MVP Global Summit – Day 3: VSTS Ranger Session

We completed the VSTS Ranger session at the summit today … probably the most daunting session of my life to date, as I knew who was sitting on the other side of the line (Team System Microsoft Most Valued Professionals – MVP), a side I used to sit in in recent years.
MVP_Horizontal_FullColor_2

 Slide5 In essence, we covered the following topics, some of which I will elaborate on briefly:

  1. VSTS Ranger Objectives
    • Reusable “out of band” solutions
      • Fill missing functionality holes
      • Promote adoption
    • Active community readiness
      • Promote knowledge sharing
      • Share guidance
    • Influence VSTS.vNext
  2. VSTS ranger Project Guidelines
    • Wide window of opportunity
    • Gap-fillers until Rosario and beyond …
    • Standalone
      • Loosely-coupled
      • Minimal dependencies.
    • Small scope (Weeks - Months, Years)
    • Address “your” anti-adoption pain areas
  3. Announcing new Extended VSTS Rangers
    Slide9
    • We had the great privilege of announcing four new VSTS Extended Rangers, who contributed actively towards the following VSTS Ranger projects:
      • Branching Guidance II
        • Brian Randell
        • Jeff Levinson
      • Requirements Management
        • Francisco Xavier Fagas Albarracín
        • Ted Malone
  4. VSTS Ranger Ecosystem
  5. My current focus as VSTS ranger
  6. Ranger Project … recent voting result
  7. Followed by an interactive discussion (grilling) with (by) the MVPs.

The core message was clear: “The VSTS rangers are responsible for out-of-band solutions, filling missing feature holes and promoting adoption, sharing information and knowledge and being the voice of the MVPs and community at large. The VSTS Rangers will reach out and promote close collaboration with the MVPs, the communities and with the experts in the ‘trenches’.

It was fun and I hope that everyone got the value and information from the session that they expected. if not, give me a shout and we can discuss further.

However, I am now formally:
Blue And White Robot Robot Lying Face Down On The Floor, Symbolizing Giving Up, Low Batteries, Exhaustion Or Failure Clipart Illustration … and looking forward to VSTS MVP feedback q;-)