As a development manager, I have requested work breakdown structures (WBS) many times from the dev leads. Everyone has their own approach and why it takes sometimes days to get this simple list is often frustrating. Here is a simple way to get that elusive WBS done in 30 minutes and have 125 items in your list – well, 126. The WBS is made up of parent-child ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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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 ......

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