Press
information issued on behalf of:
Live Software Solutions Ltd
The Old Forge
Hatfield Park
HATFIELD
AL5 9NB
Web: www.lss.co.uk
Yn Gymraeg
12th March 2009
Live Software Solutions' technical expertise helps Gocompare.com
Software developer Live Software Solutions (LSS), a Microsoft Gold
Certified Partner, has been helping developers at leading insurance
comparison website, Gocompare.com, to make the most of its investment
in Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 Team Foundation Server (TFS) - a
software system that enables effective management and reporting across
multiple projects.
LSS's managing director, James Boother, explained: "TFS came about
because Microsoft developers were finding that, within different
projects, the phases of the software development life cycle -
requirements gathering, architectural design, software design, software
builds, and software testing - were not well integrated. Across
projects, there was excessive variation in methodology, terminology,
calculations and reporting.
"So, Microsoft produced the Microsoft Visual Studio Team System. This
client/server system consolidates source code control, project
management, build and test environments, work item tracking and bug
tracking.
"We've been using TFS at LSS for over three years - and found it
invaluable," he added. "In that time, we've developed a fair amount of
expertise in working with this software - so the advice and guidance we
can give is beyond that which you would find in, say, an instruction
manual."
Susie Bradshaw, systems architect at Gocompare.com, commented: "TFS
represents a substantial investment for us, so our developers needed to
be ‘up-to-speed' with all its capabilities as soon as possible.
"LSS's James Boother and its technical director, Mike Goatly, spent a
few days at our offices in Newport, Gwent, helping us to explore the
finer points of TFS.
"Both of them were highly knowledgeable in the product and their
real-world experience of developing with TFS really came across during
the training sessions. They were able to provide us with practical tips
and tricks that can only be gained with extensive hands-on experience
of using the product.
"At Gocompare.com, we've created a comparison service where our
customers enter their details only once and compare insurance products
on a like-for-like basis so that they can choose the level of cover
that they need from over 90 insurance companies," she continued.
"Customers can make their decision based on the cover that is included,
rather than purely on price.
"We also use a special five star rating service which indicates how
closely the policies match the customer's requirements. The more stars,
the closer it is to what they've asked for.
"Consequently, given the complexity of our systems, it's important that
we achieve effective management and reporting across multiple projects
- which is what TFS offers us. And, thanks to LSS's knowledge and
practical guidance, that is what we're achieving - to the ultimate
benefit of our customers," she said.
End
About TFS
By deploying Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005 Team Foundation Server (TFS)
as an enterprise-wide service, Microsoft is standardising methodologies
for project management, software development, and software testing -
enabling effective management and reporting across multiple projects.
This standardisation provides a more transparent management view into
projects and makes complying with statutory reporting requirements
easier.
TFS came about because people working within development projects at
Microsoft found it difficult to coordinate their efforts because their
tools were not integrated. The different projects could not coordinate
or integrate their project planning or reporting to a high degree. TFS:
Enables coordinated, consistent, standardised, cross-project reporting,
which provides transparency to management and makes meeting statutory
requirements simpler, easier, and less expensive.
Helps project administrators employ the best set of tools and methods
while meeting organisational requirements for consistency.
Provides high-level managers with consistent, reliable information on
which they can base business decisions.
Ensures the use of standardised methodologies and taxonomies,
consistent across all projects in the Microsoft Team Foundation
Service.
TFS, working with the Visual Studio Team Editions and other clients,
integrates all of the core roles that compose the software development
process. TFS is a collaboration engine and a centralised data warehouse
which provides source control management, work item tracking,
integrated analysis and reporting and an integrated collaborative
project website. It can also provide build and test rig management. A
server running TFS also can integrate with Office Project 2003 and
Office Excel 2003 to extend reporting and tracking abilities. TFS
consists of two tiers (an application tier and a data tier), plus an
object model.
About Gocompare.com
Gocompare.com launched in November 2006 to help people find the right
insurance cover at the right price. It was founded by Hayley Parsons,
who has worked her entire career in the insurance broking and
aggregator markets, and was the first comparison site to focus on
displaying product features rather than just listing prices. It was
this philosophy that led to Gocompare.com becoming the first price
comparison site to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers
Association (BIBA) in May 2008 and helped force older comparison sites
to change their ‘quick quote' ways and stop using assumptions to
calculate estimated figures.
Today, Gocompare.com provides one of the most comprehensive online car
insurance comparison services in the UK as well as comparing home,
motorbike, van insurance and breakdown cover. In March 2008,
Gocompare.com won a Fast Growth Business Award. The judges complemented
the management team for ‘an extremely well-executed business with a
clear USP (unique selling point) and strong brand'.
Gocompare.com is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority.
About Live Software Solutions
Live Software Solutions (LSS) makes software that creates a difference.
Focusing on helping businesses that use Microsoft technologies, LSS -
founded in 2004 - uses its business and software expertise to provide
end-to-end solutions, from concept to implementation. In addition to
software development services and consultancy, LSS also provides
off-the-shelf packages. LLS's approach is based on four core values:
Service Excellence - achieving client confidence by truly
understanding the business drivers and the project requirements,
delivering the agreed solution to plan, managing issues and
communicating clearly and regularly - while being easy to do business
with and enjoyable to work with.
Integrity - applying professional and technical expertise to ensure
the right solution for the right reasons, as well as being open,
honest and fair in all of our dealings.
Teamwork - deploying the right blend of talent and experience to get
the job done, and integrating effectively with client and third party
personnel and activities.
Development - continually seeking to enhance our own capabilities and
processes, enabling us to remain innovative and challenging - and
sharing this with our clients.
Further information from:
Tom Boother, LSS, 07967 633102;
tboother@lss.co.uk
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405;
bob.little@boblittlepr.com
