Sunday, September 05, 2004

Microsoft Solutions Framework Version 4.0, Beta

Microsoft are in the process of updating Microsoft Solutions Framework, as part of the ongoing work on Whidbey, and Visual Studio. Details have been sketchy, but we're beginning to see some details. For reasons I can't quite totally work out, Microsoft has released part of MSF 4.0 via GotDotNet Workspaces. You can obtain the first deliverable, MSF Agile. This material is delivered as a sort of web site, with a root page (ProcessGuidance.html), which points to other documents.

MSF Agile is "a scenario-driven, context-based, agile software development process for building .NET and other object-oriented applications. MSF Agile directly incorporates practices for handling quality of service requirements such as performance and security. It is also context-based and uses a context-driven approach to determine how to operate the project. "

Three key changes from MSF 3.0 are:

1. The lifecycle for each iteration is slimmed down to just three phases: Plan, Develop, Test.

2. The roles change too, with only 5 roles: Architect, Business Analyst, Developer, Project Manager, and Tester.

3. Finally, the work products are different. New artifacts include: Threat Model Data Flow Diagram, and Quality of Services Requirements List. The Vision Statement is still included!

It looks an interesting approach. I'll have to read more about it to discern the deeper differences.

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