TechEd 2008 Developers is less than two weeks away, and of course that means we are down to crunch time. I am a co-Track PM for three tracks - Developer Tools & Languages (TLA), Development Practices (DVP), and Windows & Frameworks (WIN). That makes up about 200 different pieces of content (sessions, chalk talks, pre-con's, hands-on-labs and instructor-led-labs).
We've done most of the dry-runs for the breakout sessions and this week and next we are doing dry runs of the pre-cons. The HOLs are on the servers and on a truck to Orlando, and I am wrapping up a couple extra tasks - the ALM & Development Practices booth, the sessions I will be the speaker for, and oh...a demo for the BillG keynote!
BillG's Keynote
As we speak I am putting some extra polish on one of the demos. I can't tell you about it, but I can tell you that I am pretty excited by it. I can't wait to see your reaction. Its amazing how much work goes into the keynote, and, as Brian mentions, how much of it really happens right at the end of the prep time. I have, with the help of a couple people, created the demo in a VPC as a proof-of-concept for the exec communications team. I've acquired two killer machines (primary and back-up), built up the final demo on the primary machine, demo'ed it again for the exec comm team, and had the primary machine imaged onto the backup machine. Now I am sitting here making a backup of the backup machine to a VPC using Acronis True Image. This is my first time trying this (physical to VPC backup), but all my cool and smart and geeky friends recommended it.
ALM & Development Practices Booth
The ALM & Development Practices booth will be cool. This year we are really making a splash with our ALM presence. You will see Visual Studio Team System everywhere. In the booth are we will have six (6) demo stations - one for each of the Visual Studio Team System client products (Architecture Edition, Development Edition, Database Edition, and Test Edition) as well as two demo stations for Team Foundation Server - one for Process & Project Management and one for Build & Version Control. We will have a bunch of cool people from the product teams there, so stop by (yes, we have some stuff to give away).
TechEd Online Panel Discussions
Here's two things to get on your schedule. I have organized two different VSTS/ALM panel discussions. The first is an ALM panel with all non-Microsoft'ies. Granted, they are all Visual Studio Team System MVP's - but trust me, they tell it like it is, whether its what I want to hear or not. The panel is Richard Hundhausen, Chris Menegay, Joel Semeniuk, Brian Randell, and Jeff Levenson, moderated by Steven Borg.
The second is all people from the product teams - including Sam Guckenheimer, our product planner. The panel will be moderated by Norman Guadagno who is the Director of Enterprise Development Marketing (and my boss).
Here's the important details:
Let's Talk Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 3:00 on the TechEd Online Stage.
Visual Studio Team System Panel - Meet the Team
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 9:00 AM on the TechEd Online Stage.
Session(s)
I will be doing one session at each TechEd this year (although in the first week my session will be repeated, so I will be doing it twice).
Build Better Software: Tips and Tools to Improve Your Applications - Doug Seven
You want to build better software. You want the applications you build to be better, cheaper, and faster to release. One of the most costly stages of software development is finding and fixing bugs. What if you could find the bugs and fix them nearly immediately? In this session, learn tips and tools you can use with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2008 to determine code complexity, validate the capabilities of the application, and understand the overall quality of the software you are building. If you want to improve the code you write then don’t miss this session.
Times:
- Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 2:45 PM (see session guide for room number)
- Friday, June 6, 2008 at 10:15 AM (see session guide for room number)
We will also have a couple sessions on Visual Studio Team System code name "Rosario" on Friday, June 6th. They are absolutely worth sticking around for.
Application Lifecycle Management with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Code Name "Rosario" - Sam Guckenheimer
Learn about the future of Visual Studio Team System code name “Rosario” and how Microsoft is designing it to help you “build the right thing” and “build it right.” Those are the two key pillars of “Rosario” and are the focus of this session. It is difficult for executives and software teams to understand all of the projects underway, and how they support the business needs. Learn how “Rosario” will enable software teams to prioritize the right work, plan effectively, adjust projects effectively when needs change, and finally track progress and trace all metrics (progress, quality, etc.) back to business goals and customer requirements/scenarios. Additionally, testing and application quality is about detecting quality issues early in the cycle and fixing them, reducing project risk and defects, and ensuring the end product really works for end customers. Learn how “Rosario” will automate catching bugs, facilitate testing, and address other quality problems early and often throughout the cycle.
- Friday, June 6, 2008 at 2:45 PM (see session guide for room number)
Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Code Name "Rosario" Architecture Edition -Peter Provost
How can you more quickly understand and evolve an application that you’ve never seen? How do you manipulate the existing architecture in light of new business requirements? How do you validate the logical architecture against existing patterns and design rules? Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Code Name "Rosario" Architecture Edition integrates logical modeling using UML-compliant diagrams and physical modeling using DSL diagrams with first-class support for .NET. Armed with the ability to see into the system’s code to quickly understand the context of necessary change, developers and architects can quickly identify the impact of a change. The ability to overlay metrics generated from other application lifecycle activities such as code analysis, profiling, testing etc. into these model diagrams will make these artifacts first-class citizens that are valued by both architects and developers.
- Friday, June 6, 2008 at 10:15 AM (see session guide for room number)
During TechEd 2008 IT Professionals I will be giving the following talk:
End-to-End Application Lifecycle Management with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System - Doug Seven
Visual Studio Team System is a fully integrated application lifecycle management toolset, enabling teams to work more collaboratively to deliver quality software with fewer obstacles. In this demo intensive session, see how Visual Studio Team System 2008 enables project managers, architects, developers, and testers throughout the application lifecycle. See how Team System enables managing team workflow, system and datacenter modeling, tools to ensure quality from the earliest stages of development, as well as tools to validate applications prior to release.
- Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 1:00 PM (see session guide for room number)
That's it for tonight. I look forward to meeting you at TechEd.
D7
On Monday, 13-Oct I will be presenting a session at my local (and favorite) user group, the .NET Developers Association. For this session I will be providing a demo-filled tour of the next release of VSTS - Visual Studio Team System 2010. This is your chance to come and see some of what we will be showcasing at the upcoming PDC 2008 later this month. 
