diff --git a/tool/pom.xml b/tool/pom.xml
index 1c59c5b..1dd00b0 100644
--- a/tool/pom.xml
+++ b/tool/pom.xml
@@ -130,8 +130,25 @@
 			<version>2.1</version>
 		</dependency>
 
+		<!-- test dependencies -->
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>junit</groupId>
+			<artifactId>junit</artifactId>
+			<version>4.11</version>
+			<scope>test</scope>
+		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
+			<artifactId>mockito-core</artifactId>
+			<version>1.8.4</version>
+			<scope>test</scope>
+		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.sakaiproject</groupId>
+			<artifactId>sakai-calendar-api</artifactId>
+		</dependency>
 	</dependencies>
-	
+
 	<build>
 		<sourceDirectory>src/java</sourceDirectory>
 		<resources>
@@ -148,5 +165,10 @@
 				</includes>
 			</resource>
 		</resources>
+		<testResources>
+			<testResource>
+				<directory>${basedir}/src/test</directory>
+			</testResource>
+		</testResources>
 	</build>
 </project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tool/src/java/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBean.java b/tool/src/java/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBean.java
index deb893c..1ea151d 100644
--- a/tool/src/java/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBean.java
+++ b/tool/src/java/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBean.java
@@ -258,15 +258,15 @@ public class SignupMeetingsBean implements SignupBeanConstants {
 		//avoid multiple calls for one page loading : not refresh within one second
 		if(allCategories == null || curr_time - lastUpdatedCatTime > 1000){			
 			List<SelectItem> categories = new ArrayList<SelectItem>();		
-			List<String> allCategories = null;
+			List<String> allCats = null;
 			try {
-				allCategories = signupMeetingService.getAllCategories(sakaiFacade.getCurrentLocationId());
+				allCats = signupMeetingService.getAllCategories(sakaiFacade.getCurrentLocationId());
 			} catch (Exception e) {
 				//do nothing
-				allCategories=null;
+				allCats=null;
 			}
-			if(allCategories !=null){
-				for(String c : allCategories) {
+			if(allCats !=null){
+				for(String c : allCats) {
 					if(StringUtils.isNotBlank(c)) {
 						categories.add(new SelectItem(c));
 					}
@@ -282,10 +282,10 @@ public class SignupMeetingsBean implements SignupBeanConstants {
 			}
 			
 			lastUpdatedCatTime = curr_time;
-			allLocations = categories;
+			allCategories = categories;
 		}
 		
-		return allLocations;
+		return allCategories;
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/tool/src/test/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBeanTest.java b/tool/src/test/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBeanTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..369a98c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tool/src/test/org/sakaiproject/signup/tool/jsf/SignupMeetingsBeanTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+package org.sakaiproject.signup.tool.jsf;
+
+import junit.framework.Assert;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.sakaiproject.signup.logic.SakaiFacade;
+import org.sakaiproject.signup.logic.SignupMeetingService;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.*;
+
+/**
+ * @author Ben Holmes
+ */
+public class SignupMeetingsBeanTest {
+
+	private SignupMeetingsBean _signupMeetings;
+
+	@Before
+	public void setUp() {
+		_signupMeetings = new SignupMeetingsBean();
+
+		SakaiFacade mockSakaiFacade = mock(SakaiFacade.class);
+		when(mockSakaiFacade.getCurrentLocationId()).thenReturn("siteId");
+		_signupMeetings.setSakaiFacade(mockSakaiFacade);
+	}
+
+	private void setMockedLocations(ArrayList<String> locations) throws Exception {
+		SignupMeetingService mockMeetingsService = mock(SignupMeetingService.class);
+		when(mockMeetingsService.getAllLocations("siteId")).thenReturn(locations);
+		_signupMeetings.setSignupMeetingService(mockMeetingsService);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testShouldCacheLocations() throws Exception {
+		ArrayList<String> locations = new ArrayList<String>();
+		setMockedLocations(locations);
+		Assert.assertTrue(_signupMeetings.getAllLocations().isEmpty());
+
+		locations.add("Extra location");
+		Assert.assertTrue(_signupMeetings.getAllLocations().isEmpty());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testShouldBehaveConsistentlyWithCategories() throws Exception {
+
+		ArrayList<String> locations = new ArrayList<String>();
+		setMockedLocations(locations);
+		locations.add("Extra location");
+		Assert.assertFalse(_signupMeetings.getAllLocations().isEmpty());
+
+		// make a cheeky call to categories
+		SignupMeetingService mockMeetingsService = mock(SignupMeetingService.class);
+		when(mockMeetingsService.getAllCategories("siteId")).thenReturn(new ArrayList());
+		_signupMeetings.setSignupMeetingService(mockMeetingsService);
+		_signupMeetings.getAllCategories();
+
+		Assert.assertFalse(_signupMeetings.getAllLocations().isEmpty());
+	}
+
+}