Now that Microsoft is supporting ODF 1.1 in Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 (scheduled for sometime in the first-half of 2009), there is also more concern for interoperability testing among ODF implementations (and perhaps converters that produce or accept ODF).

In any case, the OASIS OIC TC is interested in interoperability among ODF implementations and learning where tests and guidance are called for.

One task is to review the current state of affairs, especially finding out what interoperability problems are bothering users the most, so those can be addressed first. 

 Have you gained any insight into that beyond what is in your current report draft?  What sources should we be consulting?  (I know we can rely on Jesper Lund Stocholm.  I must ping him about this.)

Hi Rajiv,

It sounds like you've already found the test suite work that the Open Document Fellowship hosts?

With ODF 1.2 we're working on a test suite for spreadsheet formulas as well, something that can be loaded and executed in an ODF-enabled spreadsheet application to verify that the formulas are calcualted correctly. That is an approach that lends itself well to a spreadsheet, where there is a single right answer, but doesn't as easily generalize to word procesors or presentations.

You might also find it interesting to read over a presentation I gave at the last OpenOffice.org conference on ODF interoperability: You can get the slides here. It outlines my thoughts on the subject.

We've been working on interop plans in the ODF Adoption TC and we have some initiatives in the words which you'll hear more about soon.

Let me know if you are interested in getting involved in this area. With these new initiatives, there are certainly opportunities for meaningful participation.

-Rob (Co-Chair, ODF TC, Member ODF Adoption TC)

Rajiv,

Are you interested in interoperability-tests that test the formats and how they map together or are you interested on how the formats work in environments where both formats are present?

The German institute DIN (German national standardization body) and Frauenhofer-institute have made som technical mapping/translating tests. It you are interested, I'll try to find the reference for you.

The Danish Government has made som real-world interop-tests that examined how ODF and OOXML worked out together, but these tests (that I participated in as a technical resource) looked not at the formats themselves but mostly how different applications handled conversion between the formats. Sadly the reports and technical documentation are only available in Danish.