As part of the ANZ MVPs Tech Channel on Microsoft’s Channel 9 property, I have recorded a short video presentation titled “A DevOps walkthrough using Visual Studio 2015”. I’ve focused on two specific aspects of a good DevOps environment, namely Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery.

The video focuses on the new build system introduced in Visual Studio Online and Team Foundation Server 2015. While the video was recorded using TFS 2015 in an on-premises scenario, most of the steps are directly applicable to Visual Studio Online and Windows Azure.

Here’s a list of the things I covered in the video.

• Create a new Agent Pool, install Build Agent and configure permissions
• Create a new build definition and configure it to execute Unit Tests (Continuous Integration)
• Package our the built website as a Web Deploy Package
• Create a Machine Group and add a new test web server
• Use PowerShell DSC to configure a basic web server (IIS, ASP.NET 4.5, Website & WebDeploy)
• Use WebDeploy to deploy the site package to the newly configured Web Server
• Auto deploy and configure the new Test Agent on our web server
• Run Coded UI Tests and report results

Watch the video on Channel 9 by clicking the image below.

If you have any feedback or other topics you’d like to see in a video, please leave you feedback in the comments below.

Early Bird registrations have now closed for the Visual Studio Live! event on August 10-14 at Microsoft HQ in Redmond.

As a presenter I can help you save you $500 on the 5-day package. You just need to use my speaker code (RDSPK03) when you register to receive the discount.

Register here: http://bit.ly/RDSPK03REG

Here are the two sessions I’ll be presenting at the conference:

1. Enhancing Application Quality Using Visual Studio 2015 Premium Features  
2. Not Your Grandfather’s Build – A Look at How Build Has Changed in 2015

Fellow ALM MVPs Mathias Olausson and Jakob Ehn are in the process of writing a new book for publisher Apress. The new book titled “Continuous Delivery with Visual Studio ALM 2015” is in the early stages at the moment but should be available in Q3 2015. I’ve been lucky enough to be asked to help with the technical proofreading which means I am in the process of reading every single page very closely. The guys are doing a great job of authoring this book and it contains many real world examples that I am sure will help everyone reading this book when it comes out.

As soon as the book is available to order, I’ll be sure to blog about it so you can learn from these two knowledgeable and experienced ALM gurus.

With the Visual Studio 2015 and Team Foundation Server 2015 releases just around the corner, Team Explorer Everywhere 2015 has jumped the gun and is already available for download.

If you’re using Team Explorer Everywhere and want to upgrade to the latest version, it is available from the following locations.

• Microsoft Download Center
• Eclipse Marketplace

As per Brian’s blog post, the TEE2015 release is not a big one but the changes will be very welcome by users. The changes include:

• Support for Build vNext  (I love Build vNext)
• Support for Project Rename  (Worth the long wait)
• @CurrentIteration work item tracking macro (Super convenient)
• Performance improvements and bug fixes (Can’t complain about these)

“Where has the _PublishedWebsite folder gone in 2015?” This is a common question I have been seeing from people that have started using Visual Studio 2015 and the new Team Build 2015.

If you’ve been building web applications using Team Foundation Server 2013 or earlier, you’ll know that a folder named _PublishedWebsite is automatically created and copied to the Drop folder specified in your build definition. This has allowed us to easily write scripts to simply copy the content to a folder on our IIS server.

If you create a new Build Definition using Visual Studio 2015 and Team Build 2015, you will notice that not only is this folder no longer created by default but when you look in the drop folder you may only see the BIN directory and none of the website content at all.

If you’re keen to have the well-loved _PublishedWebsites folder created in 2015, it is a very simple thing to fix. All you need to do is add the following text into the MSBuild arguments field in the General tab of your Build definition.

/p:OutDir=$(build.stagingDirectory)

This is what it looks like in added to the MSBuild Arguments field in the General tab of the build definition.

Now when you trigger your build, the folder and all of its content is there, just like it has been in the past. If you want to copy the contents of the _PublishedWebsites folder, you can specify the copy source as $(Agent.BuildDirectory)\Staging\_PublishedWebsites

I’ll be speaking at Visual Studio Live!, August 10-14 at Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA. Surrounded by your fellow industry professionals, Visual Studio Live! provides you with immediately usable training and education that will keep you relevant in the workforce.

I’ll be presenting the following sessions:

• Enhancing Application Quality Using Visual Studio 2015 Premium Features  
• Not Your Grandfather’s Build – A Look at How Build Has Changed in 2015

SPECIAL OFFER: As a speaker, I can extend $500 savings on the 5-day package. Register here: http://bit.ly/RDSPK03Home**

Amplify your knowledge at Visual Studio Live! Redmond — bring the issues that keep you up at night and prepare to leave this event with the answers, guidance and training you need. 

Register now: http://bit.ly/RDSPK03REG

To coincide with the just-released Visual Studio 2015 and TFS 2015 Release Candidates, we’re pleased to release our new TFS 2015 training curriculum. Dates for these courses are now available in the United States and dates will soon be announced for Australia and Europe.

DevOps using Visual Studio ALM 2015

3 DAY I DEVELOPERS & ADMINS
We’re very excited about our newest course offering. It covers topics including PowerShell and PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC), Azure Automation, Application Insights, Release Management, Application Diagnostics and troubleshooting, IntelliTrace and much more.

Visual Studio 2015 Developer Enterprise Features

2 DAY I DEVELOPERS
This new 2 day course has been developed to help ensure developers with the Visual Studio Enterprise edition maximize their productivity through the use of many of the features only available in the Enterprise edition.

TFS 2015 Configuration and Administration

4 DAY I TFS ADMINS
This expanded course offering equips students with a solid knowledge of the many areas that a TFS champion is often called upon to configure and manage. Key topics covered in this course include product installation, security and permissions, reporting, customization, and build automation.

Developing ALM solutions using Visual Studio TFS 2015

5 DAY I ENTIRE TEAM
This is an updated release of our popular 5-day “all-up” course for individuals or complete development teams who need to learn how to use Visual Studio 2015 and Team Foundation Server 2015. This course covers project management , Agile development , test management strategies, and TFS administration.

Software Testing using Microsoft Test Manager 2015

3 DAY I TESTERS
Focuses primarily on the use of Microsoft Test Professional 2015, which is a standalone product or part of Visual Studio 2015 Enterprise edition. The course teaches you how to design test plans, author and execute test cases, raise and verify defects and more.

Managing Agile Projects with TFS 2015 or Visual Studio Online

3 DAY I TEAM LEADS AND PROJECT MANAGERS
Provides Project Managers, Business Analysts, and Team Leaders the essential skills required to manage a software development project effectively using either TFS 2015 or Visual Studio Online.

TFS 2015 Developer Fundamentals – TFVC

2 DAY I DEVELOPERS USING TVC
This course is essential for developers looking to work in a team using TFS 2015 or Visual Studio online. It covers topics including organizing your work, work item tracking and then deep dives into version control using Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC).

TFS 2015 Developer Fundamentals – Git

2 DAY I DEVELOPERS USING GIT
This course is essential for developers looking to work in a team using TFS 2015 or Visual Studio online. It covers topics including organizing your work, work item tracking and then deep dives into version control using Git for version control.

Test Automation, Web Performance and Load Testing with Visual Studio 2015

2 DAY I AUTOMATION TESTERS
This course is designed for automation and performance testers who have basic .NET coding skills. The course focuses on creating, executing and maintaining Coded UI Tests, and looks at Web Performance and Load Testing using Visual Studio 2015. We also cover Cloud Load Testing with Visual Studio Online.

The ALM Forum is happening in Seattle in around 5 weeks from now and I am scheduled to deliver one of the pre-conference workshops. This year I have decided to deliver a workshop with a goal to help bring people up to date with all the recent updates and improvements that Microsoft have rolled out in the Visual Studio product suite. Let me tell you, there are PLENTY!

In writing this workshop, I have discovered that there have been a huge number of improvements in the product. I have seen announcements about all of the updates but when you start listing them out, the list is quite substantial.

Visual Studio 2012 RTM, update 1, update 2, update 3, update 4,
Visual Studio 2013 RTM, update 1, update 2, update 3, update 4.
Are you using ALL of the enhancements to improve your productivity?

The workshop is scheduled to run on Monday 18th May in the Bell Harbor Conference Center, where the ALM Forum is being held this year. Visit the event website as http://www.alm-forum.com for more information and to find out more about my pre-con you can visit http://www.alm-forum.com/s15/WS_TFS

In both the classroom while training and in the field while consulting over the past year I have heard all sorts of rumours about Microsoft moving away from Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) over to Git. I have even had students in my class struggling with a change to Git and when asked why they were changing they answered “because Microsoft is moving away from TFVC”.  The incorrect assumptions that people have been making are often leading to incorrect choices when it comes to choosing a version control provider.

I do not have anything against Git or TFVC – they both offer great features to development teams. I simply ask that you choose based on which model works best for your team. Don’t make the choice based on rumours and hearsay.

Brian Harry, Technical Fellow at Microsoft, has written I blog post titled The Future of Team Foundation Version Control which I hope will be the final word on this. I hope so anyway.

Are you interested in learning about Build, Release Management and Application Insights? Our popular course is running in a couple of weeks as an online course in the Eastern European time zone. You can attend remotely from your home or office and increase your knowledge in these “in-demand” topics.

To register visit the registration page and download the course outline for more information.

If the times/dates don’t suit you or your team, Ask Shane for alternatives dates and courses you can attend.