Configure features in Team Foundation Server 2013

Audience

Everyone

So you have upgraded to Team Foundation Server 2013 but you still don’t have some of the features that you upgraded for. There is a wizard for that but it is not supper discoverable that allows you to configure features in Team Foundation Server 2013.

Note If you want to completely replace your current process template with the new on you can follow Upgrading to Visual Studio Scrum 3.0 process template instead.

This processes will, depending on the version of TFS that you are upgrading from, add one or more features to your Team Project that are not enabled by default. Strait off  the bat you will get Team Rooms and the new Test hub functionality as well as the better placement and access to the Boards. However you will see a distinct lack of a Feature backlog. This Feature backlog needs a new work item type “Feature” and a a change to the configuration of the underlying boards to support it.

Luckily the TFS Product Team think of everything and have provided a wizard that works in 90% of cases.

image
Figure: Open “Team Project | Control Panel”

You need to go to your Team Projects Control Panel by clicking on the little cog on the top right of Web Access, right next to your name.

image
Figure: Click “Overview | Project Profile | Configure features”

I am not sure about the placement and discoverability of this panel, but then it is a preview and they may stick it somewhere else. I would like to see a “Features” hub where I can enable and disable features and maybe a dismissible call to action near the heading for enabling things that are new.

As a Team Administrator I would like to have a Feature hub where I can enable or disable specific features for my teams
Suggestion for TFS

Anyhoo, you can click “Configure features” to get started.

Note If you are coming from TFS 2008 or TFS 2010 you will get a much more prominent “Configure features” option as none of the Boards will work without configuring.

image
Figure: Discover which features to configure in Team Foundation Server 2013

The configure features in Team Foundation Server 2013 wizard will then let you know what features will be configured. You can see here that I am coming from a Team Foundation Server 2012 instance as I already have most of those features enabled. Go ahead and verify…

image
Figure: Check the Process Template match before you configure features in Team Foundation Server 2013

When you verify the configure features in Team Foundation Server 2013 wizard will identify which process template best matches so that it can load the settings from that template. If you get an error at this point because it can’t match the Process Template then you may need to manually configure and there will be a link on the screen to do that.

image
Figure: Congratulations

And that’s it.. you are done…

image
Figure: Start using your new features

At this point you should now have access to the new awesome features. Now go play…

Be a kid again…

Upcoming Training Opportunities

These are the next five classes we have, and you can check out our full public schedule of classes.

Timezone:
Live Virtual Professional Scrum Master Online on 29th May 2023
Virtual
29 May-1 May, 2023
09:30-13:30 BST
4 half-days
Live Virtual Professional Scrum Product Owner online 5th June 2023
Virtual
5-8 Jun, 2023
09:30-13:30 BST
4 half-days
Live Virtual PAL Evidence-Based Management Online on 19th June 2023
Virtual
19-20 Jun, 2023
09:00-13:00 BST
2 half-days
APS 19th June 2023
Virtual
19-22 Jun, 2023
09:00-13:00 EDT
4 half-days

We can deliver any of our courses as private in-house training over Microsoft Teams & Mural. We also recommend training based on your accountabilities or role, you can go directly to recommended courses for Scrum MastersProduct OwnersDevelopers and Agile Leaders.

Create a conversation around this article

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin

Related Courses

No items found

Read more

Martin Hinshelwood nkdAgility.com
https://youtu.be/_fFs-0GL1CA Why do you encourage people to follow a certification path in their career journey? I would encourage you to follow a scrum certification path for the same reason that people go to university. The same reason that people do any course or certification. It gets you a foot in …
Martin Hinshelwood nkdAgility.com
https://youtu.be/QGXlCm_B5zA What will you learn on the PSM II course? There are two main things that most scrum masters will learn on the PSM II or Advanced Professional Scrum Master course. That they haven’t been working effectively as a scrum master to date. That they are there to empower and …
Martin Hinshelwood nkdAgility.com
In Scrum Events across the world, I hear repeated the phrase “that’s how agile works” when describing behaviours that are both unprofessional and the very opposite of an agile mindset. These behaviours will inhibit agility and are a result of a lack of understanding of the underlying principles. We need …
Martin Hinshelwood nkdAgility.com
https://youtu.be/klBiNFvxuy0 What is the most common Aha moment people have in a scrum course? It depends on the scrum course they are attending. The content presented in the Applying Professional Scrum (APS) course leads to very different epiphanies when compared to the content presented on an Advanced Professional Scrum Master …

OUR TEAM

We believe that every company deserves high quality software delivered on a regular cadence that meets its customers needs. Our goal is to help you reduce your cycle time, improve your time to market, and minimise any organisational friction in achieving your goals.

naked Agility Limited is a professional company that offers training, coaching, mentoring, and facilitation to help people and teams evolve, integrate, and continuously improve.

We recognise the positive impact that a happy AND motivated workforce, that has purpose, has on client experience. We help change mindsets towards a people-first culture where everyone encourages others to learn and grow. The resulting divergent thinking leads to many different ideas and opportunities for the success of the organisation.