This article is republished from my original Adding Personas To Work In VSTS post on fantail.io.

During the week I finished adding the requirements I started in my previous post.  I found I needed a few more features - one about Security and one covering setting up the development projects and builds.  I also discovered an extension for VSTS that will help me keep focused on the users while I work. VSTS has a marketplace where you can see all the extensions and install those you think are useful. The one I will install is Personas, by Agile Extensions. 

This article is republished from my original Setting up Requirements in VSTS post on fantail.io.

Last week I started a new project with VSTS, setting up some Git repos for my code.  Now it's time to set up some requirements and planning for the development.  I chose to set up an Agile project last week, which is one of 3 default project types in VSTS.  This affects a number of things, including the form the requirements take and the development process used.  Agile is the most flexible, and is the one that I use most often.  Requirements are added to a project as Work Items:

In New Zealand the scale of most solutions, and the dev teams working on them, are tiny compared to global software companies. Yet many developers, architects and CxOs I work with, want to do things 'because Netflix does it' – especially when it comes to MicroServices.

We have always taken the view at Equinox IT that there is no single right way and that as consultants we bring a toolkit and use the right tool for the job.

For a long time we have used the sense making Cynefin Framework developed by Dave Snowden of Cognitive Edge and the Cynefin Centre to help understand how we and our clients best respond to business and IT problems that are obvious, complicated, complex or chaotic. A number of our consultants have attended Cynefin training with Dave Snowden.

Highly respected Auckland solution architect Faranak Torabi has joined Equinox IT's Cloud business.

Faranak takes up the role of Senior Solution Architect where she will be responsible for designing and delivering Microsoft Azure and other technical solutions for Equinox IT clients.