You can have the best coders in the world working in your teams, but if your project management isn't up to scratch, your project is almost certain to be delayed, to come in over budget, and in some cases to fail entirely. By taking precise control of your application development process, you can make changes, both large and small, throughout your project's life cycle that will lead to better–quality finished products that are consistently delivered on time and within budget. Application lifecycle management (ALM) is an area of rapidly growing interest within the development community. Because its techniques allow you to deal with the process of developing applications across many areas of responsibility and across many different disciplines, its effects on your project can be wide ranging and pronounced. It is a project management tool that has practical implications for the whole team—from architects to designers, from developers to testers. This book focuses on the most powerful ALM tool available for the Microsoft .NET Framework: Visual Studio Team System (VSTS). It demonstrates the key concepts and techniques of ALM and illustrates how they can be achieved using the tools VSTS provides in a clear succinct style. After reading the book, you will understand how VSTS can be used to generate continuous meaningful reporting on your project's health for the decision makers on your team as well as for your project's sponsors.

Ramp up your software development with this comprehensive resource Microsoft's Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) makes software development easier and now features support for iOS, MacOS, Android, and Java development. If you are an application developer, some of the important factors you undoubtedly consider in selecting development frameworks and tools include agility, seamless collaboration capabilities, flexibility, and ease of use. Microsoft's ALM suite of productivity tools includes new functionality and extensibility that are sure to grab your attention. Professional Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio 2013 provides in-depth coverage of these new capabilities. Authors Mickey Gousset, Martin Hinshelwood, Brian A. Randell, Brian Keller, and Martin Woodward are Visual Studio and ALM experts, and their hands-on approach makes adopting new ALM functionality easy. Streamline software design and deployment with Microsoft tools and methodologies Gain a practical overview of ALM with step-by-step guides and reference material Case studies illustrate specific functionality and provide in-depth instruction Use new capabilities to support iOS, MacOS, Android and Java development Discover this comprehensive solution for modeling, designing, and coordinating enterprise software deployments Over 100 pages of new content, forward-compatible with new product releases Professional Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio 2013 provides a complete framework for using ALM to streamline software design and deployment processes using well-developed Microsoft tools and methodologies. Professional Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio 2013 is your guide to make use of newly-available ALM features to take your enterprise software development to the next level.

You can have the best coders in the world working in your teams, but if your project management isn’t up to scratch, your project is almost certain to be delayed, to come in over budget, and in some cases to fail entirely. By taking precise control of your application development process, you can make changes, both large and small, throughout your project’s life cycle that will lead to better–quality finished products that are consistently delivered on time and within budget. Application lifecycle management (ALM) is an area of rapidly growing interest within the development community. Because its techniques allow you to deal with the process of developing applications across many areas of responsibility and across many different disciplines, its effects on your project can be wide ranging and pronounced. It is a project management tool that has practical implications for the whole team—from architects to designers, from developers to testers. Pro Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio 2012 focuses on the most powerful ALM tool available for the Microsoft .NET Framework: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server. It demonstrates the key concepts and techniques of ALM at first with a guide to the overall methodology, and then delves into architecture and testing--illustrating all of the concepts, tips and tricks using the tools TFS provides. The book serves as a complete guide to the ALM style--with no fluff and many relevant code samples and examples. After reading the book, you will understand how TFS can be used to generate continuous meaningful reporting on your project’s health for the decision makers on your team as well as for your project’s sponsors.

Get up to speed on Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) with Visual Studio 2010 through a combination of hands-on instruction and deep-dives. Microsoft has packed a lot of brand new testing and modeling tools into Visual Studio 2010, tools that previously were available only to Microsoft internal development teams. Developers will appreciate the focus on practical implementation techniques and best practices. A team of Microsoft insiders provides a nuts-and-bolts approach. This Wrox guide is designed as both a step-by-step guide and a reference for modeling, designing, and coordinating software development solutions at every level using Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010. Visual Studio 2010 offers a complete lifecycle management system that covers modeling, testing, code analysis, collaboration, build and deployment tools.

Team Foundation Server is now for everyone! Team Foundation Server is an integral part of Microsoft's Application Lifecycle Management suite for managing and delivering software projects. The 2013 update has opened up TFS for everyone by expanding capabilities to support iOS, MacOS, Android, and Java development. Professional Team Foundation Server 2013 covers the latest updates for Agile Project Management, Test-Case Management, Release Management, and shows new users the TFS workflow for managing and delivering products. The authors leverage their positions as MVP Microsoft insiders to guide you step-by-step through all things TFS, as well as help prepare you for the Team Foundation Server Certification Exam. Provides a broad overview of Team Foundation Server for developers, software project managers, testers, business analysts, and others wanting to learn how to use TFS Gives TFS administrators the tools they need to efficiently monitor and manage the TFS environment Covers core TFS functions including project management, work item tracking, version control, test case management, build automation, reporting Explains extensibility options and how to write extensions for TFS Helps certification candidates prepare for the Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2013 certification exam Professional Team Foundation Server 2013 is the ultimate guide to mastering this invaluable developer's tool.

Pro Team Foundation Service gives you a jump-start into Microsoft’s cloud-based Application Lifecycle Management platform, taking you through the different stages of software development. Every project needs to plan, develop, test and release software and with agile practices often at a higher pace than ever before. Microsoft's Team Foundation Service is a cloud-based platform that gives you tools for agile planning and work tracking. It has a code repository that can be used not only from Visual Studio but from Java platforms and Mac OS X. The testing tools allow testers to start testing at the same time as developers start developing. The book also covers how to set up automated practices such as build, deploy and test workflows. This book: Takes you through the major stages in a software development project. Gives practical development guidance for the whole team. Enables you to quickly get started with modern development practices. With Microsoft Team Foundation Service comes a collaboration platform that gives you and your team the tools to better perform your tasks in a fully integrated way. What you’ll learn What ALM is and what it can do for you. Leverage a cloud-based ALM platform for quick improvements in your development process. Improve your agile development process using integrated tools and practices. Develop automated build, deployment and testing processes. Integrate different development tools with one collaboration platform. Get started with ALM best-practices first time round. Who this book is for Pro Team Foundation Service is for any development team that wants to take their development practices to the next level. Microsoft Team Foundation Service is an excellent platform for managing the entire application development lifecycle and being a cloud-based offering it is very easy to get started. Pro Team Foundation Service is a great guide for anyone in a team who wants to get started with the service and wants to get expert guidance to do it right. Table of Contents Introduction to Application Lifecycle Management Introduction to Agile Planning, Development, and Testing Deciding on a Hosted Service Getting Started Working with the Initial Product Backlog Managing Team and Alerts Initial Sprint Planning Running the Sprint Kanban Engaging the Customer Choosing Source Control Options Working with Team Foundation Version Control in Visual Studio Working with Git in Visual Studio Working in Heterogeneous Environments Configuring Build Services Working with Builds Customizing Builds Continuous Deployment Agile Testing Test Management Lab Management

Take your expertise to the next level by unraveling various techniques to customize TFS 2015 About This Book Learn how to efficiently modify your TFS-specific dashboards for complex server plugins Find out the pros and cons of various extension points and customizations in TFS A fast-paced guide with highly concentrated information on TFS customizations Who This Book Is For This book is intended for anyone with experience with TFS, and in particular, those intermediate users who want to add more value to their organization by making its TFS users more productive. The book requires basic coding skills. What You Will Learn Customize TFS 2015 dashboard and administer various components Configure board cards, swim lanes, and columns Explore the types of changes that can be made on the TFS process templates Create your own custom control for the Web and client work item forms Build up new check-in policies Get to grips with your personal server plugins and their uses Customize both XAML builds and the new build system Schedule jobs for more complicated business rules to run on a schedule Extend your TFS possibilities with service hooks and VSO extensions In Detail Team Foundation Server is an efficacious collaboration tools that will allow you to share code, track records, software, all in a single package. Integrate it with your existing IDE or editor and let your team work in a flexible environment that adapts to projects of all shapes and sizes. Explore what gives you the edge over other developers by knowing the tips and quick fixes of customizing TFS. Effectively minimize the time users spend interacting with TFS so that they can be more productive. In this book you will quickly cover lots of TFS extension points, from the very basic task of customizing and configuring dashboards to customizing automated builds and check-in policies. You will learn how to create dashboards in TFS 2015, as well as add tiles, graphs, and more useful modifications. You'll perform customizations that make TFS work for you by streamlining your team's boards. You'll cast modifications to the process template and learn the tips and tricks required to make efficient and valuable uses of your team's board. From team-specific dashboards to complex server plugins, everything is covered in this concentrated guide to aid your knowledge. Delving deep, this book covers the pros and cons of check-in policies, as well as their proper debugging and deployment strategies. After that you will learn about advanced XAML builds and TFS jobs to further experiment with the activities of your jobs on your system. Finally, you will learn about service hooks and the amazing utility of .VSO extensions to help you create new extensions and explore new levels of customization. Style and approach This is an easy-to-follow guide with clearly explained and demonstrated examples.

A comprehensive guide to using Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2012 Team Foundation Server has become the leading Microsoft productivity tool for software management, and this book covers what developers need to know to use it effectively. Fully revised for the new features of TFS 2012, it provides developers and software project managers with step-by-step instructions and even assists those who are studying for the TFS 2012 certification exam. You'll find a broad overview of TFS, thorough coverage of core functions, a look at extensibility options, and more, written by Microsoft insiders and MVPs. An update of the leading Wrox book on Team Foundation Server, written by an expert team of Microsoft insiders and MVPs Provides a broad overview of Team Foundation Server for developers, software project managers, testers, business analysts, and others wanting to learn how to use TFS Offers administrators the necessary tools to efficiently monitor and manage the TFS environment Covers core TFS functions including project management, work item tracking, version control, test case management, build automation, reporting, and how to write extensions for TFS 2012 Professional Team Foundation Server 2012 builds on the proven Wrox Professional formula to give you a solid background in this software management tool.

Pro .NET Best Practices is a practical reference to the best practices that you can apply to your .NET projects today. You will learn standards, techniques, and conventions that are sharply focused, realistic and helpful for achieving results, steering clear of unproven, idealistic, and impractical recommendations. Pro .NET Best Practices covers a broad range of practices and principles that development experts agree are the right ways to develop software, which includes continuous integration, automated testing, automated deployment, and code analysis. Whether the solution is from a free and open source or a commercial offering, you will learn how to get a continuous integration server running and executing builds every time code changes. You will write clearer and more maintainable automated testing code that focuses on prevention and helping your .NET project succeed. By learning and following the .NET best practices in this book, you will avoid making the same mistakes once. With this book at your side, you'll get: Real-world, no-nonsense approaches to continuous integration, automated testing, automated deployment, and code analysis Tips and tricks you'll need to clear hurdles that keep others from putting these common sense ideas into common practice Guidance from the minimal, essential approach all the way to what's necessary to deliver at the highest levels of quality and effectiveness Benefit immediately, even before finishing it, from the knowledge, workable advice, and experience found in Pro .NET Best Practices.

Professional guidance on using Microsoft’s Visual Studio toolset for agile project management Focusing on both process and results, this professional guide offers a practical approach to running agile software projects using Visual Studio's project management templates and tools. You’ll first get a thorough overview of the interaction between traditional, scrum-based agile development techniques and the Microsoft Soutions Framework, before drilling down into the detail. The book covers tools, best practices, key templates, key data, team and process models, necessary tracking assets—and a host of other project challenges, such as project communication, organization, and budgets. Shows how to use Microsoft’s agile Visual Studio toolset for agile project management Written by leading experts from Microsoft and industry, this is an authoritative guide to agile development for all Microsoft-based projects Teaches basic concepts through best practices for delivering great software on time Covers the interaction of traditional, scrum-based agile development techniques and the Microsoft Solutions Framework Focuses on what must be in place to keep a project on track, including team models, process models, detailed tracking assets, and more Professional Scrum with Team foundation Server 2010 combines theory with practical experience to help experienced software project managers and developers ship reliable software on time.