Chris Birmele's Blog

Microsoft acquires TeamPrise - THE Team Foundation Server integration for Java Developers

2009-11-09T21:19:00Z

Microsoft has finally decided to acquire TeamPrise - a long overdue decision! TeamPrise provides an integration to Team Foundation Server for Java developers. It comes as an Eclipse plug-in, as a standalone client and as a command line version.

If you have a mixed Java / .NET development environment, you should check it out - its beautiful! You can find TeamPrise here.

Visual Studio 2010 - "The ULTIMATE Offer" roadshow - invitation

2009-10-30T00:32:00Z

The next wave of the latest Microsoft technologies is about to land on our shores, providing new and exciting ways to develop custom applications. Visual Studio 2010 is the upcoming release of Microsoft’s market leading integrated Development Tool Platform - specifically designed to leverage these new capabilities.

Come to this presentation to learn how Visual Studio 2010 has been enhanced to enable you to deliver modern, high quality applications to your organisation. We will tell you what you need to know before the launch of Visual Studio 2010 (March 22nd, 2010). Don’t miss Readify’s product demonstrations of Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate, MTLM and enhanced capabilities of Team Foundation Server.

Agenda

Why Visual Studio 2010? (70 min)
           For the new Microsoft platform
           To minimise business risk and increase software quality
Why now? (30 min)
           Understand the new Visual Studio product family
         Learn about the new MSDN benefits!
           The ‘Ultimate offer’ – ending March 22nd 2010
Q&A and Close (10 min)

Dates

Hobart, Nov 17
Melbourne, Nov 19
Darwin, Nov 24
Sydney, Nov 26
Canberra, Dec 1
Perth, Dec 3
Sydney, Dec 4
Adelaide, Dec 8
Brisbane, Dec 10

SORRY FULLY BOOKED OUT !

Free VS2010 & .NET 4.0 Online Training available now!

2009-10-22T00:14:00Z

Now that VS2010 Beta 2 is available, check out the Channel 9 Learning Center for updated VS2010 online training courses - six are available, more are coming in the near future.

Instructions of where to get & how to install Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate - Beta 2

2009-10-20T06:13:00Z

Now that Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 is available, why not install it? Check out Brian Keller's video of where to get the bits and how to install a Visual Studio & Team Foundation Server 2010 in no time!

Visual Studio 2010 - Transition to the new editions

2009-10-18T22:24:00Z

If you are an existing Visual Studio customer with a current MSDN subscription, you will transition to the following new editions (on March 22nd):

a) Visual Studio Professional with MSDN Pro ==> Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN

b) Visual Studio Professional with MSDN Premium ==> Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN

c) Visual Studio Team Edition ==> Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN

d) Visual Studio Team Suite ==> Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN

Note:

1) Visual Studio Test Elements 2010 with MSDN and Visual Studio Team Lab Management 2010 are brand new products - there is no transition path per se.

2) Team Foundation Server is now part of MSDN (!!!) - its no longer a standalone product

Given this, there are a couple of scenarios you should think carefully about BEFORE March 22nd:

1) do I need more licenses for my team?

For example, every Team Edition (Arch, Dev, DBA, Test) you have today will automatically turn into Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate in March!

2) do I need to 'step up' some of my current licenses to a higher edition?

If you have Visual Studio Professional today and decide to step-up to a Team Edition - you will get Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate in March!

Both scenarios represent cost savings of about 50%. If you require more information about this please feel free to contact my colleagues (Arabind: arabindc@microsoft.com or Jihad: jihadda@microsoft.com)

Visual Studio 2010. Launch date March 22nd 2010!

2009-10-18T21:32:00Z

Finally the cat is out of the bag - the next version of Visual Studio will be available Monday, 22nd of March 2010! You don't have to wait until then to play with this new exciting release, Visual Studio Beta 2 bits are available on MSDN now!

At a glance, what's new?

1) New product names. Gone is the name 'Team System' and all 'Team Editions'. Here are the new editions:

a) Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN (Entry level developer tool)

b) Visual Studio Test Elements 2010 with MSDN (Test Management and Manual Testing tools)

c) Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN (Professional edition + all quality tools for Developers and DBA's)

d) Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN (Premium edition + all Architect and all Testing tools)

2) MSDN offers even more value. Here is what's new:

a) one Team Foundation Server + one CAL for production use (i.e. all editions mentioned above include TFS!)

b) Microsoft Expression Studio 3 for production use

c) Windows Azure subscription allowance

d) Windows embedded O/S

e) Microsoft e-Learning allowance

f) Priority support in MSDN forums

3) New logo's:

a) Visual Studio

b) MSDN

If you have one of the current Visual Studio products there is a transition path - a very generous transition path I might add..... ! I outlined it in another blog post.

VSTS2010 Extensibility Points

2009-09-25T03:37:00Z

I am busy getting people excited about VSTS2010 (it's not very hard :-)) and often I get questions about customising workflows, work items, Team Build, etc. Terry Clancy has written a good blog post listing all the extensibility points in Visual Studio Team System 2010. Check it out here.

Visual Studio Team System 2010 - coming soon to a computer near you ..

2009-09-03T06:34:00Z

I get more and more questions about VSTS2010 - Microsoft's next generation tool platform - as the days go by. I am not surprised given the exciting stuff we'll release on **/**/20** (sorry date is TOP SECRET). In the meantime here is a collection of links you can use to start reading more about specific areas of interest:

VSTS2010 Beta 1 Download

http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010/default.mspx

VSTS Overview

http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010/default.mspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/teamsystem/default.aspx

Testing

http://blogs.msdn.com/edglas/

http://blogs.msdn.com/shivajin/

http://blogs.msdn.com/amit_chatterjee/

http://blogs.msdn.com/mathew_aniyan/

http://blogs.msdn.com/billbar/

http://blogs.msdn.com/slumley/

http://blogs.msdn.com/densto/

http://blogs.msdn.com/mtaute/

Quality

http://blogs.msdn.com/vstsqualitytools

Profiler

http://blogs.msdn.com/ms_joc

http://blogs.msdn.com/habibh/

http://blogs.msdn.com/brads

http://blogs.msdn.com/Profiler

http://blogs.msdn.com/dalaqab

http://blogs.msdn.com/hshafi

DB Pro

http://blogs.msdn.com/psirr/

http://blogs.msdn.com/gertd

http://blogs.msdn.com/psirr

Sharepoint

http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar/archive/2009/02/19/sharepoint-tools-support-in-visual-studio.aspx

http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/VisualStudio/Sharepoint-Development-with-Visual-Studio-2010/

http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/0/9/C0965791-049B-4200-9008-F07A783026F6/VisualStudio2010_ProductOverview.pdf

http://SharePoint.microsoft.com/2010/Sneak_Peek

Reporting

http://blogs.msdn.com/aaronbjork

http ://blogs.msdn.com/sunder

http ://blogs.msdn.com/teams_wit_tools

VSTS Essential training offered in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

2009-06-03T03:06:00Z

Enhance ALM, a Microsoft Partner in Australia, offers training courses this month to get you started with Visual Studio Team System. If you live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane see the schedule below. The courses are short and well priced. This is a very good opportunity to use your remaining training budget and get your development team trained up and ready for the next FY :-)

	Duration	Cost^	SYDNEY	MELBOURNE	BRISBANE
VSTS Essentials	2d	$ 1195	29-30 Jun	15-16 Jun	22-23 Jun
VSTS Essentials for Project Managers & Business Analysts	1d	$ 595	1 Jul	17 Jun	24 Jun
Essential Database Development using VSTS	1d	$ 595	3 Jul	18 Jun	25 Jun
TFS Admin Essentials	1d	$ 595	2 Jul	19 Jun	26 Jun

For more information about EnhanceALM check their website: www.enhancealm.com.au

Agile Development with TFS - Training in Brisbane

2009-05-14T02:50:00Z

Readify, one of Microsoft's best partner is running a 2-day workshop in Brisbane, covering agile development with VSTS - an event not to be missed! For details of how to sign up, click the link below:

Readify's Professional Series Training...

What’s coming up in Brisbane...

Readify’s Team Foundation Server/Agile Workshop

This 2-day Team Foundation Server (TFS)/Agile Workshop will provide you with a working knowledge of Agile project management (particularly Scrum),

and the recommended management and engineering practices that should be used by agile teams.

You will also learn how TFS and Visual Studio Team System can help your team implement those practices.

Course Details

Dates: Thursday 21 – Friday 22 May 2009

Duration: 2 days

Times: 9am - 5pm daily

Presenter: Richard Banks | Readify, Principal Consultant & MVP

Location: Cliftons | BRISBANE (click here for location information & map)

Investment: $1,260 + GST

Bookings: Register online or phone 1300 666 274

Visual Studio Team Test - Quick Reference Guide released!

2009-04-01T05:51:00Z

If you are using Visual Studio Team Test (VSTT) I suggest you download the new VSTT Quick Reference Guide here. The document explains product specifics in great details, it includes tips & tricks for unit, functional and load tests. A wealth of information to get you started on validating the quality of your applications!

Activity, Deliverable or Outcome?

2009-03-29T09:44:00Z

I have come to the conclusion people are either:

- activity focused
- delivery focused
- outcome focused

The first lot just does stuff. Their calendar is always full, meetings are double or triple booked. When asked what on earth they are doing you are most likely to get a meeting request for an explanation. Hyperactivity is confounded with productivity.

The second lot doesn't talk as much as the first, but they create a lot of stuff. Reports, documents, you name it they create it. It's not necessarily useful, but perhaps they are getting paid by the page or weight of their deliverables.

Last but not least, some folks focus on outcomes. This - either near-extinct or still evolving - species spends time defining some outcome before planning any activity, let alone deliverables. How refreshing - I want more of them!

Want to know the magic formula of how to develop software successfully?

2009-03-25T03:12:00Z

The magic formula is: Success == People + Process + Tools

Well this is hardly a revelation of historic proportions, but why is it people keep looking for that elusive tool that will solve all their problems? Tools are very important, don't get me wrong, but they are not a substitute for inappropriate processes and they are certainly not a substitute for lack of skills - they are a necessary complement.

So which addend carries more weight? Well it depends .... :-)

If we view software engineering as a series of transformations (shown below and explained in detail here) starting with a business need and ending with a software solution - tools become more useful the closer you get to the source code.

At higher levels of abstractions (i.e. during analysis or design) processes and people are very important and when gathering requirements people are by far the most important addend - why do you think poor requirements continue to be THE major challenge in software engineering?

NOTE: I am not suggesting these activities occur sequentially or result in producing formal artifacts.

Want to migrate source code from Subversion, StarTeam or CVS to TFS?

2009-03-25T01:23:00Z

TimelyMigration offers a migration tool to move your Subversion, StarTeam and CVS repositories to Microsoft Team Foundation Server - check it out here. Our folks in Redmond have only good things to say about them - so try them out!

Reminder - there is a 30% promotion available until 30th June 2009 ..

2009-03-23T05:43:00Z

In case you haven't heard (or haven't read my blog!) there is a 30% promotion available to step up from Visual Studio Professional to one of the Team Editions or from a Team Edition to Team Suite. This offer is valid until June 30th 2009, so you still have time to think about it :-)

For more information about the promotion check out the details here.

Keep in mind VSTS 2010 (formerly known as Rosario) is only a few months away and this offer (in conjunction with a valid MSDN subscription) is by far the cheapest way to get your hands on this fantastic release. Check out here of what's coming in VSTS 2010.