Customize Functional Areas within a Process Template
You can define the initial configuration of most functional areas that are provided by Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and Visual Studio Team Foundation Server. Specifically, you can define the initial configuration for the areas shown in the following illustration by modifying the corresponding plug-in file for that functional area:
.png "Process Template Plug-ins")
For an overview of required plug-ins and plug-in dependencies, see Define Dependencies for Task Groups and Tasks in Plug-in Files.
In this topic
Defining Classifications, Groups, and Permissions
Defining Work Item Tracking
Defining Version Control, Build, Lab Management, and Test Management
Defining Reports and the Portal
Defining Classifications, Groups, and Permissions
You define the organizational areas and milestone releases for product development in the Classification plug-in. You define default security groups and their members and permissions in the Groups and Permissions plug-in.
Plug-in |
Task |
Related topics |
|---|---|---|
Classification |
Define classification hierarchies for product areas and iterations. You use the Classification.xml plug-in file to define the initial area paths and iterations for a team project and to upload the mapping file for Microsoft Project. |
Define the Initial Areas and Iterations in the Classification Plug-in |
Groups |
Configure initial security groups and permissions. You use the GroupsandPermissions.xml plug-in file to define initial security groups for a team project and their members and permissions. |
Configure Initial Groups, Teams, Members, and Permissions Define Groups, Teams, and Permissions Using the Groups and Permissions Plug-in |
Build, Lab, VersionControl |
Configure initial security permissions for build, version control, and lab management functions. You can configure the initial security settings for the functional areas for a team project, such as Team Foundation Build, Visual Studio Lab Management, and Team Foundation version control. |
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N/A |
Customize how data is published and refreshed when working in Microsoft Project. You can customize how fields are mapped between Project and Team Foundation by modifying the FileMapping.xml file. When tasks are published or refreshed in Project, the project mapping file determines how the fields in each task are mapped to fields in Team Foundation. |
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Defining Work Item Tracking
You use the WorkItems.xml plug-in file to define the initial objects with which your team will track work. You specify a definition file for each type of work item, query, and type of link that you want to upload to a team project. You specify categories in a definition file for these objects. Lastly, you specify the query permissions, query folders, and instances of work items within the WorkItems.xml plug-in file. For more information, see Define and Customize Objects for Tracking Work Items By Using the Work Item Tracking Plug-in.
Object |
Related topics |
|---|---|
Work item types |
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Work item queries |
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Categories |
Add Type Definitions for Work Item Categories to a Process Template |
Link types |
Add Type Definitions for Work Item Links to a Process Template |
Work items |
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Defining Version Control, Build, Lab Management, and Test Management
You define the initial configuration of the functional areas for Team Foundation Build, Lab Management, Test Manager, and Team Foundation version control through their respective plug-ins: Build, Lab, TestManagement, and VersionControl. You define the initial permissions for Test Manager in the Groups plug-in as described in Assigning Project-Level Permissions.
Plug-in |
Task |
Related topics |
|---|---|---|
Build, Lab, and VersionControl |
Configure initial permissions for build, version control, and lab management functions. You configure the initial security settings for Team Foundation Build, Lab Management, and Team Foundation version control within the corresponding plug-in file for the functional area. |
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VersionControl |
Customize version control activities. You use the VersionControl.xml plug-in file to define the initial permissions for version control of a team project, its check-in notes, and whether exclusive check-out is required. |
Define the Initial Configuration of Team Foundation Version Control |
TestManagement |
Configure test configurations, variables, and resolution states that are used by Microsoft Test Manager. You use the TestManagement.xml plug-in file to define the test management files to upload that will create the initial test variables, configurations, settings, and resolution states of a team project. |
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Build |
Upload build template files. You use the Build.xml plug-in file to configure the initial security permissions that are assigned to identities for Team Foundation Build and to upload the build template files. |
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Lab |
Upload template files for use by Lab Management. You use the Lab.xml plug-in file to configure the initial permissions that are assigned to identities for Lab Management. |
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Defining Reports and the Portal
You upload the default set of reports to SQL Server Reporting Services by using the Reporting plug-in. You activate the team project portal, upload process guidance files, and activate dashboard features by using the Portal plug-in.
Plug-in |
Task |
Related topics |
|---|---|---|
Reporting |
Upload reports that are viewed in Report Manager. You use the ReportsTasks.xml plug-in file to define the tasks to upload the initial reports of a team project and to create the initial structure of report folders. |
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Portal |
Customize the team project portal. You use the WssTasks.xml plug-in file to define tasks to create the project portal, to upload files to the portal, and to activate dashboard features. Note You cannot customize Excel reports and dashboards through the process template files. These artifacts are created for a team project based on the selections that you make in the New Team Project wizard and the version of SharePoint Products that runs on the portal site. |
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Related Tasks
Task |
Related topics |
|---|---|
Understand the file structure and components that you can customize. You customize a process template by modifying, deleting, or adding files that are defined for a process template. |
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Review the process for customizing and verifying changes to a process template. To customize a process template, you first download an existing or blank process template, modify or add files, upload the process template files, and then verify the changes that you have made. Customizing a process template is an iterative process. Following the recommended sequence will support your customization efforts. |
Step-by-Step Customization Process |
Determine the functional areas that you will customize. You can use the checklist that is provided to determine the functional areas that you want to customize. |
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Specify the plug-in files to run during project creation. You use the ProcessTemplate.xml plug-in file to define the complete process template and all subordinate XML files. This file contains all the task groups that must run to successfully create a team project. Each task group references a subordinate XML file (often in a subfolder) where the specific tasks are defined. |
Define the Root Tasks Using the Process Template Plug-in File |
Look up the definition for an element that is used in a process template plug-in file. You can create and customize your process templates, which you use to create team projects and standardize new processes. |
Index to XML Element Definitions for Process Template Plug-ins |