The software industry is facing a crisis: never before have so many people relied so much on the software we produce. It is no great stretch to say that millions of lines of code execute everyday on our behalf. Software is in everything from our coffee makers to our airplanes and controls the growing and distribution of our food, the generation of power to heat our homes and runs our governments and financial institutions.  And yet bugs in software are so common that they escape not even the newest, most naïve user. Indeed, this industry has a reputation of producing rubbish.
 
Microsoft is seeking to join forces with local testers to review and collaborate on a new generation of software testing tools, codenamed Rosario, aimed squarely at ending this quality problem. As software saturates the technology that shapes our lives, the testing community must rise to the challenge of ensuring that the highest possible quality is reachable. 
 
So to ensure that the product takes a big step in ending the quality problem, the Rosario team would like to invite those of you who test software for a living to get together on the second Monday of each month to discuss how you test your software, discuss best vs. actual practices, interact with some of the testing thought leaders at Microsoft, and evaluate the current designs of Rosario.  We hope that your feedback will serve to shape a product that solves real world problems and reduce the quality gap.
 
We would like to invite you to the first Team Test Special Interest Group session.  To kick off the series, James Whittaker, author of How to Break Software, will discuss his suggested methods for testing software and the Rosario team will ask for your opinions on its current plans. A full agenda of the session can be found on the calendar page. In addition to catering the event, we will be raffling off various items and giving away signed copies of James Whittaker's most recent publication to the first 25 testers to email the team signaling their attendance.   The first session will take place in Microsoft Building 118 (map), Room 1022 (Mt. Si) from 3 to 5 PM.  
 
While you are free to attend SIG sessions on an ad hoc basis, we would kindly ask you to send us an email (with your name and contact details) if you plan on attending.