From all of us here at Lighthouse, we want to thank you — our clients, partners, friends and family — for your continuous support throughout this year. Please take a moment to watch our special Thanksgiving video and reflect on what you are most grateful for. We wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season!

At this year’s QA or the Highway conference, Jeff co-presented with Alexander Grantz from Total Quality Logistics, the second-largest freight brokerage firm in North America. Their presentation detailed TQL’s road trip in automating their testing processes, addressing the significant bumps they faced along the way, and the strategies they used to cruise past them.

Lighthouse Technologies CEO & President Jeff Van Fleet presented at Technology First’s 21st Annual Ohio Information Security Conference (OISC) in Dayton, Ohio. In his breakout session, Jeff shared how FOCUS, an app used to build successful and sustainable cultures for Athletic Teams across the country, is now tailorable for Business Teams. If you are looking to elevate your team’s game but were unable to attend Jeff’s presentation, read the summary of his demo below to learn how you can empower your employees with FOCUS.

It’s rapidly approaching Spring here in Ohio and this time of year often reminds me of high school track. I remember when the track season came around, those initial practices were hard. Even when I started running a couple of weeks before practice started, I was not in top shape. Honestly, the practices were hard for several weeks but eventually, they began to get easier. The actual workouts were not getting easier but I was getting stronger physically and mentally. After a couple of weeks, I could easily warm up with a 2-3 mile run, then run 440 yard repeats (Yea, I’m that old. We were still running yards, not meters.), with some 220s and 100s thrown in there just for fun. Daily practice prepared me for competition and helped me improve my personal bests. As I moved into my professional life, the idea of daily practice was different.

Here at Lighthouse, we are always talking about our ‘Culture of We’ and how important having fun is to our team. Don’t just take our word for it though – check out Mark Adams, our recently retired VP of Sales & Client Success, on National TV. Mark is currently in his 25th season with ESPN and has some exciting NCAA Men’s Basketball games coming up.

If your software team is spending more time fixing bugs than developing new features, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that poorly written requirements are likely a root cause of your never-ending rework. The good news? By shifting left, improving these requirements is not only easy, but the most effective way to reduce rework.

Similar to how resolutions outline our visions and goals for each year, requirements do the same for software projects. However, unlike your resolutions which are personal, requirements are read by an audience of individuals with a wide range of technical knowledge and understanding (business users, product managers, business analysts, UI/UX designers, developers, and testers) – this means leaving no room for interpretation is even more important.

After a 3-year hiatus due to Covid and staff turnover, the Miami University Middletown baseball program returned this fall and defied all expectations. How did the youngest college baseball team in the country, led by a coach with no prior experience coaching college baseball, achieve a 12-5 record – the best winning-percentage in program history and first winning-season since 2000? Focus.

From all of us here at Lighthouse, we want to thank you — our clients, partners, friends and family — for your continuous support throughout this year. Please take a moment to watch our special Thanksgiving video and reflect on what you are most grateful for. We wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season!

We had a blast sponsoring and speaking at Technology First’s Taste of IT conference earlier this month. From connecting with industry leading professionals, to presenting on how to lead software teams to proven success, to eating lots of homemade bread, it was a sweet time! If you were unable to attend our presentation at the event, read some of the highlights and key takeaways.

Just because it is Spooky Season doesn’t mean your current software project needs to be scary too. In the shadowy world of software development, the most frightening horror stories aren’t those about ghosts, zombies, and monsters – but rather, missed deadlines, overrun budgets, and never-ending quality issues. Zoinks!

If your current software project feels like a never-ending road trip where you’re continuously missing exits (release dates) and having to reroute, we can help. With our project navigation service, you will never have to ask, “how much longer?” or “how much more money?” again. Know where your project is at, where it’s going, and how much time, money and effort it will take to get there in real-time.

It only takes one bad release or missed deadline to disrupt business projections, cripple productivity across your company or cause irreparable damage to your brand. If your software projects are consistently late and overbudget, there is no time or money left to waste.

Here at Lighthouse, we are always talking about our ‘Culture of We’ and how important having fun is to our team. Don’t just take our word for it though – check out Mark Adams, VP of Sales & Client Success, on National TV. Mark is currently in his 24th season with ESPN and has some exciting NCAA Men’s Basketball games coming up.

Go beyond user stories to ensure Fitness for Purpose. When developers focus solely on satisfying the user stories, rather than also considering the big picture (intended functionality), they develop both tunnel vision and poor-quality software.

In part 3 of our blog series on The Benefits of a Metric-Based Methodology, we share how to apply metrics in Agile.

In part 2 of our blog series on The Benefits of a Metric-Based Methodology, we share how to apply metrics in regression test (or waterfall).

In part 1 of this 3-part blog series, we outline the benefits of having a Metric-Based Testing Methodology. Why measure software testing? Well, that’s easy – because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.

It’s been a while since I’ve written a leadership blog and I am excited to get back to it, which is fitting as the theme for today is exactly that — getting back in there. I came across this quote recently that spoke loudly and clearly to me, so I wanted to share it with you.It got me thinking about myself and how seemingly little things in our lives can easily derail us and throw us off balance. That’s what happened to me for the last couple of months.

We have a lot more to explore and look forward to in 2022. Our wish for you this Holiday Season is that you take a few moments for yourself, reflect on 2021, appreciate yourself for what you’ve learned, and appreciate those around you for what they bring into your life. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

As leaders, we have an opportunity to help improve the lives of those surrounding us. Whether we are business leaders, community leaders, athletic directors, or coaches, we can and do impact those on our “team.” Whether you are intentional or not, you are making an impact.

Most businesses are heavily dependent on custom software to differentiate themselves from their competitors and bring unique value to their customers — but honestly, they don’t know how their software development team is doing.

In a short vlog, Jeff shares what it means to have a Culture of We, why it’s important, and three steps you can lead to bring that culture to your organization.

Are you looking for a job, career change, or even a promotion? Jeff’s best advice: have a can-do attitude. In this short vlog he shares what a “can-do” attitude looks like, including a real-world example.

Jeff Van Fleet share his thoughts on the role that honesty plays in creating a strong, positive culture.

This Holiday season, Jeff encourages everyone to lead by staying centered and consistently focusing on the positives.

Our CEO, Jeff Van Fleet, shares a few observations from working the polls on election day that he found applicable to UI-UX teams.

In the past, we’ve shared our secret sauce for strong software teams, and those principles apply to teams of all sizes. However, when your development team is small (we’re talking 1-15 team members), there are a few specific best practices to be successful.

In October 2020, Mark Adams was an attendee for the virtual ComSpark event, featuring 90+ CIO level speakers. He had an agenda to explore, “How has the move to more remote employees affected culture?” He left wondering if leaders were talking about culture or just team building social events.

In the last two weeks, I have been reminded repeatedly about Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And, coincidentally, I’ve caught myself juggling a lot of different personal and business tasks, feeling overwhelmed, and getting a bit lost on the best way to prioritize and organize things. With all of the Covey reminders going on in my life, I realized that my sense of crisis is exactly what Habit #3 – Put First Things First — is designed to help.

As a software leader, we know you’re focused on three main things: time to market, quality, and productivity. And, after being in business for over two decades, we thought it was time to share some of the secret sauce that leads software teams to be successful in these areas. Enter, Lighthouse’s 5 Core Software Principles: […] Read more

Whether you’re new to your organization and want to understand what’s going on, or you’ve been there a while and something just doesn’t seem right, an all-encompassing assessment of your software team and processes may be the best next step. Software is an enormous investment in your organization. It likely holds a significant role in the value you provide for your customers, so why wouldn’t you ensure you’re getting good value for your investment?

As a leader of our business team or technology team, does the end result justify the means? I often meet with business leaders who are focused on outcomes and many tolerate their flawed process because they are “good enough”. By what standard? How good is good enough?

I know that many of you read my regular blogs to learn a few tips on how I believe we should lead our teams and our lives so that we are more fulfilled. But lately, I’ve been struggling a bit and am hoping you might be willing to share some advice.

Make no mistake: if you require customizations to a software product, you need to treat those customizations as full custom code. This means the project needs managed, scheduled, resourced, and tested as such.

I know we are all trying to get to some sense of normalcy, but between COVID-19 impacting our income and our lives, and the continued senseless murders and racism toward our Black friends and family, it is no wonder that most of us are still feeling anxious and overwhelmed. I know that I am! As leaders, I feel that it’s paramount that we understand how we and our employees, team members, families, and friends are coping and adjusting. I thought I would share with you my journey thus far as I work toward resilience in the hopes that maybe my experiences will help you, too.

As our world changed dramatically over the last few months, the eCommerce space skyrocketed. We thought it might be helpful to share common challenges we’ve seen so you can take proactive steps to mitigate them.

Hiring the right person for the right role is a great way to grow the team and their capabilities, but the process many times falls apart and results in additional expense, wasted time, and poor team results. Check out our recommendations for hiring the right software QA candidate.

We’re more connected to one another than ever before and this affords opportunities to collaborate with people from across the world just as though they were right next to us. However, there are some underlying difficulties that make collaboration troublesome from a testing and QA perspective.

The IT world in many ways has a very serious leg-up on other industries as we all experiment with new ways to be remote during social distancing. That said, those of us who strictly follow the Agile Manifesto know that co-located teams are a core component of Agile and Scrum. So, what are some ways […] Read more

Today’s software development projects are nimble in comparison to what they once were. While we review what a testing process might look like, it’s important to note that the most experienced software testing teams will be the best able to adapt to your software development team structure.

How do you know it’s time to release your software? From the development side, they may feel like they are nearing the finish line, but the project leader has a different perspective, so don’t let the team pack up just yet!

You just released code into the production environment, but shortly after, realize that you’ve also injected a number of defects into production. (Yeah. We know. That never happens 😊) So, how do you recover? At Lighthouse, we recommend taking a 3-phased approach.

Over the last decade, Agile methodologies have truly become the gold standard for software development practices. As you look around and start comparing, you’ll notice that the methodologies are all rooted in continuous improvement and adaptive planning, which both lead to early code delivery. The key to success here is the ability to change quickly and early in the process.

Many of the frustrations around software coding quality usually start with the business requirements. Luckily, we’ve found ScopeMaster, a tool to help you address challenges around too vague, misleading, or misunderstood requirements.

We talk about the 5x rule involving the costs of defects in this article, but it can get much worse than 5x. Depending on when a defect is identified, the costs associated with correction, and worse yet, the revenue losses associated with that defect, can all mean the total amount can easily surpass the 5X quote. While we can hope for and hire the best developers in the industry, the fact remains that no one is perfect. That’s precisely why testing is a critical component in any software development project.

In a nutshell, TaaS is an outsourcing model for software testing that makes resources available on the cloud that would otherwise/traditionally be in-house.

You are so close to the finish line. You might just keep this project on time and on the budget, after all. But then, just as you are about to plan for some relaxing downtime to celebrate your upcoming win… wait for it…BOOM. You walk into a pile of service desk tickets, all related to […] Read more

Did we just say dumpster fire? Why, yes, we did just say dumpster fire. If you raised your eyebrow at this moment wondering what precisely a dumpster fire is: Dumpster fire (dʌmpstər ˈfaɪər) – A recurring daily emergency that never gets fixed. Something stupid keeps happening. Oh, now you know what we’re talking about! If you […] Read more

Nobody wants to go there, and we pray we never have to make that call. If you’ve been running software projects for more than a day, you’ve probably had to make that call, and it’s usually not pretty. Here are some tips to reduce those moments.

Even the best-laid plans are subject to the whims of a bulldozer and circumstance. A perfect example being when a meticulously thought out project experiences a change that blows the plan apart. But what could some of those changes be? I’m so glad you asked.

Workplace culture not only affects morale, but also productivity, problem resolution, and your bottom line. Here’s how you assess your culture an some ideas to make improvements.

Let’s broaden our scope beyond a project or software testing and discuss the health of your organization. It doesn’t matter one lick what kind of business you’re in, and I think you will discover several aspects of this article that apply directly to you and your organization. First. Risk is real, and that’s because things […] Read more

Working with a rural (onshore) testing team brings a very different experience than working with an offshore staffing agency, and there are many benefits to onshoring your testing work. In this blog, we’ll be talking about two benefits, in particular, the ability of the onshore team to provide better defect prevention and process improvement. It […] Read more

As you ponder between the two models, here are some distinctions between the two that will help you determine which model will best benefit the needs of your organization.

Pay it now or pay it later, quality testers make a significant difference in the long run.

Hidden costs to your budget that aren’t included in that overseas proposal.

First, a quick recap In a recent blog, the Top 10 benefits of using on-shore testers, one of the benefits mentioned is that on-shore testing provides increased efficiency. Onshore testers like Lighthouse’s certified testers are quick to identify inefficiencies and then make corrections and improvements as they go. In the Lean Six Sigma world, we […] Read more

On the surface, you look at the prices of offshore testing as an outsourced solution, and it seems too good to be true. That’s because it is. There are hidden pitfalls that can significantly inflate the “low costs” of offshore providers and run your software initiatives and ROI into the ground.

Here are some creative brainstorming approaches to get the ideas flowing.

If you stand at a high-level and observe a development project team (and in particular, an outsourced development team), it doesn’t take long at all to notice a multitude of dynamics interacting with one another. These many dynamics float around differing agendas and priorities. The project manager is like a conductor, directing and coaxing harmony […] Read more

Have you been tempted to try offshore testing yet? Every aspiring project manager has had the thought cross their mind, and until they experience it for themselves, offshore testing looks like the answer to the budget crunch…or is it?I recently came across a survey conducted by the Software Test & Performance Conference in Boston (STPCon). […] Read more

You are here One common way to cut costs on a smaller-scale project is to engage a Director, Manager, or another lead role to run a project instead of employing a professional Project Manager for the task. Not only is it a way to save funding, but it is also a way for an up-and-coming […] Read more

Meetings are often standard practice in the corporate world. We accept invitations without thinking and arrive with everyone else, but at what cost? The value of those meetings is directly relevant to the value of the information shared. Who can raise their hand if they’ve been in a meeting and wondered why they were there? […] Read more

Having just recently experienced the devastation left behind by a cluster of tornadoes that blew through our town, we’re grateful. A byproduct of that night brought to the forefront for us, and many businesses and households alike, the question of how prepared were we really when it comes to disasters? Boy did this topic hit […] Read more

As a leader in charge of a departmental or project budget, there is a term to be familiar with that may have slipped through the cracks. As software development projects continue moving forward and evolving, what are the hidden costs? What is Technical Debt? Technical debt is the term given to leftover costs associated to […] Read more

The software development project has come so far, and everyone can see that the end is near. Likely, you’re doing Agile development and have been doing in-sprint testing along the way.  Maybe you’re pretty sophisticated and have been doing test automation along the way.  But, whether Agile or Waterfall, you likely want to do a […] Read more

Let’s all gather around, PM’s and Executives alike because we are about to introduce a significant change to the way your employees do their jobs. When the development and testing are all completed, the first thought is “We’re in the clear!” but that couldn’t be further from the truth because the project is still at […] Read more

For software development projects large and small, there are several advantages to having a dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) team when it comes to testing.  Many project managers attempt to cut costs by having all team members engaged in the testing process to keep things in-house. Sometimes it works well, but after experiencing the contrast of […] Read more

The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings up all kinds of fantastic images to mind, thanks to Hollywood. We have robots of both evil and kind persuasions and of course, they have human forms, because that’s what sells. All of that being said, what about real life? The robots in the movies go beyond what they […] Read more

Once upon a time, software development teams waited until the end of the development cycle to fully test the finished product. This practice had a team of manual testers follow scripts, or they removed SMEs from their day jobs and monopolized their time for 4-6 weeks while they tested the functionality of the software.  Of […] Read more

Beautiful and lush green grass covers a yard. A little seedling from a weed pops up but is not noticed right away. Quickly the weed becomes a small-sized tree, but nobody has time to tackle the yard today. It seems as if no time has passed, but suddenly that tree grows as tall as a […] Read more

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying life. As many of you know, I spend a great deal of my time learning about leadership, observing others, and playing with these notions for myself. One thing I’ve learned is that regardless of where you are in your organization, you can be a great leader. You can lead […] Read more

“ The path to lower costs, shorter schedules and all good things, is to focus on measuring and improving quality. Mistakes happen, but a focus on quality that detects and fixes defects in the early work products can have a huge impact.” Based on a team of 100 developers, your average annual spend on software […] Read more

“So, yes, the whole team is involved and committed to quality, but the Quality Assurance role is a vital one.  We can’t expect to deliver efficiently without an excellent, well-designed testing platform and this requires expertise and as much investment as the product itself if we want that product to thrive.” We came across this […] Read more

“After several months of playing with that notion, I realized that life ebbs and flows and that the demand in each of these aspects ebbs and flows too.” I was recently invited to share some of my experiences and help mentor our Women 4 Technology group here in Dayton.  I was one of several invited […] Read more

“My wish for you this Holiday Season, regardless of your beliefs, is that you take the time to continue your holiday traditions.” Dear Santa, I hope this message finds you well – feeling healthy, enjoying your Holiday prep time, and staying warm and cozy.  I love this time of year!!  Our family celebrates Christmas so […] Read more

How do we bring value?  Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s CEO, thinks we can all do more to bring additional value to our clients, our organizations and our employees … “I believe there are three areas on which good leaders should focus – our clients, our companies, and our employees.” I hope my message finds you doing […] Read more

It’s October, and odds are your department is waist-deep in building next year’s budget. But while budgeting can be a monotonous, Herculean task, it also can be a transformational one: with a new budget on the horizon, now’s the time to improve your testing team by investing in large-scale, quality-focused initiatives.

Your testing team never slouches, but you always seem to find a bunch of defects in production regardless. But while improving your test coverage, speed, and accuracy is an obvious solution, it’s always seemed prohibitively expensive. With test automation, however, your solution isn’t just affordable—it can cut your budget in half!

When times are tough, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, dwelling on missed opportunities and past regrets.  But instead of fixating on what’s behind us, how can we look forward?  Perhaps the solution is as simple as S-W-O-T…

We talk a lot about software testing methodologies around here.  And for good reason—they’re a primary component of a consistent and efficient testing and QA organization.  But what is a methodology built upon?  At Lighthouse, it comes down to 3 things: People, Process, and Tools.

Everyone wants lower costs, shorter schedules, and higher quality in software testing and QA—but you can’t have it all.  Upper management wants cost and schedule savings, but you can’t just sacrifice quality, either.  Could Risk-Based Testing be the ideal compromise?

How can we be more effective in our relationships?  Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s CEO, thinks we should all take a lesson from Aesop’s Golden Goose…

When things go wrong, it’s easy to dwell on missed opportunities or previous mistakes.  But instead of getting stuck in the past, what if we used our negative experiences as an opportunity to improve?

Software is never 100% defect free, so how far should responsible testers go before wading into the murky seas of cost overruns and diminishing returns—and what methods should they use to draw the line?

Everyone fails at one point or another, but what sets the truly great apart is how they learn from it and improve. In the IT world, almost everyone’s dealt with software project failures; but identifying their root causes can be difficult, making improvement impossible—at least until now, that is.

Caught between those who want empowerment and those who want to cut costs, how can middle management avoid getting caught in some nasty crosshairs?  Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, has a few ideas. 

In today’s world, software testing is increasingly seen as a commodity. But as companies’ reputations become increasingly dependent on their digital presence, is poor quality really acceptable anymore? And if so, isn’t it worth finding a high-quality outsourcing partner to protect it?

Let’s face it: business applications aren’t getting any less complex, and customers aren’t going to lower their digital expectations any time soon. There’s a new king in the IT world—quality.

Leaders are often fast-paced thinkers, but that can sometimes mean we leave others struggling to keep up.  Does active listening hold the key to better leadership?  Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s CEO, thinks so.

If there’s one common concern our clients share, it’s their initial worry that we’re not familiar enough with their customized software systems to test them effectively.  That’s why we go to such great lengths to ensure our testers are effortlessly adaptable to all sorts of digital terrain.

Everyone knows that poor software quality can be costly, but quantifying it can be a lot harder.  That’s why we built this handy infographic to illustrate (literally) the importance of quality software testing!

It’s a universal truth: work too much and it starts to wear on you.  When that happens, a little time away may be just what the doctor—or Lighthouse CEO—ordered.

As a software testing company, we’ve been to more conferences than we can count. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly—and we’re here to tell you: whether you’re a tester, test lead, scrum master, director, or CIO, QA or the Highway is definitely worth your time!

When it comes to the quality of your software, 65 percent of your total improvement comes from having the right people, trained with the right skills, working in the right roles. That’s no easy task, however. So let us start you off on the right track with the Gauntlet™ QA skills assessment!

It’s not always easy, but taking the time to recognize the support your family, friends, and coworkers have given you isn’t just a great way to get in touch with yourself, it’s a fast track to fostering deeper relationships.  It’s something Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, recommends we all do on a regular basis.

Just like New Year’s resolutions, it’s easy to give up on driving changes in software testing and QA because of a lack of short-term success.  Isn’t it time we changed this mindset—and started focusing on the journey as well as the destination?

Whether your software testing and QA organization has two people or 200, the quality of your software depends on the capability and proficiency of your testers.  But how do you measure that?  That’s where we come in.

At Lighthouse, we always focus on having fun—and 2017 was no exception!  Let’s take a look back through the year that was!

No matter the size or scale of your software projects, you likely rely on one or more third-party vendors to get the job done.  But, if you’re not writing quality criteria into your contracts, you might be stuck overpaying when they under-deliver.

For a lot of companies, especially those in retail and eCommerce, the Holiday Season is a make-or-break time of year.  However, in the rush to “survive” the increased traffic and overloaded servers, are we missing a golden opportunity to improve quality by discovering our key vulnerabilities?

There’s no question that the Holiday Season is the most wonderful time of the year.  However, that doesn’t mean it’s not without its own challenges—especially for leaders.  Whether it’s leading an IT department or coordinating a tense family visit, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, advocates addressing them head on.

When software projects frequently miss release dates and go over-budget, unplanned rework is often the culprit. So why aren’t more companies Shifting Left to get testing and QA involved earlier during sprints?

Every year, the holiday shopping rush reminds us of a fundamental truth: make sure your website performs under load. But in the haste to perform load testing, it’s worth considering adding another equally-important arrow to your quiver: code analysis.

Why do so many salespeople abandon honesty and resort to deception tactics to get a meeting?  Despite the frustration, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, thinks we can all learn a very valuable lesson from them.

The success of your software testing and QA team comes down to one thing: having the right people in the right roles.  That can be quite a challenge, though—which is why we developed the Gauntlet™ to ensure our clients get the best personnel out there.

If the 3 Perils of Software Development™—Defects, Delays, and Dollars—are regularly driving your projects off schedule and over budget, getting your QA and testing team back on course can be hard. That’s why applying a metrics-based testing methodology is so important—it’s the most reliable course correction there is.

In the wake of the Equifax breach, software security is more paramount than ever.  But as software applications continue to grow more complex and hackers’ methods grow more and more sophisticated, how can we safeguard our systems and prevent these kinds of breaches in the future?   For more on that, check out what our friends at CAST Software have to say!

An important message from Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, on our company’s response to the destruction caused by hurricanes in 2017. Every year, we donate a portion of our proceeds to a local charity of our choice. This year, however, it feels like there’s a bigger need outside our hometown. I wanted to […] Read more

Despite the widespread adoption of Agile, some testing and QA teams still find themselves falling behind.  With time-to-market more important than ever, is shifting left the key to getting beleaguered QA teams back up to speed?

Do you want better visibility into the effectiveness of your testing and QA team?  Sign up for our upcoming webinar on October 19th to learn what metrics you need to be tracking and how they can improve your testing and QA!

One of the key traits of innovative leadership is the ability to see patterns and connect unconnected dots.  Our President and CEO thinks this has a lot to do with Associative Thinking, a conclusion his daughter, Rachel, helped him to reach.

In the software testing and QA world, it’s easy to feel like your problems are insurmountable. That’s why you need to consult the people who understand your challenges most: your peers. And if you’re in the Cincinnati/Dayton area, our upcoming roundtable is just the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Despite being a critical aspect of objective analysis, many software project teams fail to achieve independence in QA.  With software quality more vital than ever, is anything more crucial to a software project’s success than testers’ independence?

In the grand scheme of things, you’d never think software (and software testing/QA) shares any similarity with an appliance like a washing machine.  Well, according to our President and CEO, Jeff Van Fleet, perhaps they’re more alike than you think.

As thought leaders in software testing/QA, we like to keep ourselves up-to-date on the latest cutting-edge insights and industry trends.  That’s why we sent our best and brightest to StarEast 2017.  Here’s the second half of their two-part report.  (Check out part one here!)

Do you want to take control of your software projects?  Our upcoming webinar, “The Power of Testing Assessments: Keeping Your Projects on Course”, is a great place to start.  An in-depth look at the value of evaluating your software testing team’s performance, it’s a great first step towards getting your QA team back on track.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an important trait in successful leaders, but did you know it can be improved like any other skill?  Neither did our CEO, Jeff Van Fleet.

Here at Lighthouse, we’re awful passionate about software testing and quality assurance.  But even as thought leaders, we like to keep ourselves up-to-date on the latest cutting-edge insights and industry trends.  In that spirit, here are some of the most interesting things we heard at StarEast 2017.

For some IT leaders, software development projects can feel like an endless cacophony of defect-related rework and delays—especially for people involved In software testing and QA.  But as frustration mounts, pinpointing a path to improvement can prove difficult.  Our solution?  Start with quality exit criteria.

Even the strongest people in the world have bad days. So when you get worn down, beat up, overwhelmed, or things just aren’t going your way, here are a few tried-and-tested strategies from our President and CEO, Jeff Van Fleet.

Everyone’s had at least one software project release off schedule and over budget. But while delays may seem like a ubiquitous hardship for software testing/QA teams, they don’t need to be. In our upcoming June 29th webinar, we’ll delve into why projects so frequently get blown off course, and break down the steps you can take to get them back on track.

Every software project is judged by four factors: time-to-market, agility, quality, and cost. But while those are typically seen as your developers’ domain, aren’t your software testers and QA engineers the ones really responsible for them?

As spring signals its arrival with shades of green and blooming flowers, how can we transform ourselves and the organizations we lead? Lighthouse CEO Jeff Van Fleet shares his thoughts on implementing a culture of openness and transparency.

It’s no secret that we’ve been steadily growing our Sales team over the past few years. That team just got a little bigger with the recent addition of Lindsey Wolanczyk — an enthusiastic young lady who is poised for great things! Check out our interview to see what makes her tick!

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. So if your software projects are releasing off schedule, over budget, or without their expected scope and/or quality, why not sign up for our upcoming webinar and learn how to prevent the root cause of software failures?

No matter what we do to avoid it, there are always times when we feel stressed out and overwhelmed. When that happens, what do you do? Here’s what our President and CEO, Jeff Van Fleet, recommends.

We’ve said it a thousand times, “Test automation can cut your testing budget in half.” But while we’re so focused on value, are we forgetting the little things—like future-proofing your testing effort by preserving your SMEs’ valuable knowledge?

But despite our best efforts to avoid high-pressure situations, we inevitably find ourselves dealing with them. Since we can’t avoid them, Jeff Van Fleet (Lighthouse’s President and CEO) shares his philosophy on leadership under pressure.

Talk to anyone well-versed in eCommerce, and you’ll likely hear the same refrain: the user experience (UX) is king. But while no one’s disputing that, it’s important to note that the reign of UX has also signaled the ascension of another two-letter acronym: QA—or as it’s also known, quality assurance.

We talk a lot about the value and benefits of test automation, but we don’t always discuss those nitty-gritty, practical tips and tricks that can really help you when you’re in the trenches. So, bearing that in mind, here are some tips we’ve learned along the way to help you out on your next project.

At a time when the whole nation seems increasingly polarized and divided, Lighthouse CEO Jeff Van Fleet reminds us that perception is reality. So whenever things seem bad, keeping a positive outlook can go a long ways towards a happier and balanced life.

Everyone says that software testing teams need to have a plan. They need to be proactive, metrics-based, and thorough; not reactionary or improvisational. But consider this: if an organization’s goals aren’t aligned with the business they serve, is their plan really all that good anyway?

If you work for an international company, chances are your ERP systems and business apps have a similarly global reach.  Naturally, this increases release testing exponentially—delaying releases, updates, and patches in the process.  So, what’s a savvy software testing team to do?  Automate, automate, automate. Without enough manpower to allocate to testing, most of the […] Read more

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Unfortunately, it’s also the most distracting. So when Lighthouse CEO Jeff Van Fleet was facing writer’s block he came up with a novel idea to share what’s whizzing through his head: a word search!

Imagine trying to launch a new website for the holiday season, and your offshore developer delivers defect-laden code with far more bugs than you expected. Do you launch the site anyways—risking widespread user frustration—or do you correct the defects while missing the busiest shopping season of the year?

From laggy performance to straight-up crashes and extended outages, we’ve all experienced our fair share of problems shopping online. And as the mad rush of the holiday season reaches its climax, eCommerce companies nationwide are facing a familiar foe: stress under load. Is automated load/performance testing the ultimate gift for these beleaguered IT departments?

In honor of Thanksgiving, Lighthouse President and CEO Jeff Van Fleet discusses his favorite tradition, which occurs during the annual Thanksgiving carry-in.

WHITE PAPER: If you’ve ever considered test automation, you’ve likely noticed that there’s no shortage of tools out there for you to choose from. That’s why we did the hard work for you! Check out our white paper to see an in-depth comparison of three of the most popular tools: Oracle OATS, HP UFT, and Selenium.

When it comes to software testing, improvement comes in one of three fields: people, process, and tools. But while you might think processes and tools are the smarter categories to consider first, did you know the bulk of your improvement comes solely from having the right people, with the right skills, in the right roles?

With the election looming ever closer, and the rhetoric amping up on both sides, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse President and CEO, has some sage advice: remember the Golden Rule.

Let’s face it: everyone knows that test automation offers considerable benefits, including increased coverage, accuracy, and speed. But it all comes at a cost: the price of ramp up—which covers tool licenses, hiring test automation engineers, and other related expenses. As IT budgets tighten, is test automation the key to doing more with less, or just another costly boondoggle?

Despite their best efforts and hard work ethic, a lot of testers lack a formal testing methodology—leading to late-stage defect detection and higher testing costs overall. With software budgets already bursting at the seams, can CIOs really afford for their testing to be so reactive nowadays?

Whether you’re at home or at work, taking action is important. Sometimes it can mean having an uncomfortable conversation or two—but if you don’t stand for something, who else will? After all, you can’t cross the ocean by staring at the water.

There’s no question that online retailers are focused on software quality. In the hyper-competitive world of eCommerce, consumers have all the power—and it only takes one critical defect to send them off to a competitor. With the stakes that high, poor software testing isn’t simply a concern—it can thrust the entire company’s future into uncertainty.

It’s easy to get seduced by the results of test automation—faster testing, increased coverage, improved accuracy, a high ROI. But in doing so, we must be cautious not to create unrealistic expectations—after all, test automation is as much about the journey as it is the destination.

Software testing and quality assurance are often two of the first things cut from a tightening IT budget. But while it’s easy to assume that doing so will save money, does the resulting rework, delays, and squandered productivity actually cost cash-strapped departments more in the long run?

Whether it’s in the workplace, in my home, or out at the bar, there’s a phrase I like to use to describe the people love being around: they’re “Can do” people. Their drive stay positive and get things done always inspires me—and I think we all could be a little more like them.

Whether you’re building your initial business case, calculating your ROI, or kicking off your first project, estimating the complexity of each test case you’re going to automate can be a real pain—which can make it near impossible to accurately scope your effort. Fortunately, all you need to do is remember 60-30-10.

Let’s face it: offshore software testing has never been without its challenges—but the costs were so low that those headaches and hidden costs were worth the trouble. But as the wage gap narrows, drawing American companies even, is offshore really worth the baggage anymore?

Fresh off the Cleveland Cavs’ 2016 NBA Championship, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, is thinking about what it takes to win. In short, it’s not just having determination; it’s having the right frame of mind as well.

When it comes to test automation, a lot of companies tend to pick tools that are readily available to them—as opposed to the ones that align best with their strategy. But there’s one factor that’s just as important: making sure their developers can actually support it. And make no mistake—they’re harder to find than you think.

Let’s face it: to the unfamiliar eye, software testing can seem to be a bit abstract. And while a testing company may convincingly “talk the talk”; it can be tough to tell if they’re really “walking the walk”. That’s why transparency matters so much for software testing companies. If you’ve got nothing to hide, why hide it?

This month, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, is pondering effective ways to manage our time. Sure, it’s easy to make time for things that are important and urgent; but what about all those other things that are equally important, but not necessarily pressing?

Do you ever feel like your software project plans are little more than a glorified crapshoot—with projects rarely coming in on time and frequently going well off-schedule? Don’t worry; you’re far from the only one. But here’s the good news: with a little bit of proactive effort, those days will be long gone.

For a lot of companies, choosing a test automation tool is less about fit and more about what’s already on hand. Unfortunately, that approach—while thrifty in the short term—is entirely backwards. Your ROI doesn’t depend on how much your license costs; it depends on how well your tool aligns with your approach.

Join Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, as he delves into what makes “character” such a defining characteristic in our personal lives, in the workplace, and in our relationships. The concept of “character” can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as empathy, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors […] Read more

If there’s one fundamental challenge about testing in Agile, it’s keeping up with the speed of developers. But while you don’t want bottlenecks, you don’t want to sacrifice quality, either. So, how do you make sure your testers don’t fall behind? Automate as much as you can—then automate a little more.

Let’s face it: offshore outsourcing may look cheap, but the advertised rates only tell a mere fraction of the story. For years, companies have dealt with hidden expenses, lessened quality, and productivity lags; but that’s all changing. We’ve closed the gap with offshore with Rural Software Testing. Read all about it in our new white paper!

Spring is here and Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, is thinking about how we handle our successes. Do we share them with our peers, or hoard them for ourselves?

Admit it: you have no idea what your SMEs do when they test your software systems. It’s okay—no one does. That’s why they’re so vital to your testing effort. But what happens when they leave? If you’re not using test automation, you could be in trouble.

Without process, you can’t measure your software testing team. And, without measurement, how can you know their true efficacy?

This month, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse President and CEO, takes on something we’re all guilty of (to some extent or another): prejudice.

IT is expected to correct defects within its software systems, but is often unable to keep up with defect backlogs due to the increasing complexity of aging software. As IT budgets continue to tighten, how can smart departments dig themselves out of this ever-deepening hole?

There’s no question that the 3 Perils of Software Development—Defects, Delays, and Dollars—can sink your projects in an instant. So how do you beat them? You test early and you test often—by getting proactive with your testing and automating whatever you can.

When it comes to software testing, most folks think they can’t have inexpensive, fast, and high quality all at once. And while that may be true for traditional testing, there is a way to have it all: test automation.

Software testing/quality assurance initiatives are often the first things cut from an encumbered budget. But, as expenses mount and software projects fail, many companies find themselves asking, “Was this really the right move?” Are these companies costing themselves more by doing so?

A new year means a new leadership topic for Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse President and CEO. In his first column of 2016, he’s digging deep into an important topic: the importance of being present in our conversations.

Let’s face it: everyone tends to look at their work with rose-colored glasses. Unfortunately for IT personnel, this bias is especially dangerous to software testing/QA and development projects at large. When it comes to objectively measuring software quality, success, and more, metrics are king.

It’s Christmas time, and Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, is feeling the spirit. How can we channel the fevered anticipation of the holiday season into self-improvement?

This month, as you settle in to your comfiest leather armchair for some comfy Christmas shopping (with or without a glass of spiked eggnog), take a moment to thank the most unsung heroes of the Holidays: the IT personnel that support the biggest shopping season for the year.

This Veteran’s Day, Jeff Van Fleet, Lightouse’s President and CEO, has a message for those that have served in our nation’s armed forces: thank you.

Few things are riskier than a large-scale software project. While they offer significant returns if successful, they also pose considerable risk; threatening to go off the rails—and causing catastrophic losses—at seemingly any point. This uncertainty doesn’t have to rule the day, however; as an investment in quality is the best insurance you can buy.

If you have a large testing need, there’s no question that test automation can probably net you a pretty significant ROI—heck, it can potentially cut your testing budget in half! Unfortunately, many companies fail to do that. In the end, your success—or failure—with test automation all comes down to one thing: a sound strategy.

Whether they’re concerned that they’re not finding enough defects or worried about spending too much on diminishing returns, every IT department wonders if they’re over or under-testing. Whether your testing team is outsourced or in-house, how much is “good enough”?

Long before he founded Lighthouse, President and CEO Jeff Van Fleet scrawled down the values that he believed made up the ideal workplace culture. Written eight years before we opened our doors, his words remain as true today as they were then.

As reshoring returns jobs to the US, the once-universal harbinger of quality “Made in America” is making a comeback.

As October rolls in, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse President and CEO, has football on the mind—specifically, the lessons taught to him by one of his favorite coaches of all time, Lou Holtz.

With budget planning in full swing, now’s the time to invest in large testing/QA initiatives like test automation. Unfortunately, that means that many companies are going to face uphill battles while trying to get them approved. Fortunately, cutting-edge tools like our ROI calculator are here to help.

If you’ve ever had a release come in off-schedule or over-budget (who hasn’t?), chances are it had its fair share of delays. In our upcoming webinar, we’ll delve into why projects so frequently experience these, and what you can do to beat them.

As summer draws to a close, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse President and CEO, is thinking about the events that helped mold him into the person he is today—specifically, an instance with a youth-group advisor who wasn’t nearly as mature as her age might have suggested…

Let’s face it: your subject matter experts (SMEs) aren’t cheap. And every time you use them for testing, you’re squandering their skills for a task that could be performed by a far-cheaper software tester. But how do you get a tester to emulate your SMEs’ business-savvy? Simple—you get a computer to do it instead.

For a lot of companies, driving a project to release can feel a lot like blindly navigating a massive ship through iceberg-laden waters. When the 3 Perils of Software DevelopmentTM—Defects, Delays, and Dollars—are threatening to sink you at every turn, sometimes all you need is a guiding light…

With a lengthy implementation period and a focus on long-term gains over static, unchanging tests, most people’s idea of test automation seems to be incompatible with the fluid, iterative Agile development methodology. Are these two really incompatible, or are we just not thinking about it the right way?

Are you sick and tired of software bugs frustrating your users, delaying your releases, and driving up project costs? Well, if you’re willing to give us an hour of your time on August 20th, we’d love to help you get smarter about preventing them! Sign up now for our newest webinar, “Keep Your Projects Off the Rocks – Overcoming the 3 Perils of Software Development: Part 1, Defects”!

When it comes to testing, improving time-to-market can be tricky without sacrificing quality for speed. But as senior IT executives face constant pressure to do so, test automation offers them the best of both worlds—getting a high-quality job done in record time by bypassing the subject matter experts (SMEs) who rarely have the luxury of making testing a priority.

As experts of their domains, it’s easy to see why SMEs are constantly pigeonholed into testing their respective areas of expertise. Consequently, it’s no surprise that they often feel like they’re the only people capable of testing it—something that, with a little bit of documentation, couldn’t be further from the truth.

When it comes to software development projects, test automation (Oracle OATS, HP UFT/QTP, etc.) is oftentimes seen as a luxury—nothing more than a speedy improvement over the status quo. But while this is somewhat true, test automation offers so much more than speed: it allows you to execute essential stress tests that would otherwise be impossible to afford.

Following a recent roundtable, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse President and CEO, has one question on his mind: is the software community sharing its knowledge?

As winter’s embrace loosens, Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, is talking renewal. Just as the Earth renews itself come springtime, we must do the same thing intellectually.

Whether it’s lowering costs, improving quality, accelerating time-to-market, or increasing test capacity, lots of people think test automation is the answer to all of their problems. And while it most certainly can be, it’s not a magic bullet, either. But provided you’re smart, you’ll see an ROI in next to no time. Here are some tips to help you get there.

With the start of the New Year fresh in our minds, most of us are trying to better ourselves in some way or another. But Jeff Van Fleet, Lighthouse’s President and CEO, wants to know: are we neglecting other important things at that expense?

What happens when you acquire a multimillion-dollar company and you can’t automatically invoice their customers? That’s the situation a recent client of ours was facing when they couldn’t integrate their newly-acquired company into their Oracle EBS system. How did our expertise help ensure a smooth transition?

When it comes to software testing and QA, a lot of companies are reactive—achieving quality almost entirely through the individual heroics of their own testing team. But, while this approach may be effective, is it really sustainable in the long run? Moreover, how can a proactive approach mitigate those inherent risks?

It’s a new year—that means new objectives, new budgets, and new projects. If you’re like most QA departments, chances are you’re looking into test automation. But while the value to your department is obvious, how do you state the best financial case to secure upper management’s buy-in?

Every year, people use the start of the new year as a chance to better themselves. But while we’re always striving to do so at home, why aren’t we also bettering ourselves in the workplace? And since so much of our time there is spent on computers, improving software quality is just the place to start.

The most-hyped video game of the holiday season should’ve been an unquestioned financial success, but the company’s financial objectives forced the premature release of an under-tested, glitch-laden final product. What happens when quality is ignored to ensure an optimal release?

While automating all of your manual test cases with Oracle Application Testing Suite (Oracle OATS) can be a surefire way to an ROI, not all enterprise-level companies execute enough test cases to merit it or funding to commit to it. For those companies, smoke test automation may be a better solution.

My coffee intake tends to mirror a large corporation’s various vendors: spanning from cheap, low-quality standbys to pricier, higher-end options. As I’m wholly dependent upon both, what can this tell us about how corporations view reshoring in IT?

Lighthouse’s President and CEO, Jeff Van Fleet, provides his thoughts on a key aspect of corporate culture: the necessity of work/life balance.

For the Cleveland Museum of Art’s CIO, Jane Alexander, and Gallery One team, envisioning their mobile app was only part of the challenge; it was only through carefully wrought development that it became an unprecedented success.

With their groundbreaking app ArtLens, the Cleveland Museum of Art is changing the way that we use technology to experience the world around us. While their app is stunning, it’s the result of a clearly defined vision and carefully wrought execution—the first of which we’ll examine in this two-part article.