System design and requirements for Automated Law Review Submission System

Abstract

The submission of manuscripts by Authors to Law Reviews is presently an inefficient process for both parties. The integration of technology allows for improvements to this process as can be seen in ExpressOTM and the Stanford Law Review's Electronic Submission System. The Automated Law Review Submission System (ALRSS) was developed to make the submission process even more efficient and effective than present systems allow. This is a software design thesis with emphasis on the System Requirements developed for the ALRSS. The method of developing System Requirements started with discussing the present process with Authors and Law Reviews and determining current needs of the users. Afterwards, a comparison among competitors was discussed to generate limitations of these systems and determine features to emulate for the development of ALRSS. Thirdly, a workflow model was created to examine internal issues of submission tracking and management within the Law Review to further automate the review process and make management of the process more effective. As a result, a more efficient and effective submission process is feasible for both the Author and Law Review by allowing processes to occur electronically from the Author submitting a manuscript to a Law Review Editor assigning or viewing a manuscript. In addition, with electronic tracking, time consuming communication regarding the submission status between the parties can be minimized. This submission system can be further customized for improved features or broader purposes in the future.