STAMP Workshop Presentation Guidance

Designing Your Presentation

Manage introductory content
Most attendees come to learn more about STAMP and the types of problems it can address, not the specifics of a particular system or implementation. As a presenter, it’s easy to get caught up in introductory material and spend more time than planned on the initial slides describing a system or application. This often leaves insufficient time to present the most powerful and relevant slides about the learnings from STPA or CAST. To avoid this, keep the introductory slides very brief and maximize the time spent on the most impactful parts of your work.

Do a dry run
Always do a dry run of your presentation and measure how long you spend on the background section versus the core findings from your work. A good rule of thumb is to spend no more than 20% of the presentation time on introductory information. Try to get straight to the most interesting results and findings.

The STAMP workshop includes tutorials to explain STAMP, STPA, and CAST, so you don’t need to spend any time explaining these.

Use effective presentation timing
Allocate most of your time to the core content that is of interest to the STAMP audience. Here’s an example of effective presentation timing:

  • Overview of your application and background
    • 15% of total time
  • Your use of STPA, CAST, etc. (e.g., control structure, UCAs, etc.)
    • 35% of total time
  • Your evaluation of the results: Were the results useful and important? Could they be integrated into your operational or engineering environment? Did they provide new insights or findings that weren’t otherwise known? Did they help to achieve your objectives? How long did it take?
    • 35% of total time
  • Conclusions: You may have some conclusions about your system, but don’t forget to note your conclusions about the process (STPA, CAST, etc.). For many participants, the most relevant conclusions will be those about the process. Did STPA, CAST, etc. work? Was it effective for your objectives? What exactly was the value of your work? What findings demonstrate its value? What would you recommend to others new to STPA, CAST, etc. wondering if it’s worth trying on a similar application?
    • 15% of total time

Mitigate hindsight bias
Beware of hindsight bias–once you show the audience a concern, mistake, or flaw in a system, it will appear to them as obvious and easy to catch even if it is not. One way to overcome hindsight bias is to show the audience how a typical assumption or solution might appear reasonable at first, and then show how a careful analysis found that it was not actually reasonable. Rather than showing all the answers upfront, try to find a way to recreate the “AHA!” moments you experienced during your work. Start with the incomplete or incorrect view that may have initially appeared reasonable before your work was done, and show how your work produced a better conclusion or found the hidden assumptions or interactions that were not immediately obvious.

State your conclusions effectively
A common mistake is assuming the audience will infer your conclusions. Your conclusions should not merely summarize or repeat what you did; they should evaluate your work. Was your work effective? Did it accomplish anything that might have been overlooked without it? What would happen differently if your work hadn’t been done?

See this example. Was STPA an effective solution? While we might guess it was, this is not clearly stated. What was the value of the work, and what unique insights were produced? We could make an educated guess, but a skeptic could look at the same presentation and reject that view because the conclusions are not stated clearly. (In the authors’ defense, this guidance wasn’t available at that time.)

Questions to ask when developing conclusions:

  • Was STPA, CAST, etc. effective?
  • Did your work help to accomplish any objectives?
  • What exactly was the value that your work provided?
  • Did your work accomplish anything that might have been missed without it?
  • Where there any unique findings or insights that demonstrate the value of your work?
  • What would you recommend to others who are wondering if a similar approach is worthwhile?

Consider Future Readers

Think about the perspective of a future advocate of your work who wants to demonstrate its significance to others. What quotable statements can you include in your conclusions so that people in the future can easily reference and convince others of its value and importance?

Consider the perspective of a neutral party, such as a program office or a future researcher learning about state-of-the-art methods and their effectiveness. Their role may require neutrality as they assess existing research and conclusions rather than creating new conclusions about methods. They may see value in your work and want to share its usefulness with others, but they might not be able to draw their own conclusions if you haven’t clearly stated them, even if they seem obvious. They will need clearly written conclusions that can be easily cited and quoted. Therefore, it’s important to explicitly state what was effective and the benefits and value of your work so others do not have to infer them.

Avoid Common STPA & CAST Mistakes

Consider mentioning the time spent on STPA, CAST, etc
One of the most common questions attendees ask is how long it takes to apply these processes. The answer is not always easy because it depends on many factors and there is not a large amount of publicly released information about the amount of time spent on an STPA or CAST project. Consider including this information in your presentation if possible to help others who may be planning similar projects.

If you do report the time spent, it may help to mention if the work was done by STPA or CAST experts or if the team was learning how to apply the method during the time that was measured.

Preparing and Submitting Slides

Some presenters are unable to get approval to post the full presentation online. You will have the option to submit a redacted version of your slides if needed for posting on the website. You also have the option to include additional links, backup slides, or other useful information in the online version.

Giving the presentation

In-person presentations:
Your submitted slides will be automatically loaded onto the podium computer on the day of your presentation. During the presentation, the podium computer will show the presenter’s view with any presenter notes visible to you. We’ll use the Logitech Spotlight remote, which has the standard forward/backward buttons as well as the ability to circle any part of your slide during your talk. We’ll go over how to use the remote in the presenter’s meeting on the morning of your talk.

Virtual presentations:
You will share your screen from your computer and control the slides during your talk. As a backup in case of technical problems, we’ll also have your slides ready to share.

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