Share via

Visual Studio Scrum 1.0

  • Article

Yesterday we announced the release of Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0, a new process template for Team Foundation Server 2010. The template can be downloaded from the Visual Studio Gallery or through the Visual Studio Extension Manager. This new template is the first new process template introduced by Microsoft since the MSF Agile and MSF CMMI templates first shipped with Team Foundation Server 2005.

So, why a new template? Scrum has become one of the dominant project management methodologies in recent years and is quickly becoming a default choice for new teams as well as teams looking to improve their existing processes. While the MSF Agile template can be used effectively by Scrum teams, we found that there was strong demand for a prescriptive Scrum template - a template that follows the Scrum methodology from top to bottom that uses Scrum terminology throughout.

What is a Process Template?

A process template is a collection of files that together define the various process elements of a team project on a Team Foundation Server. Included in a process template are definitions for your teams work items, work item queries, builds, reports, and SharePoint portal. Each of these artifacts help you manage the work for your software project, track and report on important trends, and ultimately drive toward releasing high quality software on time. Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 defines the following artifacts for new team projects created from it:

Work Items

  • Sprint
  • Product Backlog Item
  • Bug
  • Task
  • Impediment
  • Test Case
  • Shared Steps

Reports

  • Release Burndown
  • Sprint Burndown (pictured below)
  • Velocity
  • Build Success Over Time
  • Build Summary
  • Test Case Readiness
  • Test Plan Progress

Who is the template for?

This template was built specifically for Scrum teams. We recognize that it won't meet every team's needs, but we didn't want to fall into the trap of "one size fits all" and miss the mark. The team worked closely with thought leaders in the Agile community to ensure that the template meets the needs of Scrum teams. And the template is completely customizable. If your team wants to start with a basic Scrum template and fine tune it to your needs, this template is a great choice.

For more information on what's included in the template please visit Aaron Bjork's blog post where he outlines what's included as well as changes since the beta.

Namaste!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    July 21, 2010
    I've installed the template, but I can't create new Team Projects with it. It works correctly in Team Foundation Server installed on client Windows (basic mode) or just with the full installation of TFS? Thanks Soma!

  • Anonymous
    July 21, 2010
    Alliston, the template works with both basic and the full TFS installation.  Can you tell me more about why you can't create new projects with it?  Are you seeing some kind of error? Thanks. Aaron Bjork

  • Anonymous
    July 21, 2010
    Hi, I installed it on TFS2010 RTM, restart Visual Studio, but I don't see it as optional template when creating new project. Any idea ? Thanks, Ido

  • Anonymous
    July 22, 2010
    Ido - you need to isntall the template locally, and then upload it to your TFS server through the Process Template Manager.  See John's post on this topic:  blogs.msdn.com/.../microsoft-visual-studio-scrum-1-0.aspx

  • Anonymous
    July 24, 2010
    Hello Aaron. Resolved with the same response to Ido. Thanks so much!

  • Anonymous
    August 02, 2010
    Hello Aaron/Soma, I get the following exception upon upload... 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 22 | Starting process template validation 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | The user identity information was retrieved from the Group Security Service | Completion time: 0 seconds 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 22 | Process template XML loaded 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 22 | Starting process template validation 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | Running Task "UploadStructure" from Group "Classification" 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Task "UploadStructure" from Group "Classification" completed with success | Completion time: 0 seconds 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | Running Task "" from Group "" 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | Running Task "GroupCreation1" from Group "Groups" ---begin Exception entry--- Time: 2010-08-02T14:33:33 Module: Engine Event Description: TF30162: Task "GroupCreation1" from Group "Groups" failed Exception Type: Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Client.PcwException Exception Message: TF218018: The XML in the process template is malformed. A problem exists with the following permission class: PROJECT. The permission class does not support the specified permission: VIEW_TEST_RESULTS. Contact the provider of the template and obtain a corrected XML file. Use the Process Template Manager to upload the new template file to  Team Foundation Server and then try the operation again. Stack Trace:   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.GssStructureCreator.ValidateGroupsAndPermissions(ProjectCreationContext context, XmlNodeList groupXmlNodeList)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.GssStructureCreator.Validate(ProjectCreationContext context, XmlNode taskXml)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.ProjectCreationEngine.TaskValidator.PerformTask(IProjectComponentCreator componentCreator, ProjectCreationContext context, XmlNode taskXml)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.ProjectCreationEngine.RunTask(Object taskObj) --- end Exception entry --- 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "LinkTypes" from Group "WorkItemTracking" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "WITs" from Group "WorkItemTracking" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "Queries" from Group "WorkItemTracking" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "Categories" from Group "WorkItemTracking" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "WIs" from Group "WorkItemTracking" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "VersionControlTask" from Group "VersionControl" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "BuildTask" from Group "Build" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "LabTask" from Group "Lab" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "TestVariable" from Group "TestManagement" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "TestConfiguration" from Group "TestManagement" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "TestSettings" from Group "TestManagement" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "TestResolutionState" from Group "TestManagement" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "Site" from Group "Reporting" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "Populate Reports" from Group "Reporting" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "SharePointPortal" from Group "Portal" will not be run because a prior task failed. 2010-08-02T14:33:33 | Module: Engine | Thread: 24 | TF30202: Task "" from Group "" will not be run because a prior task failed. ---begin Exception entry--- Time: 2010-08-02T14:33:33 Module: Template Importer Exception Message: TF30175: Process template validation failed (type ValidationFailedException) Exception Stack Trace:    at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.EngineStarter.ValidateTemplate(DirectoryInfo templateDirectory)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.TemplateManagementService.ValidateMethodology(String folderPath, ILogHandler logHandler)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.TemplateManagementService.Import(String folderPath, ILogHandler logHandler) Inner Exception Details: Exception Message: TF30162: Task "GroupCreation1" from Group "Groups" failed (type TaskFailedException) Exception Stack Trace:    at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.ProjectCreationEngine.PerformAllTasks(ITaskPerformer taskPerformer, ProjectCreationContext creationContext, List`1 projectTasks)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.EngineStarter.RunEngine(Boolean isValidationRun, String templateFolder)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.EngineStarter.ValidateTemplate(DirectoryInfo templateDirectory) Inner Exception Details: Exception Message: TF218018: The XML in the process template is malformed. A problem exists with the following permission class: PROJECT. The permission class does not support the specified permission: VIEW_TEST_RESULTS. Contact the provider of the template and obtain a corrected XML file. Use the Process Template Manager to upload the new template file to  Team Foundation Server and then try the operation again. (type PcwException) Exception Stack Trace:    at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.GssStructureCreator.ValidateGroupsAndPermissions(ProjectCreationContext context, XmlNodeList groupXmlNodeList)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.GssStructureCreator.Validate(ProjectCreationContext context, XmlNode taskXml)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.ProjectCreationEngine.TaskValidator.PerformTask(IProjectComponentCreator componentCreator, ProjectCreationContext context, XmlNode taskXml)   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamFoundation.ProjectCreationEngine.RunTask(Object taskObj) --- end Exception entry ---

  • Anonymous
    August 02, 2010
    Excelente post! Congratulations! Outer, Direct and enlightening. We use SCRUM at Volvo IT and of course it is a great manner of managing development. -- Follow me on twitter - @SilCwb

  • Anonymous
    August 02, 2010
    Are there any plans/chances to add such functionality to CodePlex in the near future?

  • Anonymous
    August 02, 2010
    Hey Now Somasegar, Slick VS Extention! Thx 4 the info, Catto

  • Anonymous
    August 03, 2010
    Robi - The plans for CodePlex are heavily driven by user voted feature requests.  If you submit a feature request for adding the Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 template then other CodePlex users can vote on the feature to determine the priority for us: codeplex.codeplex.com/.../basic Thanks, Jonathan

  • Anonymous
    August 04, 2010
    Done, thanks codeplex.codeplex.com/.../25543

  • Anonymous
    August 05, 2010
    Hi,    I was going through different blogs to download the template, Install and then upload to TFS server through the Process Template Manager. Also, I was experimenting on creating new Project Teams with the Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 Template. We were using Excel sheets to maintain all the Scrum Data. I had put up a blog from start to finish with screenshots on how to download the template, Install the template, Upload to TFS and create the Project Teams. The Link to the blog is kishore1021.wordpress.com/.../scrum-process-for-software-development-using-microsoft-visual-studio-scrum-1-0-process-template . I Hope it helps new users. Thanks, Kishore Babu.

  • Anonymous
    August 09, 2010
    @VSubra - the error you're seeing is generated when you install the template on a 2008 server.  This template is built for TFS 2010 and is not compatible with 2008 TFS servers.

  • Anonymous
    August 11, 2010
    Will it run on TFS 2008?

  • Anonymous
    August 11, 2010
    jtcarm- The Scrum template is built for TFS 2010 only.  It's not compatible with TFS 2008. Polita Paulus Microsoft

  • Anonymous
    August 11, 2010
    Will this be usable with existing projects that have been migrated from TFS2008 to TFS2010? Or will it only work with NEW projects created in TFS2010. We have quite a few projects in TFS2008 and were wondering if this will be a sticking point for us to use it with retrospective projects created in TFS2008. Regards

  • Anonymous
    August 11, 2010
    @Ramz, it's designed for new projects.  A process template defines what your work items, reports, and basic project structure look after project creation.  Applying a process template to an in-flight project is not something that TFS supports.  That being said, you can modify in-flight projects to look/feel like a new project created from the Scrum template using the Process Template Editor or the WIT APIs. Let me know if you need more details. Thanks. Aaron

  • Anonymous
    August 20, 2010
    scrumulous.blogspot.com

  • Anonymous
    April 19, 2011
    This template is the perfect match with Urban Turtle in order to provide a great drag and drop experience to maintain your backlog. Urban Turtle also provide a great Task Board for you TFS server. All web based. Have a look at urbanturtle.com

  • Anonymous
    July 21, 2011
    Module: Engine Event Description: TF30162: Task "WITs" from Group "WorkItemTracking" failed Exception Type: Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Client.PcwException Exception Message: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Anyone have this error? I have a clean install of TFS 2010 and i cannot upload this new template.

  • Anonymous
    July 21, 2011
    @Robert - Can you send me your PCW log?  Once I have that we can determine what went wrong.  Feel free to email me directly at aaron.bjork@microsoft.com. Thanks. Aaron

  • Anonymous
    June 03, 2013
    Is Scrum 1.o templates install-able for 2008 VS and TFS 2008