Proposal for ICST 2017 Tokyo

1. Proposal for ICST2017 Tokyo ICST 2017 Tokyo Bid Team

2. General and program Chairs • General chairs • Dr. Tetsuro Katayama, University of Miyazaki, Japan • Dr. Atif Memon, University of Maryland, USA • Program chairs • Dr. Hironori Washizaki, Waseda University, Japan • A PC member of ICST • Dr. Ina Schieferdecker, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

3. Other organizers • Local arrangement chair • Mr. Keizo Tatsumi, Fujitsu Ltd., Japan • Marketing chair • Ms. Satomi Yoshizawa, NEC, Japan • Financial chair • Dr. Kouichi Akiyama, Fuji Xerox, Japan • Industry track chairs • Dr. Juichi Takahashi, Sony, Japan • Co-chair is required

4. Supporting organization • ASTER, the Association of Software Test Engineering,is the supporting organization for this proposal • ASTER is a non profit organization which consists of volunteers from academia and industry in Japan • The purpose of ASTER is to promote and research practical software testing technologies in Japan • President: Dr. Yasuharu Nishi (Univ. of Electro-communication, Tokyo) • ASTER will be the main sponsor for ICST 2017 Tokyo • ASTER makes a big profit from ISTQB certification scheme in Japanand will contribute advances of software testing technologiesby supporting ICST 2017 Tokyo • ASTER will support conference operation for ICST • ASTER has much experience of holding a annual local conference,JaSST: Japan Symposium on Software Testing • JaSST’s unique attendance is over 500 people

5. Location • We propose Tokyo in Japan as ICST 2017 location. • Asia is the most suitable region for ICST 2017 • ICSTs have been held only in North America and Europe although locations of ICST should be balanced among three regions, Americas, Europe and Asia • Japan is located midway between North America and Europe • Japan is the most advanced country in IT industry in Asia • Including not only software companies in enterprise domainbut high quality embedded systems companies such as Toyota and Sony • Tokyo is the industrial, economical capital in Japan • Many Japanese attendance and speakers will beexpected because a lot of Japanese companieslocates their headquarter in Tokyo • Tokyo Olympic will be held in 2020! • Tokyo is very easy to access • Tokyo has two international airports connected directly to many cities in Americas, Europe and other Asian countries

6. Venue: Meguro Gajoen • MG is one of the major conference venue in Tokyo • MG is suitable for ICST which consists of: • One big main room for 600 attendancefor keynote • can be divided into two 300-attendance rooms • Nine medium rooms for 120-attendance rooms for parallel sessions and workshops • Very accessible as the big main room and the medium four rooms are abutted in the same floor, and the five rest rooms are just upstairs • Modern facilities including one large screen/projectorand plural microphones for each room and Wifi for all venue • MG is much accessible near the center of Tokyo • MG is just five minutes walk from Meguro, the nearest railway station • Meguro is a station of Tokyo city main loop line and two subways • MG has a gorgeous accommodation in the same building and there are a lot of budget hotels near Meguro and the next stations

7. Venue: Meguro Gajoen • MG can provide ICST guests delightful experiences • MG can serve global guests of ICST with much hospitality: • Guests can enjoy lunch, banquet and welcome reception in a divided main rooms both in buffet style and in four-course style • Special foods such as vegetarian haral are of course available • MG has exotic and attractive Japanese interior such as: • Several traditional Japanese arts and ornaments along the passage from the entrance to the conference rooms • Artificial very small creek and tiny bridge! • Tiny Japanese art museum “Hyakudan Kaidan” in the same building • English-guided tours could be available depending on future museum schedule • http://www.megurogajoen.co.jp/english/

8. Travel to Tokyo • Tokyo is very easy to access • Tokyo has two international airports connected directly to many cities in Americas, Europe and other Asia countries • Tokyo is one of the most attractive cities in the world • Both of attendances and accompanied personscan significantly enjoy because Tokyo has: • A lot of attractive place such as museums, Japanese gardens, exotic shrines/temples amusement parks • Delicious local specialties such as Sushi, Kobe beef and Sake wines • Fast, accurate accessible train/subway network in Tokyo inside and from/to other cities such as Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and several hot spas • Beautiful cherries in full bloom in late March and early April • Opportunities you can try Japanese culturessuch as Kimono dressing • Safe, kind and peaceful people 

9. Corporate involvement • Many attendance and speakers are expected from industry for ICST • Tokyo has potential local attendance for ICST because JaSST, the annual Tokyo local conference on software testing,has over 500 unique attendances from industry • There are over 8,000 ISTQB certified engineers in Japan • ASTER, the supporting organization, consists of many experts on software testing from industry such as NEC, Fujitsu, Sony, Hitachi, Xerox, IBM and HP • We are planning an “Asian Industry Session” to encourage paper submissions on industrial experiencesfrom Japan and IT emerging Asian countries such as • China, Korea, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines

10. Budget information • Sound (profitable if possible) finance will be expected: • Registration fee will be almost the same level as prior ICSTsin North America and Europe • Young volunteers for conference operation will be expected from universities and companies • ASTER, the supporting organization, is the main sponsorwhich will contribute tens of thousands of US$ • Several local companies will be expected to contributefrom over ten thousand US$ to thousands ofUS$ • We will prepare sponsorship program such as Platinum, Gold, Silver

11. Budget information • We will be kind for students, young academia and people from emerging countries • We will prepare student fee around $200 • We will consider Asian participant fee around $200-400and one-day registration fee • Prices in Tokyo are the same level as major cities in North America and Europe where ICSTs were held • Prices of hotels and foods vary proportional to quality • Hotels: $80-150 from cheap to moderate as well as $400 for gorgeous • Foods: $4-8 from fast foods to moderate lunch • Water are free and good to drink • Conference hotel rate will be arranged

12. Program Information • Three conference days • Morning keynotes everyday • One from Japan, One from North America and One from Europe • Japanese keynote will be from industry • 4 parallel tracks • Two for research sessions and one for industry sessions • One for tool sessions and Asian industry sessions • Afternoon panels everyday • One for collaboration between academia and industry • One for typical research topics (e.g. MBT, Automation, CT) • One for emerging technologies and future of software testing • Two workshop days • 14 workshops maximum can be held • 10 for regular workshops such as TAIC PART, A-MOST… • One for Ph.D symposium • 2-3 for new workshops on emerging topics or typical domains • Program for accompanied persons will be planned

13. Conference dates (tentative): • Conference and workshop dates • 13th Mar, 2017 (Mon):Workshops and Ph.D symposium • 14th – 16th Mar, 2017 (Tue – Thu) : Conference • 17th Mar, 2017 (Fri) : Workshops • Hospitality dates • 14th Mar, 2017 (Tue): Welcome reception (bar and snack) • 15th Mar, 2017 (Wed): Banquet (dinner with cultural event) • 15th Mar, 2017 (Wed): City tour for accompanied persons • 13th (Mon) or 17th (Fri) Mar, 2017: Companies visits (tentative)

14. Japan hopes to contribute ICST • Japan hopes and starts to contribute ICST • In ICST 2013 and 2014, six Japanese submissions are each accepted for a main conference and WSs • Good balance: Several from academia and several from industry • Japanese software testing R&D activities and community are much active • Several local annual conferences are active • Attendance of the biggest one are over 500 people • Attendance of other 7 confs are around 50-100 people • ASTER held an international workshop on Test Architecturein conjunction with ISSRE 2011 • ISTQB Certified software testing engineers are getting more • Over 15,000 people took ISTQB exams in Japan • Japanese software testing engineers and researchersare eager to study globally advanced technologies from ICSTand to publish their activities globally in ICST

15. The ICST 2017 Tokyo Bid Team • Dr. Tetsuro Katayama • University of Miyazaki, Japan • <kat@cs.miyazaki-u.ac.jp> • Dr. Hironori Washizaki • Waseda University, Japan • <washizaki@waseda.jp> • Mr. Keizo Tatsumi • Fujitsu Ltd., Japan • <PFB01032@nifty.ne.jp> • Ms. Satomi Yoshizawa • NEC Corporation • <satomi@cj.jp.nec.com> • Dr. Yasuharu Nishi • University of Electro-Communications, Japan • <Yasuharu.Nishi@uec.ac.jp>

16. Thank youfor consideringour eager proposalfor ICST 2017 Tokyo