Effective Thoughts

Had a fantastic audience Friday for my VSTS 2010 Overview presentation at DogFoodII . Thanks for coming. I wanted to follow up on some of the questions with more complete responses. Q. Will 2008/5 custom SSRS reports fail following the upgrade? A. One key aspect here is “custom”. 2010 significantly changes the data warehouse schema (…which drives most reports). So, existing reports will need some work to function properly under 2010. That said, the VSTS team upgraded/updated the process templates and reports for Agile and CMMI to work properly against the 2010 schema. If you have custom reports, you’ll need to update them manually. Excellent information from Aaron Bjork here . Q. Will 2008/5 customizations to team builds fail following the upgrade? A. After doing some internal reading, I think this will actually work ok and upgrade successfully. The process template upgrade solution will wrap custom builds in a “legacy” MSBuild file and simply call Team Build against it. That s...

Thanks for coming to my VSTS 2010 (Beta2) presentation at DogFoodII in Columbus. I've posted the deck here and will publish a follow-up post with Q&A from the session. Special thanks and appreciation to Randy Pagels , Microsoft Developer Solution Specialist for the Heartland District for supplying a lot of the material. Randy maintains an excellent resource on VSTS/TFS at http://www.teamsystemcafe.net/. Also, special thanks for the VSTS MVPs for helping us learn and understand what's coming in 2010.

A little more than a month ago, I was awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for Team System. I haven't said much about it because I try to remain a humble guy and frankly, I've been swamped with work/life. And, unlike a lot of awards, it's not really one you "go after"...it comes to you without a formula. What I really want to say about this is thank you. Thank you to the community for creating opportunities to present. Thank you to Microsoft for supporting technology professionals and creating jobs and careers around your products (and staying out of the way when I comes to implementation :). Thank you to the community leaders and professionals who dedicate their time and seemingly endless energy to making all of us stronger by creating environments of intense learning and camaraderie. Thank you to my employer for believing in my endeavors and investing in me the time to develop my TFS/VSTS skill set and share what I learn with the commun...

Thanks to Randy Pagels for organizing and for all enjoyed this event in Columbus yesterday. Feel free to post any questions/comments here and we'll get them answered. One question that came up inquired about support for Sharepoint development within TFS/VSTS 2010. The Visual Studio team answered with a resounding: " Yes, Sharepoint is a first class citizen in TFS 2010 ".

Thanks to everyone who attended our ALM Briefing / SDLC in a Box event on 2/05 at the Polaris Microsoft offices. We had a great audience with lots of intriguing questions. Our follow-up post is here . Shameless plug: Cardinal Solutions , my employer and one of the sponsors of this event, is a Microsoft Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) Inner Circle partner. We specialize in: Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Assessments / Catalyst Team Foundation Server (TFS) capacity planning, installation and configuration Migration of source code Process Template customization and advising End-user training for all roles Automated and Continuous Integration (CI) builds with Team Build Best practice advising and ongoing consulting for process change, methodology implementation and customization of process and tools surrounding TFS and VSTS Please contact me for all your Team Foundation Server (TFS) and Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) needs.

Compelling TFS Features to Upgrade from 2005 to 2008 Security Update for Team System Web Access 2008 SP1 Posted Streamline Team Projects With Process Templates

I'll be presenting VSTS/TFS 2008 at this two day event Feb. 4-5th. Speakers: Alexei Govorine , Quick Solutions Jeff Hunsaker , Cardinal Solutions They are the co-founders of the Central Ohio ALM Group The SDLC in a Box session will be led by two Central Ohio community leads. This 2 day briefing will discuss an application lifecycle project, from initial conception through requirements gathering, design, development, testing, build & review processes. We also cover process concepts, integration with non-Microsoft development and best-of-breed partner solutions & offerings for Visual Studio 2008 Team System. This two day sesions is targeted for Developers, Architects, Project Managers, DBAs and Business Analysts looking for ALM and researching Team Foundation Server. Register for this Event! Enter code: 857100 This event will be held at: Microsoft 8800 Lyra Drive Suite 400 Columbus, OH 43240 Map IT!

Thanks for everyone who came out to our State and Local Government (SLG) deep dive on TFS 2008 today. Alexei and I enjoyed the great conversations that ensued. A few follow-ups from the meeting: We're following up with the federal folks on SLG customers using Project Server coupled with TFS. TFS to TFS Migration Utility TFS Project Server 2007 Connector Conchango Scrum TFS process template eScrum for Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Team Look Team System Web Access (TSWA) Work Item Web Access (WIWA) PDC Online Videos highlighting Visual Studio / TFS 2010 (Rosario) CodeMash Conference January 7-9 in Sandusky MSDN Developer Conference (MDC) January 22 in Detroit Gated Check -ins utility for TFS 2008: Buddy Build Central Ohio Application Lifecycle Management Group ( COALMG ) Looking forward to hosting a full SDLC in a Box on February 4-5 at the Microsoft MPR at Polaris!

It's a rough time (9PM EST) but some of the TFS heavyweights created a Virtual TFS User Group . Your local ALM group ( COALMG ) clearly is superior in community and value, however. ;-)

Recently a client inquired if it were possible within the Team Foundation Server (TFS) Source Control authorization capabilities to prohibit merging. Having a long week, I brainlessly looked at the authorization options within Source Control Explorer (right-mouse Properties >> Security tab): Nothing there. Then I knocked my forehead and realized one would configure this authorization as part of the branching mechanism. Duh. Merging is a client-side activity. If you can access the TFS server, you can merge. However, committing changes to server source repository requires Check In authorization. My personal preference is to empower and entrust developers with a fair amount of responsibility. Thus, I like to enable merging into the integration branch for developers. However, this client wanted to restrict developers from merging and reserve this responsibility for accounts belonging to a TFS group (created by default) named "Project Administrators". These are folks ...

Amidst all the .Net 3.5 SP1 and VSTS 2008 SP1 excitement, Team System Web Access (TSWA) got pushed aside. Not to be left behind, the TSWA team announced their SP1 recently. Installing it this morning, I encountered this error: "Another version of this product is already installed. Installation of this version cannot continue. To configure or remove the existing version of this product, use Add/Remove Programs on the Control Panel." I posted to the forums about this and it turns out one must uninstall first and then re-install. Maybe I'm the odd one out but I can't recall ever uninstalling to apply a service pack. Regardless, here are the steps I followed: 1. Note IIS settings/configuration: 2. From Add/Remove Programs, remove Visual Studio Team System Web Access. Keep all your settings: 3. Kick off the TSWA MSI installer. 4. When you encounter the existing site conflict, configure to leverage/use the existing site and application pool: 5. I chose Windows authenticati...

Session Details: Did you know that .csproj and .vbproj files are really MSBuild files? More than build processes though, MSBuild is a full-featured automation language. It includes structured control flow, variables, refactorability, error handling, logging, and powerful extensibility. You can easily integrate MSBuild into your own enterprise processes and start adding value right away. We'll also look at how Team Foundation Build extends on MSBuild and adds robust integration with Team Foundation Server. Speakers Bio: Steve Andrews is a Team System MVP, and has been working as a developer for more than 9 years. During this time, he has designed and developed applications in such widely varying areas as trust accounting, medical information management, supply chain management, and retail systems. He is currently employed at RDA Corporation in Philadelphia, PA, as a Software Engineer and a team member in their Architectural Guidance evangelism team. Steve is also an MCP, ICSOO, Spe...

You've likely read this a dozen times already but Microsoft released several developer service packs yesterday: Downloads: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions with SP1 Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server Service Pack 1 .NET Framework 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit Details: Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1 Preview VS/VSTS/TFS/.NET 3.5 SP1 is shipping! Team Foundation Installation Guide for Visual Studio Team System 2008 TFS Installation and Administration guides updated for VS 2008 SP1

[Google ranking skyrockets... ;-)] I'm a big fan of TFS/VSTS. However, there are a good pocket of folks who take issue with the way TFS handles or implements a certain feature. Well this is your chance to vent! I'm planning a presentation around the "Top 10 TFS/VSTS Hates and How to Alleviate Them"...or something along those lines. But I need your help. Post a comment below detailing your dislike. If it's legitimate, I'll highlight it in the presentation and [hopefully] provide an alternative, resolution, or work-around. Thanks in advance! Update 7/19/2008: Version Control and Microsoft

I use the Visual Studio Team System / Team Foundation Server VirtualPC trial frequently for demos. However, I can never remember the users and their roles presented in the various scenarios / labs. (and they don't appear to be documented anywhere) For the record: Darren - Administrator Nicole - User Andrew - CIO Art - Architect Grzegorz - Developer Jacqui - PM Larry - BA Renee - Tester Sonia - DBA TFSSetup - Administrator

I have a client migrating to TFS 2008 who was leveraging an old version: 2008 Beta 2. We had difficulty getting the RTM software bits so I ended up extending the license for 30-days. ( previous post ) Well, it expired yesterday. Arg. We finally got the RTM bits and I'm upgrading now. My steps: Follow the uninstall steps to the letter. Get rid of all that old stuff! Backup your existing TFS databases. Kick off the TFS 2008 installation and follow instructions Restart Install everything else you need: Build, Proxy, Explorer, etc. Oddly, the installation utility must be re-executed and these services installed individually. Execute the TFS Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) found within the TFS 2008 Power Tools. (Good how to here on BPA from Richard Hundhausen .) Resolve issues discovered with the BPA tool. My experience (pretty darn good): The databases were updated automatically. I received a "Processor type and speed do not meet recommendations." warning but pushed on...th...

I'm finishing up the leg/prep work for a TFS conversion for a client. We're using the trial until the license procurement completes. When I tried to execute my migration utility (from the old SCM product) this morning, I received this friendly message: Fantastically, Microsoft created a trial extension tool . You can download it from Brian Harry's blog.

Our development shop [gently ;-)] ostracizes the developer who "breaks the build" as a way to encourage quality. We also deliver awards for the group who breaks the build most infrequently. Unfortunately, the carrot and the stick treatment doesn't always work. Completing the build locally is a good first step but obviously, it doesn't replicate the server CI process identically. Brian Harry writes of an open source solution for TFS described as " Gated Check-ins ". The code is shelved until receiving the necessary sign-offs (manual or automated) and can successfully pass the build sequence. Once successful, the source is unshelved and submitted into the "real" build sequence.

Thanks to everyone who came out Wednesday at lunch to see my Agile with TFS presentation at OCLC for the XP Columbus user group. Here are the slides .