Microsoft is aiming to simplify the software development process. For customers, this means reduced time and cost in the software development phase, better communication and documentation throughout the project, and an even better chance of their project getting implemented successfully. 
It will enable Intergen to be more dynamic in the way we work, focusing more on solving our customers’ business problem rather than the technology and process.

This is made possible by a number of tools that will help in the software development life cycle, improving software quality, and guaranteeing the eventual usability of software solutions. This collection of tools is called the VisualStudio.NET Team System, and supports Microsoft’s Dynamic Systems Initiative.

The VS.NET Team System will make software projects more successful by providing tools that allow systems to be designed for operations. These tools validate the software architecture of the system against the infrastructure architecture it will be used on – an important consideration in Service Oriented Architectures. The design tools produce models that stay in sync with the code of the solution, and provide a visual depiction of the components throughout its life. This ‘agile documentation’ cuts the cost of producing documentation and keeping it up to date as the solution evolves.

This software development life cycle management allows better communication and reporting within software projects. It goes right from developer, to architect, to project manager, to you the customer so that everyone involved can see the status of a project at any time. Intergen previously built its own life cycle management tools, for example the i- Track application that will have been used by most of our customers to report issues with solutions we have built.

Building high quality software takes a huge amount of effort. It’s great that to assist, the VS.NET Team System has built in stress testing and performance analysis tools, and can enforce quality assurance methodology across the solution. It also allows for reliable repeatable solution builds for easier deployment. The tools automate what we currently have to do manually, with the benefits being reduced time and cost, and greater coverage of the quality assurance process. In combination with the reporting tools, we have a greater measurability of software quality through the test coverage.

More info is available on the VS.NET Team System site and Microsoft’s Dynamic Systems Initiative.