCA readiness] Ready / Needs fixes / Not ready
[Gate step] registration / paper
[Blocking checks] <registration/page/template/anonymity/references/AI-disclosure>
[Instrument risk] <one un-anchored number, or none>
[Desk-reject risk] <one issue>
[Fix order] <ordered fixes before the deadline>

Recheck the current CFP before trusting any number here: the 11-page cap, the

registration-to-paper gap, and the AI-disclosure wording are all per-edition.