Brian Harry announced today on his blog that Visual Studio 2015 CTP6 and TFS 2015 CTP 1 were both available for download. As you can see from the CTP numbers, there have been a number previous CTPs for Visual Studio but this is the first time we’ve got to take a look at TFS 2015.

I have recorded a very quick video showing how to install TFS 2015 CTP1 on a fresh installation of Windows Server 2012 R2. It covers installing SQL 2014 followed by TFS 2015 CTP1. I finish off by creating a new Team Project using Visual Studio 2015 CTP6.

2015 started in  positive way with news today that Microsoft have re-awarded me as a Visual Studio ALM MVP for the next 12 months. This is the 9th year that Microsoft have acknowledged the contributions I make to the community in the Visual Studio ALM discipline.

Congratulations to all the other new and renewed MVPs that have also found out today. Its a great community to belong to.

At TechEd Australia 2014 in Sydney this year I presented a session titled “Build for the cloud, using the cloud: A look at Visual Studio Online”. This video is available on Microsoft’s Channel9 property for anyone interested in watching it.

Here’s the session abstract.

Configuring a development environment, including a version control repository and build environment, can be complicated and time consuming. Using Visual Studio Online, you can go from zero to online in just 40 minutes! Developers will love just how quick and easy getting started really is. In this demo-heavy session, we start from scratch and quickly build up a solution using Microsoft Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server, and Microsoft Azure. We’ll store our code in an enterprise-class repository, configure both automated build and automated release and have our new application running on Microsoft Azure all during this session.

If you can spare 2 minutes in the next couple of days, could you please take a quick look at the Visual Studio ALM Rangers – Unit Test Generator “quick poll” survey? You may recall that up to and including Visual Studio 2010 you could right-click on a method and choose “Generate Unit test” from the context menu. This simply created the scaffolding for you to write your unit tests. It was a simple thing but it has been missed a little by the community. The ALM Rangers are considering a project to bring this back and need your input to determine if you would find it useful and what it should do if the project goes ahead.

Click the following link to get started.

Visual Studio ALM Rangers – Unit Test Generator “quick poll” survey

The ALM Forum conference is happening again in Seattle in May 2015. This conference is a must-see event for serious ALM practitioners especially those focusing on the Microsoft ALM suite.

The event is moving from the Washington State Convention Center to the Bells Harbor Conference Center which is around a 7min drive away. For those people familiar with the Seattle waterfront, the conference center is halfway between the Seattle Aquarium and where the Victoria Clippers depart from.

Registration for the ALM Forum has just opened on the event website. Here are some important dates to remember for some great savings if you act soon.

• Super Early Bird ($1295) for registrations up until December 1st.
• Conference Early Bird ($1595) for registrations between December 1st and March 1st.
• If you’ve attended a previous ALM Forum, remember to use code ALUM for a $100 discount.

If you’re heading along to the ALM Forum, you should also look at the range of optional pre and post-conference workshops. I’ll be presenting a one-day pre-conference workshop titled “Managing your Application Lifecycle with TFS”.

On a recent comment on one of my blog posts, a reader wrote the following;

Been trough the jumpstart and since my collagues also have been trough them and tried out the exam also. Seems Jumps start is not covering anymore the areas the exam nowadays includes. Seems more and more TFS 2013 related questions are coming in exams.

Hearing what was in the exam from collagues (“best” example was around 15 questions of 48 were not covered by current jumps start at all) I am a bit worried if I should go and try anyhow.

Is there anything of this uncovered area available (I have the current (TFSadmin and TFS instal helps available aleready)? Or plans to have a new jumps starts near time?

Firstly, I have no issue with the comment and my thoughts are not in anyway directed to the person making this comment.  In addition to replying to the comment on the post, I thought I would put a few more thoughts down in a separate post.

The Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) Jumpstarts in question are approximately 6-7 hours of videos designed to point exam candidates in the right direction in terms of study material. Steven Borg and I recorded three MVA JumpStarts around the May 2013. These three JumpStarts focused on the exams required to gain the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer: Application Lifecycle Management certification.

• Administering Visual Studio TFS 2012 (exam 496) Jump Start
  • Software Testing with Visual Studio 2012 (exam 70-497) Jump Start
    • Applying ALM with Visual Studio 2012 (exam 70-498) Jump Start</ul> Microsoft announced that from June 8, 2013 these three exams would “include content covering Visual Studio 2013.” The exam numbers remain the same, just some of the questions will be updated for the latest release of the product. In my opinion much of the examinable content did not really change between versions. Mostly there were just features or capabilities added.

    In considering the commenter’s statement that “around 15 questions of 48 were not covered by current jumps start at all”. I could completely accept that and am actually surprised that the JumpStarts covered as much as 66% of the questions. Let’s consider why I am surprised.

    • Both Steven and I sign the exact same Non-Disclosure Agreement that everyone signs when you sit a Microsoft exam. Simply put, we CANNOT divulge any of the exam questions. Everyone is required to sign this NDA prior to taking the exam so things like braindumps should not exist. This is something Steven and I take very seriously.
    • The content that Steven and I presented in the JumpStarts  was taken exclusively from the publically available Microsoft exam preparation pages. We triaged the content and worked out what we could fit into each of the session timeslots. We simply couldn’t cover everything.
    • The brief provided to us by the MVA folk was to deliver online training sessions based around the examinable topics or as much of that as we could in approximately 6 hours.

    I would like to put forward my ideas on when you should consider using the JumpStarts versus when formal training might be a better fit for you. Clearly the JumpStarts are free which is great and getting high-quality formal training costs money. That said they don’t offer the same learning outcomes.

    When to consider the JumpStarts

    If you have skills and knowledge in the topic area, the JumpStarts are perfect for honing your knowledge and showing you where you might need to focus some self-study.

    When to consider training options

    If you do not already have underpinning knowledge of the topics, 6 hour videos are not going to give you the necessary knowledge. To illustrate this, let’s look at the courses I deliver that cover much of the examinable content in detail.

    Exam 70-496 Administering Visual Studio Team Foundation Server

    • TFS 2013 Configuration and Administration course (3-days)

    Exam 70-497 Software testing with Visual Studio

    • Software Testing with Visual Studio 2013 (3-days)

    Exam 70-498 Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management

    • Applied Scrum using Visual Studio 2013 (3-days)

    As you can see, nine days of focused technical training with hands on labs to reinforce the learning is a very different proposition to watching the JumpStart videos.

    Summary

    In summary, I don’t believe the JumpStarts should provide a way for candidates to “shortcut” the exam preparation process. If someone was able to simply watch approximately 6 hours of video and pass the exam, I would think this would de-value the exam and certification.

    The JumpStarts and/or Exam Cram sessions should simply aim for the following outcomes.

    1. reinforce the content likely to be covered in the exam
    2. help candidates gauge their readiness to take the exam
    3. point candidates towards resources they can use to self-study exam topic further
    4. provide helpful training for those considering or not considering the exam

    Also, in my opinion, the exam should compliment a person’s EXISTING knowledge of a topic, not be used exclusively to demonstrate it. While someone might be able to get 900 in the exam, I would also want to be confident that the person had the corresponding experience and underpinning skills to backup the exam result. The JumpStarts should help you focus your existing knowledge and pin point knowledge gaps so you can focus your study.

While I put the finishing touches on part two of the exam 70-499 exam prep guide, I wanted to share the news of a discount on Microsoft certification exams that is available for exams between now and December 31, 2014.

If you’re preparing for the MCSD:ALM Recertification exam (70-499) or any of the other exams on the Microsoft Certification exam list, a little discount isn’t a bad thing.

To find out more about how to get the discount, visit the Born to Learn Blog. If you are preparing for 70-499, you can read part one of my prep guide now with the next part only a day or two away.

Accelerate your exam preparation for 70-499 using this three part series over the next two weeks. Our help study links will help you pass Microsoft Exam 70-499, the recertification exam for the MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management certification.

Before we begin

If you are looking for a brain dump of this exam you’re in the wrong place. Brain dumps devalue the certification by allowing people to pass the exam using memory rather than knowledge. People who write brain dumps are also in breach of the electronic NDA they sign before commencing the exam and risk being stripped of the exam result and certification. It’s just not worth it.

Exam 70-499 overview

Microsoft 70-499 is recertification exam for people already holding the MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management certification who wish to keep this certification current. It was published on August 1st, 2014 and appeared to be schedule around mid September. This MCSD certification requires that you complete a recertification exam every two years. People who gained the MCSD:ALM certification soon after it’s release will just now be approaching their first recertification time.

If you don’t currently hold the MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management certification, this exam will be of no interest to you. You will need to complete three exams the earn the full certification. You can find out more about the three exams on the MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management page on the MS Learning website.

What to expect

Exam	70-499
Questions	Microsoft certification exams generally have between 40 and 60 questions. Recently they tend to be in the lower end of that range.
Time	Approximately 2 hours
Pass mark	Usually around 700/1000

How to know if you’re ready? Use our exam self-assessment guide.

One of the challenges you face is knowing if you’re ready to take the exam or not. To help you determine your readiness I’ve created a simple self-assessment form listing all the skills covered in the exam based on the information shown on the official exam page.

Download the Exam 70-499 Self-assessment form at http://examcr.am/70-499Assess

Once you’ve completed the exam you’ll be in a position to refer back to this blog post as well as parts 2 and 3 to find helpful links to the appropriate section in the online MSDN documentation.

Study Links

Here are the study links for the first two major topics in the exam.

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Install and configure Team Foundation Server (TFS)

Install Team Foundation Server (Study Link)

• SQL Server version support (Study Link)
• install Team Foundation Server in a multi-tier or multi-machine environment (Study Link)
• install Team Foundation Server in a load-balanced environment (Study Link)
• set up a version control proxy server (Study Link)
• schedule automatic backup and restore activities by using the TFS Administration Console (Study Link)

Install and configure Lab Management (Study Link | Study Link)

• Set up environment templates, install and configure test agents (Study Link)
• install and configure System Center Virtual Machine Manager (basic Virtual Machine Manager installation) (Study Link)
• create library shares or resource pools (Study Link)

Manage Team Foundation Server

Manage team project collections

• Move project collections (Study Link)
• manage team collections and projects (Study Link)
• create and configure team project collections (Study Link)

• create a team project using SharePoint and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) (Study Link

  Study Link

  Study Link)

• split and partition Team Project Collections (Study Link)

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The remaining topics will be covered in part two and part three.

At the ALM Forum 2014 in Seattle earlier this month, I launched two new courses designed to help make your development team more successful using Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2013 suite.

I’m pleased to announce now that in addition to the new US dates, we now have dates for the first run courses in Australia. While both courses will initially be run in Brisbane, you can attend these remotely from anywhere in Australia/New Zealand. Read this great blog post from one of the heads of the Visual Studio ALM Rangers. He recently attended one of the US courses remotely and has shared his experience in this blog post.

Build, Release, and Monitor Software Using Visual Studio 2013

This 3-day introductory-level course focuses on building your software using Team Build, using Release Management for Visual Studio 2013 to release it and Application Insights to monitor it.

• June 30 – July 2

  AUD$ 1,912.50 (Early bird)

  Download Course Outline

  Register

Applied Scrum Using Visual Studio 2013

This 3-day course blends training in both the Scrum Framework as well as Microsoft Visual Studio 2013. It teaches teams the core concepts of Scrum in addition to how to apply them in a practical hands on way using Visual Studio 2013 and either Team Foundation Server 2013 or Visual Studio Online.

• July 14 – July 16

  AUD$ 1,912.50 (Early bird)

  Download Course Outline

  Register

NOTE: All courses can be attended remotely and are also available on-demand for your organisation.

In this post I am going to walk you through installing TFS 2013 build services on a local (on-premises) server and connecting it to your Visual Studio Online account.

Before I get into it, I want to point out that Visual Studio Online (VSO) provides a great Hosted Build Controller that allows you to build your applications using an on-demand, dynamically provisioned virtual machine running on Azure. So why would you want to use your own build server if one is so easily available to you in VSO? There can be quite a few reason including:

• You want to use VSO for your development team but need to deploy your application inside your organisation
  • You require additional software installed to build your software and it can’t be installed as part of your build on the VSO build servers.
    • You want to use the command line tool available in Visual Studio Release Management 2013 Update 2 RC to integrate Release Management with VSO.
      • and much more…</ul> In addition to the following instructions working for an on-premises build controller/agent, you could easily follow these instructions to create a build controller/agent using an Azure Virtual Machine.

      BEFORE WE BEGIN

      • I have already installed a new Windows Server 2012 R2 with Update machine on my Hyper-V host. It has 4Gb of memory allocated for now which should be fine for the builds I am likely to use on this machine.
        • I have run Windows Update and applied all available patches.</ul>

          INSTALLING BUILD

        1. We’ll start by mounting the TFS 2013 with Update 2 ISO on our new virtual machine and running tfs_server.exe to kick off the installation.

        

        1. In the following splash screen, you’ll need to accept the license terms then click Install Now.

        

        1. Once the files have been installed on the server, we’ll select Configure Team Foundation Build Service in the Configuration Center and click Start Wizard.

        

        1. Once the Build Service Configuration Wizard starts, decide if you want to help improve the setup experience by sharing data with Microsoft and then click Next.

        

        1. The next thing you need to do is connect with you Visual Studio Online account and you’ll see a single DefaultCollection in the list. Click Connect.

        

        1. After connecting to the VSO account you’ll see there are no build controllers or build agents already configured. Click Next.

        

        7. By default the wizard will suggest one build agent per CPU core. As you see below my virtual machine has been configured with just one processor core. I’m happy to have the build controller plus a single build agent installed, so we’ll go ahead and click next.

        

        1. You need to choose what account you would like to run the local build services with (Eg. Network Service or TFSBuild) and then choose the Account Service for connection to the Hosted TFS Server in VSO. Click Test to ensure the account(s) you have selected are valid and then click Next.

        

        1. Review the settings you have selected and correct any mistakes by clicking Previous. If everything looks OK, click Verify.

        

        1. The verify process should report all tests have passed. Correct any issues then click Configure.

        

        1. If you’ve configured everything correctly, you should see the following screen indicating your on-premises build services have been installed and configured. Click Next then Close.

        

        1. Now when you create new build definition in Visual Studio, you should see both the Hosted Build Controller (from VSO) and the newly installed on-premises build controller.

        

        Good luck with your on-premises Build Controller. In an upcoming blog post I’ll walk you through how to configure continuous release using your on-premises build server and Release Management for Visual Studio 2013.