The scenario; A small team of 3 developers mostly in maintenance mode with traditional ASP.net, classic ASP, .Net integration services and utilities with the company’s third party packages, and a bunch of java-based Coldfusion web applications all under Visual Source Safe (VSS). They are about to embark on a huge SharePoint 2010 new construction project and wanted to use subversion instead VSS. TFS was a foreign word and smelled of “high cost” and of an “over complicated process”. Since they had...

Getting my geek on… I have decided to call the products VS.10 (Visual Studio 2010), TP.10 (Test Professional 2010), and TFS.10 (Team Foundation Server 2010) Thanks Neno Loje. What's new in Visual Studio & Team Foundation Server 2010? Focusing on Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) ALM-related parts: Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 NEW: IntelliTrace® (aka the historical debugger) NEW: Architecture Tools New Project Type: Modeling Project UML Diagrams UML Use Case Diagram UML Class Diagram UML Sequence...

Since my first UUCP operation in UNIX to deliver and receive an email, I have always been challenged to find the ultimate email organizer. About a year ago, I switched to a very simple process of managing email and have found the ultimate in organization. On the craziest of days with 250+ emails, I keep my inbox empty. Here is how I do it; First, start with the following folders in your mailbox; Inbox Archive FollowUp Hold Of course, all inbound emails will start in the Inbox. As you work throughout...

Overview of Visual Studio ALM Whitepapers by Microsoft Overview Visual Studio 2010 Quick Reference Guidance Installation, Configuration & Administration Team Foundation Installation Guide for Visual Studio Team System 2010 Administration Guide for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation Server Visual Studio 2010 TFS Upgrade Guide Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010 VM Factory TFS Integration Platform Visual Studio 2010 Licensing White Paper Requirements Visual Studio 2010...

I wrote this two years ago and thought it was worth posting… Some may think this is a daunting task and some may even say “what a waste of time” and want to open MS Project and start typing out tasks because someone asked for an estimate and a task list. Hell, maybe you even use Excel and pump out a spreadsheet with some real scientific formula for guessing how long it will take to code a bunch of classes. However, this short exercise will provide the basis for the entire project, whether small or...

From a colleague of mine… “As a project manager, when do you typically like to get initially involved in the project? Is it better for the PM to be rolled on during the project kick-off, the first week, or is it better to roll-on the second week when things settle down?” My textbook answer is “the Project Manager is responsible for the successful completion and delivery of the expected outcome of the project through the following major tasks;” 1. Identifying requirements 2. Establishing clear and...

Whenever I start a new project or come in during a hectic time to help salvage a deliverable – there is always a backlog. Generating the backlog can be a daunting exercise, but worth the effort. Once I have a backlog, I feel in control and the chaos begins to quell. In your everyday life, you too should keep a backlog. Here is how I do it; 1. Always carry a notebook 2. Start each day marking a new page with today’s date 3. Flip to yesterday’s notes and copy every task with an empty checkbox next...

Asked by many of my colleagues often enough, I decided to take the plunge and begin blogging. After many attempts to start and long discussions about what I should write about, I decided to give my “buddies” a series of lessons and tidbits to help them understand what it takes to manage a software development project in the real world. Stories of success and failure to keep hope alive. I am formally trained as a developer (BS/CS) and have scattered my code throughout the matrix since 1985 (officially...