2
Jun
June 2, 2011 – Visual Studio and TFS Daily
Microsoft has released the first official information on Windows 8, including a video. Pretty cool stuff. But that’s not necessarily related to Visual Studio and TFS…yet. On with the links…
VS ALM Library Updates on MSDN for May 2011 from the Visual Studio ALM + Team Foundation Server Blog
This post runs down all of the MSDN Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management updates including updates on configuring MOSS for TFS, changes to build content, lots of changes and new topics related to Team Explorer Everywhere, and new information on synchronizing TFS and Project Server. Check out all the details at the link.
A Test Case Automation Report from John Socha-Leialoha
John developed a Reporting Services report to show the progress in automating test cases by graphically presenting a project’s Automation Status for its Test Cases. The .rdl is downloadable at the link.
BUILDing a Bright Future from S. Somasegar
Now that Microsoft has officially pulled the covers off of Windows 8, they’ve announced a new developer conference called BUILD, which will take place September 13-16 in Anaheim, California. This conference will dive into building applications for Windows 8 and, I’m sure, reveal lots more about the OS (and a beta or alpha release, I’m guessing). I wouldn’t be shocked to see attendees get some goodies as well, such as a tablet, but I’m just speculating. Register today for discounts.
Make Agile Work for You in TFS 2010 from Chris Adams
Chris has an article in MSDN Magazine on using Agile with TFS 2010. This is a great article that serves as a great primer on using the MSF for Agile 5.0 process template. Also discussed is a transition from the Agile template to the Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 template. This is tip-top, so check it out.
1
Jun
June 1, 2011 – Visual Studio and TFS Daily
Making progress, bit by bit. On with the links…
Test Plans with Microsoft Test Manager 2010 from Mickey Gousset
Mickey has a new article in Visual Studio Magazine on building and using test plans with Microsoft Test Manager. He also provides details on configuration and management of test plans, so take a look if you’re using MTM.
Rangers May 2011 Flash from Willy-Peter Schaub
The Rangers team has released a May update that includes word of the imminent (I think I’ve said this for the last two months) release of the Build Customization guide. Other news listed include an updated Rangers manifesto, presentations, and a link to the Rangers portal so you can stay apprised of everything the Rangers are up to.
Change Visual Studio Compare Tool to WinMerge from Shai Raiten
Shai has posted a refresher on how to use compare and merge tools other than the out-of-the-box tools when working with TFS. This feature has been around for a while, but I run into teams all the time who have been using TFS for years but haven’t taken advantage of it. As far as merge and comparison tools go, there are lots of good ones but like Shai, I’m partial to WinMerge.
What is the TFS Automation Platform from Martin Hinshelwood
The TFS Automation Platform is a new Rangers project to assist in the automation of frequent tasks, such as creating new work item queries when moving to a new iteration. As Martin describes it, targets the need for customers to “have things just happen” with TFS. Lots of details and a breakdown of the proposed platform architecture is at the link.
31
May
May 31, 2011 – Visual Studio and TFS Daily
Here in the States we had a three-day weekend to memorialize those who have fought and lost their lives in the defense of the freedoms we enjoy. A hat tip to those who have served and those who continue to serve. On with the links…
Renaming a Branch with Shelvesets from Bill Heys
Bill has an important post cautioning TFS users on renaming branches that have shelvesets as you will likely not get a result you are happy with. Bill walks you through a couple of scenarios and the end results of a rename given those scenarios.
May 27th What's Happening Around Visual Studio from Jason Zander
Jason has a great set of links to a number of important Visual Studio-related news items and links to a number of important TechEd sessions, some of which were already linked here. There’s lots of great stuff in this link dump so take a look.
Visual Studio ALM Rangers … “5” Years Already? … the Highlights 
from Willy-Peter Schaub
The Rangers have been hard at work for five years and their progress continues to pick up. This post takes a look at what the Rangers have done, how they’ve grown, and shows us some of the fine folks that work so hard for the community.
Would You, Could You with TFS? by Richard Hundhausen
I really like this post from Richard that shows how TFS addresses a myriad of ALM activities and offers up a few third-party solutions where software vendors have filled a few gaps that TFS address.
27
May
May 27, 2011 – Visual Studio and TFS Daily
Friday and not a moment too soon. On with the links…
Build Content 2011 Spring Cleaning from Andy Lewis
Andy has links to new TFS Build content on MSDN. Included are topics on build triggers, using build with test, managing build information and control verbosity, and working with build workspaces. He also identifies a few other areas that have changed or consolidated.
Getting Started with the TFS SDK for Java from Martin Woodward
Some of the big news last week was the release of the TFS SDK for Java, which is essentially the same core code that is used in Team Explorer Everywhere to talk to TFS from Eclipse. The SDK includes a number of sample applications, check-in policies, custom work item controls, code snippets, and an Ant build script to build the samples that are in the package. Martin has added to that with a nice post showing you how to get rolling. Lots of details and code at the link.
Configuration Matrix Testing Using Visual Studio Lab Management from Visual Studio Lab Management Team Blog
The Visual Studio Lab Management Team has a nice post that walks through the scenario of running automated Coded UI Tests in a build workflow that test web applications in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. This same scenario could be expanded to deal with other scenarios that require running the same tests with different configurations. It’s really an excellent example of the power and capability of an automated build coupled with Lab Management.
Retrospective Meetings: Agile Learning from the Past from Aaron Bjork
Aaron has a nice article in MSDN Magazine on using retrospectives to get better. While retrospectives are an Agile concept, all teams can benefit from a regular review of what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how things can get better.
26
May
May 26, 2011 – Visual Studio and TFS Daily
Sunny days. Finally. On with the links…
ALM for C++ in Visual Studio vNext at TechEd NA 2011 from Visual C++ Team Blog
Rong Lu from the Visual C++ team has a nice post walking through some of the new ALM features in Visual Studio vNext for C++. As Visual C++ coders know all too well, many of the sexy new ALM features that are released with Visual Studio often neglect C++ teams. The gap is closing.
TFS Integration Tools – Where Does One Start? … Part 4 (Mapping Users the Easy Way) from Willy-Peter Schaub
Willy-Peter continues his series on getting started with the Team Foundation Server Integration Tools by talking about how to effectively map users so that the data you’ve migrated has context. He also provides a few tips to help you overcome common problems that many face when mapping users.
Getting Started with HTML5 from ALM and Beyond
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ll know that HTML5 is kinda a big deal. At MIX11, there was lots of talk about HTML5 and a number of those sessions and information relating to how developers using Microsoft development tools can build HTML5 sites and applications. This post links to a number of videos and content related to HTML5 and how you can get rolling with HTML5 in Visual Studio.
An Obsessive Compulsive Guide to Source Code Formatting from Phil Haack
I really liked this post on source code formatting and ways to better format your code. As Phil points out, more than a few are juuuuuuust a bit obsessive about how source code should be formatted so he provides a number of tips and tools you can use to better format your code. It’s definitely worth a read so check it out. Read the comments too.
