What's In a Name?

My colleague, Rob Caron, just posted the latest news on upcoming name changes for some of the Visual Studio product line. Specifically, the Team Editions that are part of Visual Studio Team System.

In VSTS 2005 we named the Team Editions based on the role a person was in (...for Software Developers, ...for Software Testers, etc.). This actually caused some confusion, since the role you are in doesn't always map one-to-one with the features you need.

For the Visual Studio 2008 release, we are renaming the Team Editions to provide clarity on the feature set they provide. This will enable you to decide on a Team Edition based on the functions your are performing, not the role you are in. The new names will debut in the upcoming Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 release.

To quote Rob:

Of course, this doesn’t mean we’re changing Team System’s charter – it’s still designed to help everyone on the team collaborate together through integrated tools, processes, and guidance.

Below is a list of the name changes compared to what they were in Visual Studio 2005.

Visual Studio 2005 Visual Studio 2008
Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Team Suite
Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Architects Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Architecture Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Developers Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Development Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Testers Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Test Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Database Edition
Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Team Foundation Server
Visual Studio 2005 Team Test Load Agent Visual Studio Team System 2008 – Test Load Agent

The names for the rest of the Visual Studio product line are unchanged except for the version (2005 -> 2008).

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, VSTS, Visual Studio 2008, Team System