Team Development with Visual Studio Team Foundation Server

• Build frequency on branch – Continuous integration builds are performed on the
branch.
• Testing focus in branch – Perform feature and quick feedback testing.
The Team branches should be used to allow teams to complete development tasks in
parallel. This can be useful to isolate teams from breaking changes originating on other
teams, or to allow teams to work toward unique milestones. All active development
should occur in the Team branches and then be integrated into the Main branch. You
might also want to create Feature branches beneath each Team branch.
Additional Resources
• For an introduction to branching and merging, see “Branching and Merging Primer”
at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa730834(VS.80).aspx
• For more information about branching, see “How to: Branch Files and Folders” at
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181425(VS.80).aspx
• For more information about merging, see “How to: Merge Files and Folders” at
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181428(VS.80).aspx
• For additional descriptions of how to branch and merge in Visual Studio 2005, see
“Branching and Merging Team Foundation Source Control” at
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181423(VS.80).aspx
How to Use Branching to Isolate External Dependencies
Use an External branch to improve the integration and stabilization of breaking changes
caused by external dependencies.
The following is an example of what your branch structure might look like after you have
created an External branch:
• External – External branch
o Source
• Main – Integration branch
o Source
o Other Asset Folders
Keep the following recommendations in mind when working with an External branch:
• When to branch – When you have external dependencies that might cause
breaking changes in your project. If your dependencies are making interface
changes or substantial logic changes that will impact your code, create an
External branch to isolate these changes.
• When not to branch – When your external dependencies are stable or you are
confident they will not introduce breaking changes.
• Permissions in branch – Read/write for developers responsible for external
dependency integration, read-only for everyone else.
• Build frequency on branch – Builds are performed on-demand.
• Testing focus in branch – Integration testing.