So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to customize work items while still making sure the TFS instance is able to upgrade smoothly to future versions. In my Internet research, I actually came upon a good article on this from of all sources, Rational (Microsoft’s main competitor). This is due to the fact that they use almost the exact same data model for work items in their product (Rational Team Concert) as TFS does. They both even call them work items! Anyways, the article does a good job of dividing customization’s into “Safe”, “Cautious”,and “Harmful”. Based on my experience and expertise, these are some good principles to follow when customizing work items in a process template. You don’t want to over customize and be stuck on TFS 2005 for the next 10 years!
Enjoy!
https://jazz.net/library/article/1002
Tag: tfs process template
TFS on Azure is publicly available!
Brian Harry announced it today on his blog. I’ve tried it out and it’s awesome! They’ve got much of what you would find on a local tfs install, but of course it’s using the new tfs 2012 stuff and the web access is much better. They’ve got the Scrum 2.0, CMMI 6.0, and Agile 6.0 templates to choose from, but they all have a “Scrum-ish” feeling to them. For instance the CMMI one has a backlog! Interesting development….
Go check it out today and use it while it’s still free!
GovDev Process Template for TFS 2010
I have collaborated with Microsoft through my company CEI to create a new process template for TFS. It is tailored to Government clients that have requirements like CMMI, but also want to be agile. The main work item we have added is a Use Case. It is intended to be the child of Requirement work items and replaces the User Story work item in the Agile template. Many of the work item queries from the Agile template have been integrated into the GovDev Process Template. The following graphic nicely shows how the linking between work items is intended to be done.
One of the most significant reports added was the Requirements Traceability Matrix! I have heard many clients ask for this in the past, especially in regards to government requirements. A screenshot is given below.
The best part is this is all open source! Here’s the link to the Codeplex site, go download it today!
Woody Press 