Brian H. Prince

We have been trying to simplify our product lineup and skus over the past few years for all of our products. Customers want it to be simpler. I have bought software before, and in comparison we have some of the simplest licensing, but we can always do better. Windows 7 has fewer skus, and now VS2010 does as well. Having different skus is important, but the trick is to have the right number. Too much choice leads to consumer confusion and dissatisfaction. Studies have shown that too many choices leads to a dissatisfied customer. Let’s say you go into a store and there are 100 different types of jeans on sale. You spend some time, pick the ones you like and bring them home (preferably after paying for them.) You will be ok with your selection, but not really happy. You will always have the doubt in your head as to the question if you actually picked the right pair. Perhaps the one with the super special boot leg cut would have been better looking with my sandals. Now that I have you...

VS2010 beta 2 has been released. Go get it now. It comes with a go live license, so you can use it in production, and we will support it. You need to understand that it is still a beta though. The RTM date is March 22, 2010, so if you have a project that is going live around then, it might be best to build it with the beta than building it with VS2008. We have committed that there will be a smooth upgrade path from beta2 to RTM so you don’t have to worry about the proper retention of source code, and work items. I plan on posting some unboxing videos soon, but I wanted to hit some of the top features (at least that I think are my favorite features). TFS is now much easier to install. You can install on Windows 7, on a desktop PC, and with SQL Express. It takes about 20 minutes now. There is a new basic profile with TFS that installs the core features, making it super easy to get source control and work item tracking up and running for your team. There is a new code onl...

Do you want to learn how to use Scrum and TFS together? Do you want to learn from someone who has ‘been there, and done that?’ Check out this event, which is being put on by the Chattanooga TN .NET user group.   Details: August 6th, 6:00 PM 4080 Jenkins Rd., Chattanooga, TN (West Building) Agile software development is quickly becoming the approach of choice for companies who want to deliver quality software quickly, and the Scrum process is by far the most popular of these methodologies. Many have found value in coupling their existing development environment with the principles and practices of Scrum and Agile. This free two hour seminar will cover the basics of the Scrum process and demonstrate how to implement them using Visual Team Suite Foundation Server to create collaborative, productive Agile development teams. Dinner will be provided  and we will have door prizes  to  give  away limited, so register today. ...

A great team member of mine (Randy Pagels, who works with a lot of customers to help them understand the business value of ALM and TFS) just launched a site at http://www.teamsystemcafe.net/ . It brings together a lot of great resources on Team Foundation System, Visual Studio Team Suite, and Application Lifecycle Management. There is a great blog roll of related sites as well. Take a few minutes and check it out.