Many of my ISVs are ramping up in their adoption of Team System 2010. Many others are finishing or still deep in their rollouts of Team System 2008. Notions Solutions has been critical in helping many of them get up to speed on Team System.

Thought I would make you all aware of a great tool recently released for Team System that adds to and complements some key features.

The great thing about Notions is that they have deep knowledge of what it takes to stand up Team System and get it implemented in a way that really works for ISVs.

They have made a significant investment to add a number of new features and improve the existing tools. A few of the new features include:

• Web-based interface for Notion Timesheet
• Improved interface and editing in the Notion Timesheet Visual Studio Add-In
• Improved document management in Notion Work Organizer
• New Notion Work Prioritizer toolset to help teams prioritize requirements and manage a portfolio of projects
• Support for hierarchy parent selector control in Team System Web Access
• Notion Timesheet and Work Item Controls support for Visual Studio 2005 Team Explorer
• Improved performance
• And much more…

You can review the tools and order online.

• Notion Timesheet - time-tracking system that allows users to capture and record time against Team System Work Items directly from within Visual Studio.
• Notion Work Organizer - extends Visual Studio to enhance Team System with a better means of managing work items and their associated documentation and artifacts. Manages parent/child work items.
• Notion Work Planner - By taking an account of the expertise and productivity of each team member, teams can use estimates to develop more accurate iteration and release schedules.
• Notion Work Item Controls - contains custom work item controls that help teams visualize and maintain hierarchical relationships between work items in a Team Project.
• Notion Work Prioritizer – extends Team System to assist with work prioritization and portfolio management using organizational goals and business drivers.

You can download the software from their website and follow the instructions to get it up and running with a trial key. In order to get it working, you do have to install the server software. You can also download the sample process templates available on the download page to start with a Team Project already configured to take advantage of many of Notion Tools’ features.

Additionally, a offer a quickstart consulting engagement to make the needed process changes and train your team up on the use of the tools.

Email Chris Menegay at cmenegay@notionsolutions.com if you’re interested in purchasing. Volume pricing is available for quantities over 100. Existing Notion Tools for Team System 1.0 customers can upgrade at no cost.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Cheers,

Murray Gordon ISV Architect Evangelist Microsoft Corporation       http://blogs.msdn.com/MurrayG US ISV Team Blog  My GeeksWithBlogs Blog