Customizing Process Guidance


This section presents an architectural overview of your process guidance. You should take your documented processes (roles, workstreams) and integrate them into your primary XML data source (ProcessGuidance.xml). Then you can use the MSF Build tool to create HTML versions of the process guidance files. These HTML files can then be placed on the Team Portal and displayed using Internet Explorer or any of the Visual Studio 2005 Team editions.

To customize the process guidance, you must first download the full process template (rather than use the Process Template Manager within Team Explorer). The full process template is available at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/msf.

Important

Be sure to make a backup copy of ProcessGuidance.xml before making any customizations or changes.

Note

You must use the XML files to make any changes to the process guidance. When in Edit mode, Windows SharePoint Services will dynamically render the process guidance using a series of XSL queries. The source files are contained in the Source folder (\Process Guidance\Source\XML\). When in Run Mode, the source files are precompiled using the MSF HTML Build utility. In Run mode, SharePoint Services will launch ProcessGuidance.htm (found in /ProcessGuidance/Source/). One of the key advantages of precompiling your process guidance is performance — the server won't have to prerender and transform the pages on every call.

Anatomy of process guidance (ProcessGuidance.xml)

Each content item in your process guidance has four common sections (each activity or workstream requires that these sections are complete):

  • Parts. Within a workstream, a part refers to an activity. Within each activity, a part refers to a step within an activity.

  • Responsible/Accountable/Consulted/Informed (RACI). This pinpoints a role and level of involvement (an example of a Responsible role is the project manager or administrator).

  • Criteria. Mandatory conditions.

  • Cross Reference. Links to internal or external resources.

Creating workstreams and activities

Workstreams can be defined as a series of activities tied to a specific role (you can learn more about workstreams in Chapter 21). The following sections explain how to define and create new workstreams and integrate them into your custom process guidance.

Creating new workstreams

Here are the four steps to create a new workstream. In fact, all elements of the process guidance will be documented in Chapter 21 and in the MSF process guidance itself.

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Insert a new content item by selecting the Insert Item menu, and then selecting Section image from book

  3. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Entry and exit criteria in workstreams

You can define entry and exit criteria in your workstreams. Events such as time or dependencies can be set as conditions to initiate or end a workstream. Here is how you can create entry criteria for a work- stream in five steps:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Pick any workstream and find the Entry Criteria section.

  3. Add a Dependency Name and Description. You can also insert timed events in the When field. A dependency is a list of activities that are pre-required in order to proceed with the work- stream. To view a dependency in the Agile process guidance, click on a Role. Then click the step-by-step scenario link, and a description of the workstream's dependencies should appear.

  4. Add a new Criteria Type (by using Insert Item under the Cross Type section) and give the Criteria Type field a value of Entry. Provide a Name and Description for your criteria.

  5. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Important

You are not limited to one dependency or criteria. If you have several in your spec, simply use the Insert DependencyItem or Insert CriteriaItem options to complete and fill out your criteria.

Adding exit criteria is just as easy. Simply add a new criteria type (as shown above) and set the Criteria Type field to Exit.

Referencing work products

Work products are documentation to support your process. You can associate and reference work products from your workspaces (this will make the appropriate documents appear in your process guidance). You can also create references between work products and activities (for more information on work products, please refer to Chapter 21). The following list describes the three steps to take in order to create an association between a work product and a workstream (you can use the same steps to associate a work product with an activity):

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Update the Cross Type field (in the Cross Type section) to the type of work product you want to add (Word, Excel, etc.); and in the Cross Name field, add the name of your work product as indicated in the ContentName field.

  3. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Important

WorkProduct-PPT stands for Powerpoint, and WorkProduct-VS stands for Visual Studio 2005 Team System. Other default work product files include Word (WorkProduct-Word), Excel (WorkProduct-Excel), and Project (WorkProduct-Project). All of the process guidance CrossTypes are enumerated in the schema found at Windows SharePoint Services\Process Guidance\Source\Schema\.

To validate and view your work, make sure that InfoPath has been shut down and you have set your process guidance to Edit mode. Open Internet Explorer, click on ProcessGuidance.htm and make sure that the Workstreams portion of the guidance appears as it should and has been properly updated.

Creating new activities

Activities are a series of steps to attain a desired result. For detailed information about activities, check out Chapter 21. The following steps outline how you can create a new activity:

  1. 1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Insert a new ContentItem using the Insert menu, and set Content Type to Activity.

  3. Give your activity a unique name and description using the Content Name and Content Description fields.

  4. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Adding steps to activities

Each activity is composed of a series of steps. Here's how you can add additional steps to your activities:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Click the Insert Item link beneath the Entry Criteria section (in the Part section) and add "Step" to the Part Type field. You can add as many steps as required by your process.

  3. Add the pertinent information in the Part Name, Sequence, Is Required, and Part Description fields.

  4. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Associating activities to workstreams

You can associate several activities to one (or many) workstreams. Here are the steps to associate an activity to a workstream:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Insert a Part section and add "Step" to the Part Type field.

  3. Add appropriate values to the Part Name, Sequence, Is Required, and Part Description fields. As with other links, the Part Name has to match with the Content Name.

  4. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Assigning roles to activities

The process of assigning a role to an activity is very similar to that of assigning a role to a workstream. Here is the five-step process:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Pick an activity and set up a RACI section using Insert Item.

  3. Select a value for RACI Type (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed).

  4. Select a role name (it has to match exactly the role names defined in the role's Content Name field.

  5. Save your work and close InfoPath.

To validate the work you have done so far, simply launch the HTML version of the process guidance and look at the workstreams and activities by clicking the Index tab. Your activities should display descriptions, steps, and entry/exit criteria.

Creating work item documentation

Work items enable you to document specific tasks within your process (to learn more about work items, be sure to look at Chapters 19 and 21). You can easily add a new work item in your process using InfoPath:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Add a new ContentItem. Select WorkItem under Content Type.

  3. Add a name for your new work item in the ContentName field.

  4. Add a description for the new work item in the Content Description field. You can use the existing descriptions as a template for the wording and format.

  5. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Customizing work item elements

Once your new work item has been created, you'll notice new sections, including Fields, States, and Transitions (you can learn more about these concepts in Chapter 21). Here is how you can customize these work item elements:

  • Fields can be added by first creating a Part. Set the Part Type field to "Field" and give the field a Part Name, a Part Description, and a Sequence Number, and indicate whether the field is required.

  • To add a new state, you must select the States, Transitions, and Reasons section. Create a new work item and add a name for your state, along with a unique identifier in the Sequence Number field.

  • Transitions can be added by jumping to the States, Transitions, and Reasons section. Select a state. Change the Transition Type to "Reason" and then add a Name and Sequence Number.

Linking to workstreams and activities

You can create links within your work items to workstreams and activities. Once the link is clicked, you get a graphic outlining the relationship between activities/workstreams and work items. Use the following steps to link them together:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Beneath the last Verification section, create a new Cross Type section and set the Cross Type field to WorkItem.

  3. Enter the name of the work item in the Cross Name field exactly as is indicated within your process. Add the state in the Cross Description field. The state name must match a state that exists within your process.

  4. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Important

Work item links to activities also cascade to parent workstreams.

To verify your work, open your custom process guidance in Internet Explorer and make sure that the work items appear as they should under the Work Item tab. In addition, check all the work item parts.

Creating custom roles

Your team may include roles that are not defined in the default MSF templates, or you may have overlap between roles. You can modify your process guidance to consolidate roles, delete roles, and create new roles. Please refer to Chapter 21 for more in-depth information about roles.

Here are the steps for adding a new role in your process guidance:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. Add a new Content Item. Select Role under Content Type.

  3. Add a name for your new role in the Content Name field.

  4. Add a description for the new role in the Content Description field. You can use the existing descriptions as a template for the wording and format.

  5. Save your work and close InfoPath.

Once your role has been created in the process template, you must determine whether RACI information has to be added to an associated activity or workstream. To verify your work, open ProcessGuidance.htm and confirm that the role and description appear under the Role tab.

Cross-references

Cross-references enable you to access internal content and content from outside sources. If you look at MSDN or any Microsoft-supplied help file (such as MS Help 2.0), you'll notice that cross-reference links are available at the bottom of each page to direct you to additional resources. You can build three types of cross-references in your process guidance:

  • Next Step references. Next steps are activities that should follow the current activity.

  • See Also references. See Also references provide additional information about a topic.

  • Patterns & Practices references. These provide additional process guidance information about a particular item.

Here are the steps to create a cross-reference in your documentation:

  1. Open your process guidance file (ProcessGuidance.xml) using InfoPath.

  2. If a Cross Type section doesn't exist for the item on which you are working, you can insert one by selecting Insert Item.

  3. Depending on the type of cross-reference you want to create, select NextStep, SeeAlso, or PatternPractices.

  4. Add a name in the Cross Name field to describe your cross-reference. If you are creating a Next Step reference, you must enter the exact ContentName of the activity or workstream you are referencing.

  5. For See Also and Patterns & Practices references, add a URL in the Cross Link field.

  6. Save your work and close InfoPath to view your changes.

Viewing your custom guidance

After all your changes have been completed, you can re-upload your process guidance to the Team Foundation Server. That means once you create a new project, each team member will be able to access and adhere to your documentation.

Using the MSFWinBuild tool (mentioned earlier in the chapter), you can compile all the changes you have made into pre-formatted HTML files. If you don't, you will likely encounter the error "Error Code 0 - The download of the specified resource has failed" when you try to create a new project and view your work. The error occurs because your files are still in Edit mode, rather than Built mode — Edit mode files cannot be accessed using HTTP. However, you can view the changes locally using Internet Explorer.

The MSFWinBuild tool reads the ProcessGuidance.xml manifest and creates the compiled version of your HTML files. All the target filenames and directories are contained in WssTasks.xml. If you have made any changes (added or removed process guidance files), you will have to update the .xml file or your changes will not render correctly.



Professional Visual Studio 2005 Team System
Professional Visual Studio 2005 Team System (Programmer to Programmer)
ISBN: 0764584367
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 220

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