Technology Day (30th) - More pictures from technology day in Kuwait

A few more pictures from our journey, courtesy of "Mumbles" our Linux evangelist. Note that the country is hot, very hot and some of us are really battling ...

The ATC "Mossie" Trio arrives in Kuwait

The ATC Mossie trio, Henk, Zayd and Willy have arrived safe and sound in Kuwait for the Technology Day event tomorrow.

We had a lot of delay and the feeling of "Midnight Express" when we ended up waiting for our visas at the airport at 3AM in the morning, only to realise that Zayd's suitcase had decided to stay in Johannesburg. Eventually we got a few hours sleep in the exceptional Le Meridien Tower hotel, enjoyed a stroll to the event, setup and configured out classroom for tomorrow and then had another stroll back ... we were basically the only people walking around in the afternoon heat ... not sure why q;-)

Here a a few pictures to give you a feel of Kuwait ... more to come when our photographer, Mumbles, releases his high quality snapshots. Enjoy ...

Microsoft is sharing Team System "Rosario" Specifications ... take a look!

Microsoft started to share specifications for Team System "Rosario" last year and has just added new specifications last month:

• Codename “TFS Bug Submission Portal” Power Tool for Team Foundation Server 2008
• Send Mail from TFS
• Core Linking Work Item Tracking

Please take advantage of this exciting information sharing initiative, provide Microsoft feedback. 

Microsoft has also made available RSS feed and a forum to enable you to monitor and discuss these specifications.

Light-Weight Scrum, eScrum and Conchango ... why three process templates?

With the VSTS (Light-Weight) Scrum, the eScrum and the Conchango we have three scrum process templates. Where can you get these, what are they and why are there three different scrum process templates?

VSTS (Light-Weight) Scrum

http://www.codeplex.com/VSTSScrum

Created and maintained by Team System MVPs, the VSTS Light-Weight Scrum Process template is based on the powerful Agile methodology and the MSF Agile principles, delivering familiarity to both Agile and MSF users. It is a light-weight version of the Scrum process template, which is well suited for small to medium team projects, featuring a comprehensive process guidance and further coverage in the Team System quick reference posters (JPG, PDF) and the book Software Engineers on their way to Pluto.

eScrum

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=55A4BDE6-10A7-4C41-9938-F388C1ED15E9&displaylang=en

As per the site, it "is a Web-based, end-to-end project management tool for Scrum built on the Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server platform. It provides multiple ways to interact with your Scrum project: eScrum Web-based UI, Team Explorer, and Excel or Project, via Team Foundation Office Integration. In addition, it provides a single place for all Scrum artifacts such as product backlog, sprint backlog, task management, retrospective, and reports with built-in context sensitive help".

Conchango

http://www.scrumforteamsystem.com

Scrum for Team System provides development teams with deep support for the use of Scrum and is backed by Scrum and Agile champions such as Ken Schwaber.

Why three?

Well, we created the light-Weight Scrum process template as we felt at the time Conchango was difficult to install and configure. When eScrum was released, it presented even more features and ways for team project users to interact with their scrum based project, however, again the installation and configuration proved to be challenging. More importantly both these process templates are heavy in terms of features, making them a challenge and often overhead to use in small team project environments.

It is important to emphasise that each process template has its place, each is based on Scrum and each should be evaluated by you to determine the fit in your environment. Make sure that you select one or more templates that blends into your environment, not visa versa. We are therefore not promoting any one over the other ... you need to make a call after evaluating each process template.

VSTS (Light Weight) Scrum Process Template 2.1 Launched

We have released a new version of the VSTS Light Weight Scrum Process Template, version 2.1, for Orcas. Refer to http://www.codeplex.com/VSTSScrum/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=11972 for details.

Thanks to Mike, we will shortly release a version that will work with the Project Server connector. Watch this space ...

Technical readiness event - Kuwait

For the FIRST time in Kuwait, the Biggest Technical readiness event in Kuwait

(45 sessions, 20 speakers in ONE DAY)!ONLINE FREE registration at: http://www.msexperts.net

Seats are limited, Register Now!

Spam - Information Sharing Impacted Negatively

Thanks to ~!^#%$ people, such as zxevil163, my blog had over 150 spam comments this evening, which resulted in me spending my evening editing the comments and deleting the unnecessary spam, instead of spending the time on information sharing posts. I may have deleted valid comments in error ... if I have, please send your gratitude to zxevil163 as well.

zxevil163, well done! You have achieved what no-one else would have bothered wasting time with ... you are a real champion in wasting everyone's time and ensuring that we neither have the time nor the energy to share valuable technology information with the community.

The excellent picture, which must resemble most of these strange people, comes from http://benedikt.grabenmeier.com/category/web/.

Back from Nationals - Proud Dad, refocusing on upcoming TFS evangelism in Kuwait

I am back from Cape Town, where my oldest son Alexander fought a long, hard and cold battle in eight heats, ice cold swimming pool and against team from all over Africa. He did not bring any medals back home, missed 3rd place in 50m free by just over a tenth of a second and was at times low, frustrated ... fortunately he listened to reason and realised that medals are not the only thing, but instead to compete, to improve and to feel that you have given everything at the time, under the circumstances and looking forward to the next event makes the true champions. It means that going forward we will be cycling, rowing and going to the regular swimming training ... cannot wait for the next 4AM wake up call q;-) Alex, we are all very proud of you!

In terms of Kuwait, we are on the home run before we depart to Kuwait to evangelise VSTS, TFS and WCF/LINUX interoperability. Again we will not score gold, but we will share our passion for the technology, share our knowledge and experience ... looking forward to the adventure beyond Kuwait. See www.msexperts.net for details.

Essential Windows Communication Foundation Book

If you work with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) you must invest in a copy of the Essential Windows Communication Foundation Book. The authors Resnick, Crane and Bowen have created a truly comprehensive work that is invaluable to the advanced reader, as well as the newcomers to WCF.

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Windows-Communication-Foundation-WCF/dp/0321440064/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product

TFS - MSF 4 ... is it tightly coupled with TFS?

We recently picked up a post on the MSDN Forums querying whether MSF 4 is tightly coupled with TFS. We should not confuse guidance with process template. MSF, all versions, is all about SDLC "guidance" and is not bound to TFS at all. The integration into TFS is achieved through the MSF Process Templates, with which the TFS/VSTS products "guide" the team project users.

You can find links to the guidance and templates for MSF for Agile Software Development and MSF for CMMI Process Improvement at http://msdn.com/process. You can download the guidance and extract it into a folder, after which you can view the textual guidance and the supporting files that are available such as Project checklist, scenarios, vision doc etc. In other words, you can make use of the new MSF 4 Guidance, without using or relying on TFS.

The following screen dump shows the MSF 4.1 Agile Guidance running from c:\temp, outside of SharePoint and TFS:

Daily Build, Automated Testing ... the pulse or the hygiene of a solution?

While listening to and editing the recording of Henk and Zayd's TFS Build Implementation session early this morning, the part talking about "why bother with a build" caught my attention. The words they state are and I quote:

• Build Automation important process in the software development lifecycle.
• Builds are the pulse of the solution, in other words they indicate the health of solutions.
• Having automated generation and testing of solutions is empowering and productive.

.. end quote.

I cannot agree more! Building and testing can be regarded as the hygiene of solutions, just as washing our hands, brushing teeth and gargling the stuff that makes your toes curl, is part of our daily hygiene. We all agree that the hygiene is important ... yet it is the first to go when time is an issue, when other "more important" issues enter the current movie, or if we are simply too tired to care.

Charles emailed me an excellent quote from Hamlet, in another context, but yet I find it so suitable in this context as well: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune, but omitted all their lives are spent in shallows and in miseries".

Analyse Hamlet's wise words in your own time and determine if the build, the testing and the automation thereof should be high or low on our priority list.

I often wonder why many solutions start with energy, with order ... only to end up as a painful journey ...

Architecture Readiness Sessions

As part of the BB&D technology readiness program, we have scheduled the first architecture discussions. The sessions are open to SA Architect community members, space permitting. Contact SA Architect for more details.

Sessions for April:

1. TR Architecture - What is a Model View Controller?
• Level: 300
• Type: Technology Awareness (Info Share)
• When: 2008/04/09 09:00
• Where: BB&D (Johannesburg) Collaboration Centre
• Presenter: Garret Besser
2. TR Architecture - What is the Microsoft ESB Guidance?
• Level: 300
• Type: Technology Awareness (Info Share)
• When: 2008/04/23 09:00
• Where: BB&D (Johannesburg) Collaboration Centre
• Presenter: Garret Besser

If you have topics you would like to present or hear about, please let us know. We are planning further exciting topics on test driven development (TDD), patterns, modelling, etc.

TFS - Process Templates ... who is who?

Refer to http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-za/vsts2008/aa718795(en-us).aspx for a list of available TFS process templates and associated

tools. If you scroll down on that page, you will even spot the community process templates, i.e. Light Weight Scrum q;-)

TFS - New quick reference posters on licensing and product decisions

Two new TFS quick reference posters have been posted to our community servers on www.drp.co.za and www.saarchitect.net. The one presents an overview on TFS and VSTS licensing, whereas the other gives guidance when busy selecting which piece of software is needed, i.e. if I am a developer, what edition should I invest in?

0202 Microsoft Team System Licensing Overview

0202 Microsoft Team System Environments

Both quick reference posters are an initial DRAFT and may undergo some cosmetic changes over time.

Technology Day in Kuwait - Sharing our passion for TFS, VSTS, WCF and Interoperability with Linux

Have a peek at http://www.msexperts.net for the outline of the exciting forthcoming event in Kuwait.

Henk, Zayd and I will be talking about TFS, VSTS, WCF and interoperability with Linux using Mono, sharing our knowledge, passion, as well as a lot of books, stress balls and DVDs filled with lots of techno stuff q;-)

... we are passionate about technology!