SSW Update - TFS is huge in China - the work item journey with 20 million records
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G'day Developers!

Recently Lei Xu and I completed a hair-raising TFS 2012 project. We hit some snags trying to optimize Work Items with 20,000,000 records. Let me tell you the story...

It was completed shortly after arriving home from the MVP Summit in Redmond. It was lucky we were full of information from Brian Harry and his team. This job turned out to be one of the most challenging that I've ever done, pushing the performance limits of Team Foundation Server 2012 (these tips apply to TFS 2013 and 2010 as well).

brian-lei

Figure: Brian Harry and Lei Xu @ MVP Summit

First some background: the client runs one of the biggest development teams in the world. They have over 20,000 developers and have a lot of experience gathering, analyzing and acting on performance metrics acquired while testing software prior to wide scale deployment. The system we needed to implement and customize had to cope with a massive number of concurrent requests, of course in very timely fashion. We used the TFS Integration Platform and the TFS Object Model to implement most of the functionality required.

Initially we thought TFS should be able to handle the load without too many problems, because Microsoft has been dogfooding TFS in their developer division for a long time, with great results.

However, like every story, things will never run as you expect. Once the coding was done, with all the data access, business logic and interface implementations on top of TFS Object Model, it was time for the 1st performance tests.

The initial results were disappointing...

(Keep reading to find out why)

-Adam Cogan, SSW

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NEW SSW TV VIDEOS!

Three new videos from the Sydney ShareThePoint Conference

SSWTV Video

What's Missing in SharePoint 2013?

We asked the experts what they thought was missing from SharePoint 2013.

Featuring:

  • Michael Doyle – SharePoint Architect, Wagenner Edstrom
  • Todd Klindt – SharePoint MVC, Rackspace
  • Daniel McPherson – SharePoint Architect, Zevenseas

Business Challenges Solved by SharePoint 2013

The expert's opinions on the Business Challenges presented in SharePoint 2013.


Top Tips for SharePoint 2013 Users

The expert's Top Tips for SharePoint 2013 End-Users.

Featuring:

  • Michael Doyle – SharePoint Architect, Wagenner Edstrom
  • Todd Klindt – SharePoint MVC, Rackspace
  • Darren McGuiness – Portfolio Manager of Human Interface Technologies, CSA
  • Daniel McPherson – SharePoint Architect, Zevenseas

Take a look!

Watch more videos on SSW TV

There's Still Time to Sign Up for the 3 Day Scrum Training!

Intensive Professional Scrum Developer Course

Scrum

Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide

Cost: $2,995 + GST Pre Paid

Professional Scrum Developer courses teach students how to work in a team - using modern software engineering practices - to develop an increment of potentially releasable functionality using a specific technology platform.

Classes are exercise-driven, with students working in self-organizing teams to develop "done" increments from Product Backlog items.

Course at a Glance:

This 3-day Professional Scrum Developer .NET course is a mix of lecture, demonstration, group discussion, simulation, and hands-on software development. The bulk of the course will be spent working as a team on a case study application delivering increments of new functionality in mini-sprints. Here is the course at a glance:

Scrum

Note: Scrum fundamentals are not covered in this 3-day course. If you are not experienced with Scrum fundamentals, the 5 day course is still available.

Adelaide
08 OCT 2013
Book Now Melbourne
22 OCT 2013
Book Now
Sydney
14 OCT 2013
Book Now Perth
04 NOV 2013
Book Now
Canberra
10 DEC 2013
Book Now

Find out more and Register

TechEd Australia 2013

What's happening in the world of Microsoft

TechEd2013

TechEd is Microsoft's ultimate technology geek fest for IT Professionals and Enterprise Developers looking to explore a broad set of Microsoft technologies, tools, platforms and services. It's all about hands-on learning, deep product exploration, and countless opportunities to build relationships with Microsoft experts and the community.

SSW is excited to announce that the presenters this year include our own Adam Cogan and Damian Brady, who will be hosting two sessions, Climbing the Agile Testing Ladder featuring Visual Studio 2013, TFS 2013, Microsoft Test Manager 2013, and Lab Management 2013 and "What's New for ALM in Visual Studio 2013 and Team Foundation Server 2013.

TechEd Australia 2013 will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre September 3-6.

Sydney .NET User Group

The best place to learn .NET for free in Sydney

User Group

Sydney .NET User Group
Wednesday 21th August 2013
6:00pm - 8:00pm
SSW Office
Gateway Court, Suite 13
81-91 Military Road, Neutral Bay NSW 2089


"Great Intranets of the Modern Age" - James Robertson

Intranets have been around for a long time now, but SharePoint has brought new functionality and capability into organisations that promises to transform these sites.

But what direction should we be heading, and what makes a truly great intranet? This presentation, by the world's leading intranet expert, will provide a practical and inspirational view of the role that intranets can (and should) play.

Many real-world screenshots of intranets will be shared, focusing on SharePoint sites and solutions. These include winners from the global Intranet Innovation Awards.


Designing Intranets

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

James Robertson is one of the global experts on intranet strategy and design.

He is the author of What every intranet team should know and Designing intranets: creating sites that work, the two best-selling intranet books in the world. He has also written over two hundred articles and a variety of best-practice resources, including the Intranet Roadmap.

James is the founder and managing director of Step Two Designs, a vendor-neutral consultancy located in Australia. In this role, he has helped high-profile organisations to develop intranet strategies, both within Australia and internationally.

James has keynoted conferences around the globe, including in the UK, USA, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia. As a certified trainer, he regularly runs one and two-day practical workshops on intranet strategy and design, both within Australia and internationally.

James is also a leading specialist on the topic of web content management. He is a founding member of the CM Professionals association, and has helped many organisations to select a suitable CMS.

To see more details and RSVP, please visit our Facebook .NET Group, our LinkedIn .NET Group or our Meetup Group.

facebook LinkedIn MeetUp

SSW and Telerik NerdDinner

Where nerds meet and eat

NerdDinner

NerdDinner - Where geeks eat
Wednesday 21th August 2013
8:10pm - 9:30pm
The Oaks Hotel
118 Military Road, Neutral Bay

SSW and Telerik invite you to join us for pizza at The Oaks. A fantastic opportunity for networking with peers and sharing thoughts after the Sydney .NET User Group presentation.

Sydney .Net User Group and NerdDinner proudly sponsored by:

Telerik Logo

Canberra .NET User Group

The best place to learn .NET for free in Canberra

User Group Canberra .NET User Group
Monday 19th August 2013
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Microsoft Canberra Branch
Walter Turnbull Building
Level 2, 44 Sydney Ave
Canberra, Australia

"Secure BYOD Applications including .Net Development environments using hardware based security" - Nadia Vostrikov

Randtronics introduces SPYRUS Secure Portable Workplace which offers “Secured by SPYRUS™” military grade encryption technology in a Microsoft certified and tested Windows To Go drive that runs Windows 8 from non-secure environments. The presenter will provide technical details and a technology demonstration on how you can securely use the Windows To Go feature in BYOD environments.

Additionally Randtronics will provide an overview of .Net software development kits that use hardware security modules to EAL4+ security level to develop security-aware applications such as secure messaging, file encryption, certificate authority implementations, and remote access solutions. Developers can use SDKs to retain maximum flexibility in security options without writing applications from scratch.


ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Nadia Vostrikov is a Senior Software Support Engineer at Randtronics with 12 years experience in software development and implementation of data encryption solutions. She holds a Bachelor degree with honours in Computer Science and is a Microsoft Certified Professional. Nadia spent 8 years in Japan working with the latest technologies and developing various software solutions for digital television. Now at Randtronics she continues development of crypto modules for in-house products, and consults in areas of security and data privacy standards, recommending and implementing encryption and tokenisation solutions to meet business and technical requirements for complex environments. Also conducts product training, proof of concepts and provides pre and post-sales support for clients in Australia and APAC.

To see more details and RSVP, please visit our Facebook .NET Group, our LinkedIn .NET Group or our Meetup Group.

facebook LinkedIn MeetUp

Canberra .Net User Group proudly sponsored by:

Microsoft Logo

Brisbane .NET User Group

The best place to learn .NET for free in Brisbane

Brisbane .NET User Group
Tuesday 20th August 2013
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Microsoft Brisbane
Level 28, 400 George Street
Brisbane, Australia

"Climbing the Agile Testing Ladder featuring VS 2013, TFS 2013, and MTM" - Adam Cogan and Damian Brady

Let's do a lap around the improvements to Microsoft Test Manager and see how the world has improved with manual, exploratory, and automated testing.

In this session, we will:

  • Talk about how stakeholders can start a discussion with the Feedback tool
  • Show how the initial testing experience is now in the web and the advanced experience is in Microsoft Test Manager
  • Use Visual Studio to author automated tests that can be played back against a variety of browsers
  • Look at a technique that will allow you to test across different devices and form factors
  • Explain how Lab Management setup and administration has improved dramatically

Whether you're a tester or a developer, this session is for you.


ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Adam Cogan is the Chief Architect at SSW, a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner specializing in custom .NET, SharePoint, and CRM solutions (with a splash of Buisness Intelligence). At SSW, Adam has been developing custom solutions for business across a range of industries such as Government, engineering, banking, insurance, and manufacturing since 1990 for clients such as Microsoft, Worley Parsons, and Aurecon.

At SSW, Adam enjoys working with the teams, improving their usage of Scrum and TFS, reviewing the architecture of large .NET projects, while also taking an active interest in the overall User Experience (UX).

Damian Brady is a Solution Architect and Microsoft Certified Professional who runs the Brisbane SSW Office. With well over ten years of experience both in software development and business analysis roles, Damian has had exposure to a large number of industries including government and finance. A software architect with a wide skillset, he is able to use his excellent technical skills and knowledge of business process to deliver the most effective solutions to our clients.

His main loves are helping Scrum teams run smoothly and effectively using TFS, and delivering great ASP.NET MVC web applications. He has also had extensive experience in .Net WinForms applications, mobile-targeted websites, and SQL Server.

To see more details and RSVP, please visit our Meetup Group.

MeetUp

Brisbane .Net User Group proudly sponsored by:

Microsoft Logo

SSW-UTS Short courses

UTS courses 2013

SSW is proud to partner with UTS to offer short courses in the field of Information Technology and Management for the working professional or anyone wishing to upgrade their skills

Visual Studio 2012

UTS Short Course - Developing Windows and Web Application with MVC 4.0 and Visual Studio 2012

Every Thursday
Dates: August 8th - October 17th
Times: 6:00-9:00pm
Duration: 10 weeks
Venue: UTS - Broadway
Price: $1,650

More Information

This course introduces students to Microsoft .NET Framework through hands-on exercises and live demos. Both C# and VB.NET code is provided side-by-side giving the students a deeper understanding of the commonalities between the languages.

For the full course description or to enrol, visit the UTS Developing Windows and Web Application with MVC 4.0 and Visual Studio 2012

Welcome to SSW

SSW would like to welcome a new employee to the team this month:


Joanna Joanna Feely
Personal Assistant/Office Administrator - Sydney

Brooke has left SSW to work full-time on her novel and aims to have it published within a year. Good luck - we cant wait to read a draft! Her replacement Joanna is a Sydney local, who, like Brooke before her, has a passion for writing. She trained as an editor at the University of Wollongong and travelled around Europe and Australia before settling back in Sydney as a member of the SSW team.

Joanna's role at SSW is Personal Assistant to Chief Architect Adam Cogan, as well as the day-to-day running of the office. She helps organise SSW training events and User Groups, and also puts together the regular newsletter that is distributed to company friends and clients to keep them in the loop with what's happening at SSW.

She is loving getting to use her eye for detail, strong organisational skills, and knowledge of HTML in a friendly office atmosphere.

Sydney .NET 4hr Monster Night

All the way from the USA: Jason Beres (Infragistics) and Glenn Block (Microsoft) - Azure mobile - MVVM Javascript Apps

MonsterNight

Free 4-hour .NET Monster Night
Monday 9th September 2013
5:00pm - 9:00pm
SSW Offices
Gateway Court, Suite 13
81-91 Military Road, Neutral Bay NSW 2089


JASON BERES 5-7PM

Interaction design with Indigo Studio

Rather than spending weeks creating a prototype in code, Indigo Studio is a FREE tool that allows you to rapidly iterate and validate designs by creating interactive prototypes.

Jason will show how to create prototypes and share them as an interactive HTML5 app that can then be used to allow users to test on a variety of devices.

Building MVVM JavaScript Apps for the C# / XAML Developer

Jason Beres will teach developers how to implement the MVVM pattern in HTML5/JavaScript using the Knockout JS library.

Key topics covered include a review of MVVM Fundamentals, a walkthrough of simple WPF MVVM line-of-business application, an introduction to the Knockout JS library and a walkthrough of an HTML5/JS version of the WPF MVVM line-of-business application.


GLENN BLOCK 7-9PM

C# on a diet with scriptcs

Have you ever found times where you just want to write and execute some C# code and you ask yourself Do I really need an IDE? a solution? a project? a class? Do I really need to compile? Why do I have to worry about all these dlls? if you've done any development with dynamic languages like Ruby, Python or node.js the answer is you don't. But what about C#? scriptcs (https://github.com/scriptcs/scriptcs) is new way to develop C# applications as script. It leverages compiler advancements of Roslyn and combines the power of nuget to offer a low calorie approach to working with C#. It's great for prototyping, simple scripting or even building simple apps. Not only does it let you write scripted "apps", but it also includes a REPL so you can execute code interactively. You can even debug. Come to this talk and it will change the way you think about C# development.

Ease your mobile app development to the cloud powered by Javascript with Azure Mobile Services

Javascript, it's not just for browsers anymore. If you are a Javascript developer today you are no longer confined to the browser frame, you can take those skills to mobile devices, servers and the cloud. The technology makes it possible, but it's not easy. You've got a lot of learning to do and a lot of things to worry about like data, identity, validation, push, scale and diagnostics to name a few. Azure Mobile Services is there to make it easy. It provides you a ton of backend services out of the box to help you cloud enable those client apps utilizing the client side Javascript skills you already have. If you are a node developer you can go even further. It doesn't stop there though, it includes client SDKs for IOS, Android, WIndows 8 and a newly announced library for Phonegap/HTML5 which you can use to reach any device anywhere. You have to just see it to believe it, and if you come to this talk you will!


ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

JASON BERES

As the Sr. VP of Developer Tools at Infragistics, Jason and his team spearhead the customer-driven, innovative features and functionality throughout all of Infragistics' developer & user experience products. Jason works directly with Infragistics customers around the globe to ensure that their needs are met through our products and roadmaps. Jason is also a Microsoft .NET MVP, and he is the author of several books on .NET development, covering topics like SQL Server, C#, Visual Basic .NET and most recently Silverlight development. Jason is a national and international conference speaker and keeps very active in the .NET community.

GLENN BLOCK

Glenn works on the Windows Azure engineering team making sure it's a kick-ass platform for Open Source development. When he's not developing products or with family you'll find him at a conference somewhere in the world, hacking away on some new thing, pairing up with whoever he can find, or tweeting in to the wee hours of the night as @gblock.

To see more details and RSVP, please visit our Facebook .NET Group, our LinkedIn .NET Group or our Meetup Group.

facebook LinkedIn MeetUp

SSW and Jason Beres NerdDinner

Where nerds meet and eat - Monster Night Edition

NerdDinner

NerdDinner - Where geeks eat
Wednesday 21th August 2013
9.10pm - 10:30pm
The Oaks Hotel
118 Military Road, Neutral Bay

SSW and Jason Beres invite you to join us for pizza at The Oaks. A fantastic opportunity for networking with peers and sharing thoughts after the Sydney .NET User Group Monster Night presentation.

This special Monster Night Sydney .Net and NerdDinner proudly sponsored by Infragistics

Advertise with SSW

If you would like to advertise your product or service with SSW or would like to find out more about various advertising opportunities, please email your enquiry to info@ssw.com.au or call: +61 2 9953 3000.

SSW Update

August 2013

Employment

Senior Web Designer!

SSW is looking for a highly talented Web Designer who is passionate about creating great standards-based sites and has worked in a Digital Agency. This role requires a deep understanding of how people interpret information and the best way to achieve this goal in different scenarios.

graphic designer

You will be working with both creative designers and technical minded developers in a wide variety of exciting corporate projects. This role requires someone who is able to articulate concisely, think critically, and create aesthetically pleasing prototypes. A solid understanding of what constitutes a great user experience is a must. General knowledge of other design aspects, primarily print and digital, are also favorable.

Read more and APPLY NOW...

SharePoint 2013 Developer

Are you looking to establish a career working with the latest software technology for a large range of great organisations? Do you enjoy managing your own clients in a fun, fast-paced and dynamic environment?
SSW has been the leading Microsoft technology company in Sydney for 21 years. We require an enthusiastic SharePoint developer to start ASAP.

Read more and APPLY NOW...

Proudly developed by SSW Sydney Web Design