Stephen Cawood is a Program Manager at Microsoft in the Office Server Group. In 2004, he was a member of the Halo 2 Beta testing team. With unlimited access to Halo 2, Stephen was able to gain extensive experience with the various levels and options. In addition, the Beta program included access to the unreleased Halo 2 web site and private newsgroups. As part of the Beta, the testers had an inside perspective on these types of decisions, and how they affect game strategies including extensive conversations with the Halo 2 development team about the relative strengths of Halo 2 weapons and the tactical aspects of game level layouts.