Free Microsoft Press eBook: Managing Agile Open-Source Software Projects with Microsoft Visual Studio Online

Chapter 1: "Triage of ideas" - We describe our use of Visual Studio Online (VSO) to drive the requirements, prioritization, ownership, and management concepts. Every working solution starts with a great and neatly pruned idea!

Chapter 2: "Getting ready" - As part of training-research-planning (TRP), we gather as a team, understand the why and the what, and agree on the how. Looking back at a number of projects tackled by our geographically distributed, volunteer, and part-time teams, it is evident that this phase is pivotal.

Chapter 3: "Building the working solutions" - We switch from planning and enter the development phase, where the rubber meets the road—executing our plan, implementing features and their associated value, and shipping working solutions quickly and often.

Chapter 4: "Raising the quality bar" - We complete an adventure by raising the quality bar and planning the future. This is an opportunity for the team to innovate, plan, and reflect on the project and the overall process to support continuous improvement. It provides the time to complete activities often forgotten or postponed during critical development and testing phases, especially with geographically dispersed and part-time project teams.

Appendix 1: "Supporting toolbox" - A collection of templates, checklists, and gadgets that can be used for quick reference and for enabling teams to get started in a consistent way.

Appendix 2: "Eating your own dogfood is key" - A collection of proven technologies and techniques we have used 24/7 on our projects. We share our cherry-picked and tailored framework and learnings, allowing everyone to reflect, discover possible improvements, and continuously improve the way they work.