In TFS 2018, There's a need to manage versions for application that is managed as a team under a team project.
Normally such versions could be managed as iterations, each of which having its sprint children. However, it so happens that there are cases where there's an overlapping between Start Date / End Date of these versions. In such cases, while working on a current version, part of the team already works on the next version in parallel, and TFS shows only one iteration as current in the backlog screen, although in this case there are two current versions...
A solution can be to add dedicated field for VersionNo, in which the team will assign work item to version. However, since version number can be arbitrary number, it will not be reasonably possible to bind it to some predefined manageable list.
Another solution might be to use AreaPath to manage these versions, because area path is based on manageable tree definition, but that could mean using AreaPath for a purpose not intended to in TFS. Since we would like to keep compatibility with future TFS updates, is this solution ok in this manner ? Can u suggest another solution ? Kindly note TFS Release mng mechanism seems to apply to the distribution of the code but not to the versioning of it as needed above.
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We've been using Jira for a number of years now, and one of the challenges we've had is our build team had been generating daily build numbers for versions in the specific software product versions.
i.e.
t 5.0 rev 1.0001
When we have a customer facing build, we make a new version.
c 5.0 rev 1
when we release a final build, we renumber it to be:
v 5.0
When files are checked into a build, our build management automatically generates a version in the project, but we don't want to lose the build numbering when we merge versions.
Equally, we'd like the fields to be as easily searchable as versions are currently.
We aren't using Jira-Agile (aka Jira Software) at present, but that's an option.
I just don't know if Sprint versions will give us the flexibility we will need.
Has anyone got any thoughts on this, and how we would best be able to capture that requirement?
If you have one release per sprint then it would be possible to have a sprint name that followed your version syntax (e.g. sprint name = "t 5.0 rev 1.0001").
This won't give you much flexibility though, say if you needed to do an emergency bug fix release mid-sprint. It also won't allow you to track the daily build version increments.
Other things worth considering:
You could use custom fields for release type, version number and build number. The main advantage of this approach is that you could potentially use the JIRA API to have the build system update issues with the latest build number. It would be possible to then have a concatenated field that contained the entire version that would be easily searchable.
Another thing worth considering is using labels. For example you could have labels for the different types (customer facing, release, etc.). This won't make searching particularly user friendly though.
My team is just now starting to use TFS 2015 Update 1 on premise to manage their development process. I have set up the server and defined some custom states and transitions for work items to better map to our process. To start with, we will only be taking advantage of the Kanban board and are not attempting to use iterations for a variety of reasons I won't get into here.
My problem currently is using TFS to plan releases. Specifically, I don't see any way to group Features and User Stories into a specific release. All of my googling has turned up many articles involving Microsoft Release Management, so I installed and configured it, but it is absolutely overkill for what my team is trying to do right now. I'm not trying to automate deployments to different environments at the moment, I just need a way to group work items into a something that encapsulates the concept of a release in TFS. Is there no way to do this? The best I can come up with right now is to further modify the work item templates to either provide a simple "Release" field with a pick list, or define another type of work item that I can group the others into. This seems like a glaring oversight by MS from my perspective, so I'm hoping I'm just missing something.
Grouping work into releases can be done in a couple of ways, just remember that the concept of a "Release Plan" doesn't explicitly exist in TFS. Release management covers the "Release to Production", but doesn't cover any planning.
Ways to plan releases:
One way is to create a Release Iteration, this works when you're not working on multiple releases in parallel and truly finish one release before working on the next. The Release iteration used to be default, but has been removed from the product in favor of teams delivering sprints and teams doing continuous delivery.
Project Root
+ Release 1.2
+ Sprint 1
+ Sprint 2
Another option is to use Tags. You could tag work items with a tag that signifies it's targeted for a specific sprint.
Use a Marker workitem, on the backlog place one work item which clearly stands out ### END OF RELEASE 1 ### Any workitem below it is not part of that release. This technique fits a more agile way of working and more clearly shows that the contents of a release are a floating thing.
Create a custom Release Workitem, link your other workitems to this work item to target it for that release.
And your option to create a picklist on a *Custom workitem field** is another option.
Alternatively you could also use the Area Path in much the same way as Iteration Path. By using the Area Path you have the benefit of not having a sprint tied to one specific release.
It is not the best solution but could be the solution in some cases.
Answering solely based on your question around planning releases, then:
Create a custom work item template, called 'Deployment'.
When planning of a release begins, create a new 'Deployment', let's say, called 'MyProduct v1.1'.
In your planning meeting, create Features and User Stories appropriately, and create a relation to the 'MyProduct v1.1' Deployment, by opening the User Story and adding a Link (using the Deployment Work Item number) as 'Related'.
To monitor Deployments, create a custom Work Item query targeting the new 'Deployment' Work Item template. You can configure this to display on your dashboard.
Follow whatever release procedure you like based on the 'Deployment' and its' relations.
You should follow a naming convention when creating 'Deployments' for consistency.
p.s. I recommend using the extension 'Work Item Visualization' in this instance. It'll nicely map out the 'Deployment' related Work Items.
If you want to use TFS to actually build an and create a Release, then Release Manager is worth considering.
TFS 2015 Update 2.1 now includes a built-in version of Release Manager. It's much more user-friendly and simple to configure when compared to Release Manager standalone installations.
To group work items into a 'release', you can do the following:
Create a build definition for the repository you're working with - see Build Def creation docs
Create a Release definition - see Release Def creation docs
Once you have these definitions created, the working process would be:
Developers work against work items
Commits are made against the WI number (or tasks)
When it's time to create a release, start a build on the definition you created. In doing so, WIs will then be associated with a Build Number.
When the build succeeds, start a new Release from the definition you created.
You have have a set of work items associated with a release, see screenshot:
Note: You can enable CI builds and releases, although the above is based on manual triggers.
You can also directly call the Release API to locate WIs associated with Releases, however you'll need to obtain the actual Id of the release first.
You are currently limited however to viewing these relationships based on knowing the Release. In a real world scenario, it's more realistic to look at a Work Item to see when it was release. To do that, there's no built-in functionality at present, however my own-answered question will guide you - see here.
Additional to the methods explained by jessehouwing there exists also several 3rd party tools which can integrate with TFS/VSTS and provide advanced planning features. See VSTS Marketplace for an overview.
We have recently transitioned from Gemini to TFS for application change control. There is one aspect of TFS I can't get my head around - the lack of a built-in concept of the application version that each work item will be addressed in.
In Gemini every feature request, enhancement, bug etc can be tagged with a version number. If the field was left blank, the item was "unscheduled", i.e. on the backlog. Each version could be flagged as either released or not. Reports could be then created listing the issues addressed in each released version, i.e. release notes, and the issues to be addressed in future versions, i.e. a roadmap. I was completely happy with this!
Now in TFS I can't find any built-in concept of version. It seems like there are 2 ways to represent version:
As a parent item in the iteration tree, e.g.
Version 1.0.0
Sprint 1
Sprint 2
etc
Version 1.1.0
Sprint 3
Sprint 4
etc
As a parent item in the work items tree, e.g.
Version 1.0.0
Requirement 1
Requirement 2
etc
Version 1.1.0
Requirement 3
Bug 4
etc
The latter approach looks better because it allows versions to be worked on simultaneously (e.g. a major release will be worked on at the same time as bug-fix release).
So what is the recommended approach to managing work by version?
Finally, with the version property not actually being present in the work item itself, is it possible to make reports on issues addressed in each version?
For now I am going to use iteration path to capture the version number. This doesn't lend itself so well to managing development on different versions concurrently, but we are trying to get away from that practise (i.e. be working on the next release while simultaneously working on multiple bug fixes to past releases) and adopt short release cycles, i.e. a more linear path, so maybe that is a good thing.
Earlier I though Area Path might be a good place to put Version, but its too valuable as a way to split up a huge application into parts to sacrifice for versioning.
1. Tags (TFS 2013+) are the easiest way to append metadata such as build#. (same as mentioned above.)
2. The CMMI Process Template > Requirement and Bug Work Item Types have an "Integrated In" field that links to TFS Builds for direct correlation from requirement to build# [to related code changes] [to related test cases [to related test results]]. Note you must select from retained TFS Build system builds (that have not been deleted). This hard reference drop-down limits this field significantly over time or if you use a different build system. (That and build versioning are entirely different discussions :-).) The Build CMMI template fields have been there since TFS2010.
3. Create a custom field in your User Story and Bug work items. BuildImplementedIn or similarly named field would do. Creating custom fields is not hard in TFS. You will need a Team Project Admin or possibly a TPC Admin to make the customization if you aren't already an admin.
p.s.: Sorry for the late reply. I posted this answer in case others still have the same or similar question.
You could use the area field.
We use that one for product name (we maintain multiple products) and then version goes into the description of the story, but you could use the area field for versions.
Another possibility is to use tags at the top of the Product Backlog Item.
Btw, I agree that TFS is lacking a few important fields (custom fields)
I'm evaluating TFS as a replacement source control option for company, and documenting how our current processes would change or stay the same if we start using it.
We use labels fairly heavily in our current product, not just for creating snapshots of a given build, but also for targetting specific modifications for future builds. Our standard is to always check-in each file with a label of the release version it's intended for.
Our current software has an option for "Label" right on the check-in screen, so checkin/label is a one-step process. Is there a way to do this with TFS? I see that you can open the source control explorer and label things after the fact, but if users are going to have to go clicking around to find the right changeset to label after the fact, I want to be sure to document that...
I'm not aware of a way of auto labelling every check in, but a couple of options spring to mind.
You can set up a list of text fields that must be filled in (in the check in notes section of the pending changes dialog), and even make these fields compulsory, so it would be easy to add a "for version" note to every check in. IIRC this is set up by right clicking on the team project in team explorer and going to the source control options.
TFS raises events for actions like check ins, so you can use the TFS api to handle the event on your server and add a label automatically. You could even pick up the check in notes to tell your code what the label should be.
This may be where you need to change your current processes. With TFS (or other version control systems), all the developers targetting a particular release should all be working with the same branch in TFS, i.e., you have a dedicated branch for each parallel development stream. Thus the need for labels is reduced. This is a much better approach than using labels, because you can look at a branch and see what will be in that release, without having to sift through labels to see if a particular change applies to the release.
I suggest having a look at the Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Branching And Merging Guide.
How do you version in JIRA when your versions are like 4.8.{TFSBuild}.{TeamCity.Build}?
Do I simply create a 4.8 Version in Jira?
However what would I set the release date to?
The problem is that our versions are dynamically and created based on the build# from tfs and the Team City build#.
What is now the best way for me to create versions in Jira?
Only the Major. Minor is hardcoded for now and for every few bug fixes we upload the release to the live server.
Jira versions are primarily a planning tool (especially if you use Greenhopper aka Agile, where you can have a version hierarchy).
So that's different from a build. It may take a thousand builds to achieve the functionality planned for a "FixFor" version.
On the other hand, "Affects" versions are used to track in which build a particular bug was found. So it'll pay to rename the "current version" (when you mark it as Released) to the actual build, as Hugo suggests. And cleanup/close/move any outstanding issues at the same time.
I would suggest to name the upcoming version that doesn't have a fixed name yet something like "Next release".
When you actually do release that version then you can change the version name in Jira to reflect the correct name.
Using Jira For Project Management - Creating Versions
We use Jira for project management of daily task assignment and we like to have versions either by week or by month. This lets us assign work for a week and is very helpful with the Greenhopper plug in. Basically, you:
Open the project from "Projects"
On left side, click on "Versions"
We have version 4.4 so might be slightly different other Jira versions.