Bill Heys - VS 2010, ALM, TFS, Branching and Merging, and all that

When would I use a Branch for Developer Scenario?

Question: Any opinion on branch per developer approach? This is the first time I have come across it...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/02/2011

VS ALM Rangers Branching Guidance–Shared Code and Dependency Management

As we begin planning the next release of the branching guidance, a top priority is to address how to...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 06/30/2011

VS ALM Rangers Branching Guidance - Ideas for the next release.

I think most would agree that the Rangers Team has already done a fantastic job with the Rangers...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 06/30/2011

Renaming a branch with shelvesets

Caution: Renaming branches in TFS 2010 is a very bad idea unless you follow a very specific set of...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 05/23/2011

Isolating and Integrating Parallel Feature Teams working on Separate Overlapping Releases

Customer scenario: How should I isolate (and integrate) changes when working with: 3 parallel...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 05/23/2011

How do I create bug fixes for EVERY version of a product EVER released

A customer asks the following question: “We are building factory machine. New machines are usually...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 05/05/2011

How TFS stores files and calculated deltas on versioned files

  Recently I got a request from a customer to help them estimate the expected size of a...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 05/05/2011

Learn TFS–The Visual Studio and Team Foundation “Resource Resource”

Learn TFS is subscription-based Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio ALM learning resource...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 04/09/2011

Where do I fix a production defect?

Question from a customer of the Rangers Branching Guidance (https://tfsbranchingguideiii.codeplex.com...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 03/22/2011

My source and target files are different, but merge tells me there are no changes to merge

When TFS does a merge, it bases the merge on prior merge history, not on the actual contents of the...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 03/16/2011

Project Dependencies will break with branching if not done properly

In the February 2011 issue of MSDN Magazine, I wrote an article on Shared Code (or code dependencies...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 03/14/2011

Read my article on Branching and Merging in the latest edition of MSDN Magazine (Feb 2011)

Read the latest issue: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/gg602477.aspx Co-authored with...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 02/04/2011

What is a Cherry Pick Merge, and why do you recommend against them?

When you merge in TFS 2010, you have two choices: Merge all changes up to a specified version, which...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/19/2011

Branching–Sprint is Done, Some Features Are Not

Download the latest VS ALM Rangers Branching Guidance Here:...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/19/2011

Branching for Scrum

This article presents a perspective on Source Control Management (SCM) using Team Foundation Server...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/18/2011

Parallel Feature Teams working on multiple releases in development. Monthly releases to production.

I recently received a question from a customer who is dealing with the need to support multiple...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/14/2011

Branching for Agile Development

I was recently asked a question based on the following presentation from Google: How Google Speeds...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/12/2011

New article on Ranger’s Branching in upcoming MSDN Magazine.

After a few years hiatus, i am returning to the world of published author. My next article will be...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/10/2011

Basic Branch Plan–Where to fix a bug in my release?

Question from Customer: In the single team branch, once a release is done and if a bug is reported...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/22/2010

Question on the Basic Branching Model

Question from customer: “I am very new to this branching  concept and try to understand. ...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/22/2010

Nested Branch Issue following upgrade from TFS 2008 to TFS 2010

One of my customers upgraded a Team Project from TFS 2008 to TFS 2010. As you probably know, the...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/10/2010

German version of Rangers Branching Guidance 2010–released

In October, the VS ALM Rangers posted the Branching Guidance - German version  thanks to Boris...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/09/2010

Supporting Multiple Feature Teams, Multiple Development Cycles and Multiple Releases in an agile way

  In answer to the following question: “Are you advising that we wait until the build on Main...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/09/2010

Why I caution against Cherry Picking (changeset-based merging)

  Recently I was asked a question: “If you discourage changeset-based (or cherry-picking)...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/09/2010

Spanish version of Rangers Branching Guidance 2010–released

In October, the VS ALM Rangers posted the Branching Guidance - Spanish version  thanks to...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/09/2010

Microsoft Releases Service Pack 1 (beta) for Visual Studio 2010.

Jason Zander’s blog has an overview of this Service Pack. Visit MSDN to download the Service Pack...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 12/09/2010

Announcing Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Ranger Branching Guide 2010

Project Description The purpose of this project is to build some insightful and practical guidance...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/17/2010

VS 2010 Visualizing Branches

VS 2010 Beta1 does an amazing job visualizing branch hierarchies and tracking changesets. Here is...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 10/29/2009

VSTS 2010 TFS Branches and Folders

As many of you know, Branches are now a first-class object in TFS 2010. In Source Control Explorer,...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 09/09/2009

Choosing the Right Source Control Branching and Merging Strategy

A key message the VSTS Rangers are trying to communicate in the VSTS Rangers Branching Guide 2.0...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 09/08/2009

New MSDN Site for VSTS Rangers

Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) Rangers Team System Rangers deliver out of band solutions for...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/31/2009

Branching Guidance – Branching for Development

I recently had a series of email exchanges with a person who was trying to advise his customer on a...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/20/2009

VSTS Ranger Branching Guidance – Question on Automated Merges

Question: “I recognise the need to FI from MAIN to each DEV/CR branch on a regular basis, is there a...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/20/2009

VSTS Ranger Branching Guidance – A Question on Separate Branches for each Change Request

Question from TFS Branching Guide 2.0 on Codeplex: “I am creating a new branch for each 'Change...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/20/2009

Mature Branching Plan – Branching for Feature Development

Within a Team Project, everything starts with the MAIN branch. This is a consistent theme with all...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/17/2009

Mature Branching Plan – A Question on Branch Hierarchy

Question: I have a request from a customer regarding the Branching/Merging Model in TFS 2010. The...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/17/2009

Source Access by Branch and Role using Team Foundation Server

Technorati Tags: TFS,Role Security,Branching,Version Control From Jampick Regardless of which branch...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/15/2009

Microsoft Software Updates Terminology

Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates:...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/15/2009

ASP.NET MVC Version 2

From Scott Guthrie: The ASP.NET team recently released the first public preview of ASP.NET MVC...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/15/2009

TFS Migration and Integration Solutions

Technorati Tags: TFS. VSTS,TFS Migration,TFS Integration From Matt Mitrik: Microsoft has launched a...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/15/2009

Conchango TaskBoard for Team System

Task Board for Team System is an interactive desktop utility that interfaces with Team Foundation...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/15/2009

Mature Branching Plan

The VSTS Rangers TFS Branching Guidance II discusses three branching plans: basic, standard, and...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/14/2009

Microsoft VSTS Rangers TFS 2010 Branching Guidance

Recently I presented a chalktalk at Microsoft's internal TechReady conference in Seattle, WA. The...

Author: Bill Heys Date: 08/14/2009

Checkout what Anders is working on now!!! (Linq for C# 3.0)

https://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/future/linq/

Author: Bill Heys Date: 01/20/2006