Some Getting-Started TFS references

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General references to Visual Studio Team System

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsts2008/default.aspx -> Entry point for VSTS2008 (including the different editions and TFS)
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/tfs2008/default.aspx (TFS specific part of previous link)
• http://blogs.msdn.com/teams_wit_tools/archive/2008/06/09/how-microsoft-dev-div-uses-tfs-chapter-9-transparency-in-reporting.aspx (this is the 9th posting in the series, all of which are very good)
• http://geekswithblogs.net/jkurtz/archive/2008/01/24/118864.aspx -> customizing work item types in TFS (make sure you have the 2008 Team Explorer installed first)

TFS Licensing (can't forget this!!!)

• http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1fa86e00-f0a3-4290-9da9-6e0378a3a3c5&displaylang=en

Some great TFS blogs and forums

• bharry's WebLog
• Jeff Beehler's Blog
• http://blogs.msdn.com/teams_wit_tools
• Aaron Hallberg
• Visual Studio Team System (second half of list is all TFS-related forums)
• http://radiotfs.com/
• http://www.tfstimes.com/news/
• http://blogs.msdn.com/team_foundation/

Tools and add-ins to TFS

• the Team Explorer
• the Scrum Dashboard
• The 2008 Power Tools
• Borland CaliberRM
• TeamLook - A Team Foundation Server (TFS) Addin for Outlook 2003
• http://widgets.accentient.com/  (your really should bookmark this one!!)

Process templates for TFS

• http://www.scrumforteamsystem.com/en/default.aspx
• http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=55A4BDE6-10A7-4C41-9938-F388C1ED15E9&displaylang=en
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsts2008/aa718795.aspx (full list of known process templates, both free and $$$)

Book recommendations

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Foundation-Server-Jean-Luc-David/dp/0471919306/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212692014&sr=8-1

• How to implement IT governance such as Sarbanes-Oxley
• How to work with mixed environments (including Java and .NET)
• How to set up the product for large distributed environments
• How and why to take multiple lifecycles into consideration when deploying and using Team System
• How to create custom development tools and administer and customize work items
• How to monitor your team project metrics using SQL Server Reporting Services

http://www.amazon.com/Visual-Studio-Team-System-Development/dp/0321418506/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212692014&sr=8-2

• Using VSTS to support the transition to Agile values and techniques
• Forming Agile teams and building effective process frameworks
• Leveraging Team Foundation Version Control to help teams manage change and share their code effectively
• Implementing incremental builds and integration with Team Foundation Build
• Making the most of VSTS tools for Test-Driven Development and refactoring
• Bringing agility into software modeling and using patterns to model solutions more effectively
• Using the FIT integrated testing framework to make sure customers are getting what they need
• Estimating, prioritizing, and planning Agile projects

http://www.amazon.com/Software-Engineering-Microsoft-Visual-Development/dp/0321278720/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212692014&sr=8-3

• The role of the value-up paradigm (versus work-down) in the software development lifecycle, and the meanings and importance of “flow”
• The use of MSF for Agile Software Development and MSF for CMMI Process Improvement
• Work items for planning and managing backlog in VSTS
• Multidimensional, daily metrics to maintain project flow and enable estimation
• Creating requirements using personas and scenarios
• Project management with iterations, trustworthy transparency, and friction-free metrics
• Architectural design using a value-up view, service-oriented architecture, constraints, and qualities of service
• Development with unit tests, code coverage, profiling, and build automation
• Testing for customer value with scenarios, qualities of service, configurations, data, exploration, and metrics
• Effective bug reporting and bug assessment
• Troubleshooting a project: recognizing and correcting common pitfalls and antipatterns

http://www.codeplex.com/TFSGuide (available as a free PDF download)