SOFTWARE QUALITY
THESIS AND DISSERTATION CONTEST

SBQS

The Brazilian Software Quality Symposium (SBQS) is the main Brazilian forum dedicated to research on Software Quality. Software quality manifests itself in two complementary and dependent aspects: Software Process Quality and Software Product Quality. With today's society's dependence on software and aggregated services, research on software quality and its application in products and services is both a necessity and a differentiator in delivering value to organizations and their businesses. Over the years, SBQS has excelled in the exchange of experiences between academia and industry, where researchers, educators, and practitioners of Software Quality and Software Engineering meet to present and discuss ideas, experiences, and discoveries, aiming to drive innovation in the software industry.

Objective

The Software Quality Thesis and Dissertation Contest (CTDQS) aims to publicize and reward the best Doctoral Thesis and Master's Dissertation in the area of ​​Software Quality. The thesis or dissertation must have been concluded, defended, and approved in Brazil in the last year. The theses and dissertations awarded should have a relevant impact on society and companies, as well as a significant and outstanding contribution to the scientific area of ​​Software Quality.

Awards

Up to three best Doctoral Theses and the three best Master's Dissertations will be awarded. These works must be presented by the author (former student) at the 25th Software Quality Brazilian Symposium (SBQS 2026). It should be noted that, since 2008, the best Master's Dissertation has received the “Prof. Arnaldo Dias Belchior” award, in honor of the aforementioned researcher, in memoriam. Moreover, since 2020, the Best Doctoral Thesis has received the award called “Prof. Ricardo Falbo”, a special tribute from SBQS to the distinguished researcher and significant contributor to the Brazilian Software Quality community, in memoriam.

Target Audience

Those who hold Doctorate Degree and Master's Degree in the area of ​​Software Quality and who have defended their theses or dissertations in Brazil between January 1 and December 31, 2025.

Manuscript Preparation and Submission

Authors must carefully read the Instructions for Manuscript Preparation and Submission.

Candidates must submit their work electronically and choose the category that corresponds to their work (Doctoral Thesis or Master's Dissertation). The following documents must be submitted together:

• The full text of the Thesis or Dissertation, in PDF format;
• A paper presenting the Thesis or Dissertation, which can be an original work or might have been published or accepted for publication. If the paper is original, it must be up to 10 pages (following the submission instructions below) and in PDF format. If the paper has already been published or accepted for publication, the original paper in PDF must be sent;
• A certificate of completion and approval of the Thesis or Dissertation, issued by the Course Coordination, containing the name of the Graduate Program, the date of the defense, the names of the advisor(s) and members of the Committee Board, the email and the name of the candidate, and the title of the Thesis/Dissertation, in PDF format;
• A signed letter from the advisor highlighting why he/she believes the candidate deserves the award, in PDF format.

Accepting a paper implies that at least one of the authors must register to SBQS to present it during the symposium and that authors must provide extra files required by the general chair (for example, the previous presentation video following the requested format by SBQS). Additionally, for the purpose of speeding up the publication process, authors of accepted papers must fill out some forms requested by the proceedings chair on specific dates.

Link for submission on JEMS3: https://jems3.sbc.org.br/#

Presentation

CTDQS 2026 will be held in a hybrid format, allowing remote presentations and interactions. We encourage authors to attend CTDQS 2026 in Maringá, but remote participation will be possible. All CTDQS 2026 presenters, whether remote or in-person, must register for the event.

Instructions for Publication

All works, either full or short versions, will be published at the CTDQS section in the proceedings of SBQS, following the same template of the files submitted to CTDQS. Publication in the proceedings of SBQS requires the CTDQS paper to be original. If the work has already been published in another venue (journal or conference, including SBQS itself), a short version up to 3 pages, containing the metadata, title, abstract, and keywords ONLY IN ENGLISH (even if the text is written in Portuguese), together with the other sections of the paper, will be published. The short version must be prepared by the authors and must contain a reference to the complete, published version of the paper. If the short version presents an overview of the work, the previous publications and the thesis or dissertation must be cited and included as references.

Selection

Only works that expand or deepen the knowledge about the subject of Software Quality will be accepted. Works that only use or mention Software Quality will not be considered. The selection will be based on the evaluation of the full text of the thesis or dissertation.

In the first phase, theses and dissertations submitted to CTDQS will undergo an evaluation process by a committee composed of professionals from universities and research institutions with recognized research achievements in ​​Software Quality. Members of the Evaluation Committee who supervise candidates competing in one category (Doctorate or Master's) will only evaluate works in the other category.

In the 2nd phase, up to 3 works in each category (Doctorate or Master's) will be invited to present at SBQS. Only the author who defended the Doctoral thesis or Master's dissertation shall present it. A board of experts with no competing interests will evaluate the presentation and the quality of the work and may ask questions. The board members will have access to the full texts of the Doctoral theses and Master's Dissertations prior to the symposium. As such, the classification of CTDQS will consider the evaluation of the full texts of the works and the presentation held during the symposium as well.

In the 3rd phase, only the board members will meet in a private room to reach a consensus on classifying the awarded works in each category. Next, the board will inform the CTDQS chairs of the consolidated result so they can announce it at the opening ceremony of SBQS.

In all three phases, the evaluation committee or the examination board members will use the following criteria as a basis: (i) originality, with a clear identification of the innovative and original nature of the work, that is, the recognized technical-scientific contributions and the level of advancement concerning state of the art; (ii) research methods, considering the scientific rigor applied in the studies included in the theses and dissertations; (iii) relevance, especially to the practice of the Software Quality field, based on the potential for applicability and technology transfer; (iv) publications, assessed by the quality and quantity of publications resulting solely from the context of the thesis or dissertation; (v) awards and distinctions, those granted as a direct result of the thesis or dissertation

Important dates

• Abstract Submission: July 20th, 2026 (11:55 PM Brasilia time)
• Submission via JEMS, including all documents mentioned above: July 27th, 2026 (11:55 PM Brasilia time)
• Notification of the finalists (1st Phase): August 26th, 2026
• Camera-ready version: August 31st, 2026
• SBQS - CTDQS: to be confirmed
• CTDQS Awards: at SBQS 2026 opening ceremony