An interdisciplinary international program committee supported by a scientific committee selects the most innovative contributions from original full papers submitted in response to a widely distributed call for papers. The program committee makes every effort to optimize the quality of the scientific program rather than to maximize the number of contributing authors. The conference is organized in a highly interactive way using the internet. This allows for an efficient and effective interactive review process. At the conferences, internet connection is provided to the conference participants to meet the communication needs of the participating scientists.

The conferences start with a day of state-of-the-art tutorials to help bridge the boundaries between the different disciplines involved in the conference topic. Workshops on special topics may be held immediately before or after COSIT.

The second to fourth days are dedicated to the formal presentations, discussions of the research papers, and to poster sessions. One of the evenings is reserved for "Birds of a Feather" sessions where the participants split up into theme-oriented dinner discussion groups. After two and a half days of intensive work inside the conference center, the afternoon of the third day is reserved for a joint excursion of some type; these excursions provide exposure to local cultural or natural attractions. While providing a break from the usual conference lecture format, they give an opportunity for more extended small-group discussions of issues raised in the papers and presentations.

On the fifth day, the "Doctoral Consortium" is held, a forum where Ph.D. students present and discuss their ongoing research with one another and with experienced research advisors.