Visual Studio® 2008 ALL-IN-ONE DESK REFERENCE FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter VII.2. Being a Team Player with Visual Studio Team System

If you've ever worked on a team project, you've probably experienced the frustrations of trying to collaborate via e-mail and folder shares. Invariably, an important document gets overwritten or an important stakeholder is left off the distribution list. Either way, the project suffers.

For most teams, the thought of implementing software to help with collaboration is about as much fun as having a root canal. Even if you decide on a vendor and manage to get the budget approved, you know the software's benefits are overshadowed by its daunting complexity.

The Microsoft approach to solving this problem is a bit different than most other vendors' approaches. Instead of creating an entire new set of tools for people to learn, Microsoft decided to create a solution that allows team members to keep using the same tools they've always used. The project managers keep using Excel and Project. The developers use Visual Studio. The architects get modeling tools that actually synchronize with code, and the testers finally get real software. The name for this make-everybody-happy approach to supporting team development is Visual Studio Team System.

Introducing the Visual Studio Team System

Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) isn't an edition of Visual Studio. Rather, it's a platform for building software in a team environment. The platform is composed of the following product offerings.

• Four role-based editions of Visual Studio — Each ...