Software testing and quality assurance expert Lighthouse highlights the benefits of function point analysis with its presentation of “How Big? How Much? How Soon?” at the 4th Annual Oklahoma IT Symposium

DAYTON, OH August 27, 2009– Lighthouse Technologies, Inc. (Lighthouse) presented the benefits of Function Point Analysis (FPA) in software development with “How big? How much? How soon?” at the 4th annual Oklahoma IT Symposium.  IT executives and respective management teams were informed about the importance of measuring their software development projects. 

Lonnie Franks, Executive Consultant for Lighthouse, addressed questions and concerns in the failure of software development projects.  With the use of integrating FPA into software projects, IT leaders are able to determine how big the software development project is, how much the software development cost will be, how long it will take, and how much value it will deliver.

“A major problem in software development failures is that most IT departments don’t have a measuring tool in order to scope a project and track it en route,” says Franks.  “This causes the project to not be planned well or judged accurately at the finish.  With the use of function point analysis, IT departments are able to deliver software development projects on time, on budget, and on target.”

As Franks addressed in his presentation, FPA is a time-tested, industry-proven, ISO-approved method to accurately measure software development.  But with all types of measurement tools, there is a learning curve and strategies to integrate it successfully into an IT department’s culture.  With the help of Brett Barnes, Director of Internet Marketing from Industrial Distribution Resources, Franks was able to reinforce the value of FPA through the point of view of a business unit stakeholder.

A software testing company whose methodology depends on FPA, Lighthouse President and CEO, Jeff Van Fleet, states, “As a software testing and software quality management company, business leaders always ask (Lighthouse) how they are able to measure their IT team’s productivity. They want to know how their team and their software vendor selections compare to each other and to software development industry benchmarks.  Everyone is looking for ways to lower costs, and FPA gives us a method for measuring software development teams, indentifying areas for software process improvement, and driving down software development cost.”

Attendees at the conference also received information on opportunities and challenges facing the business world, addressing relevant topics to IT leaders.  Recognized as the leading event in Oklahoma for IT leaders, the goal of the conference is to create an environment conducive to networking among IT executives, their respective management teams, and a select few vendors.  Businesses who attended included IT leaders from Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., Farmers Insurance Group, and Seagate Technology to name a few.

For additional information on Lighthouse's software quality assurance sercies and software vendor selection criteria, contact Khanh-Thy Gonzales or visit www.lighthousetechnologies.com.

About Lighthouse Technologies, Inc.:

Independent software testing expert Lighthouse offers software development consulting services guiding businesses to improve their software quality.  We focus on delivering on-time, on-budget, and on-function software development life cycle (SDLC) management solutions for commercial and government organizations.  Our “business efficiency” system focuses on measuring and correcting problems in the software development and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) lifecycle.  By predicting and catching software development defects before they occur this significantly improves project efficiency, reduces time-to-market, and provides optimal end-user satisfaction, giving our clients substantial bottom-line software development cost savings due to the absence of software rework.  A partial list of Lighthouse clients include NCR Corporation, 7-Eleven, Inc., Reynolds and Reynolds Company, the United States Air Force, the United States Army, and Lockheed Martin Corporation.