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.

PMIASQIEEESoftware Engineering InstituteInternational Software Testing Qualifications Board