Speakers are selected by the DVP Committee headed by the DVP Chair of IEEE Computer Society. The DVP Chair may appoint members to the DVP Committee for a total of up to 9 members, including the DVP Chair, as deemed necessary to carry out the selection process. Nominations for new speakers are formally solicited by the Chair in the Spring of each year, but are accepted any time throughout the year. The selection of speakers is in accordance with the following guidelines:

1. Speakers are recognized authorities in their respective fields as indicated by the following criteria with respect to their chosen topics: 1) a record of public speaking at conferences or technical meetings, 2) articles in technical or trade journals, and 3) books published.
2. Speakers offer topics of interest to the general Computer Society membership as determined by the following criteria: 1) topics represented in publications, trade journals, and books; and 2) reader/member interest surveys.
3. Speakers' schedules permit them to respond positively to requesting Chapters.
4. Speakers have the support of their employer to participate in the DVP.
5. Speakers are invited to contribute their time and talent for a period of up to three years. An ex-speaker may be re-nominated after being out of the program for a period of at least two years. Any exceptions to this rule must be approved by the Computer Society President upon recommendation by the DVP Committee.
6. A speaker may exit the program during the three years for personal reasons or may be terminated at the discretion of the DVP Chair with the concurrence of the DVP Committee.
7. Current target representations are 67% academia and 33% industry. These targets are considered a goal for the program in order to encourage an acceptable representation between academia and industry, while also recognizing the value of academic research to practicing engineers. If a nominee's group is under-represented, priority consideration will be given to the group that is below its target.