Visual Studio ALM Rangers have spoken on the FY12 project candidates and the new process
As mentioned in Listening to the external Rangers … New project nomination process is first of many new innovations we have introduced a new project nomination and prioritization process. Overall the new process worked very well and was well received … but more importantly what was decided? I am “loaning” content from Bijan and Jeff’s announcement email, which is shown in italic 
As usual, we had good participation with a total of 81 votes which makes the results very representative. Big thanks to all Rangers who voted and to everyone who contributed to the project candidates!
Here are the combined community results which means all Ranger votes combined:
| Rank | Project Nomination Idea |
| 1 | Strategies for Maintainable Coded UI Test Automation |
| 2 | Hitchhiker's Guide to Developing Reports for TFS |
| 3 | Merging Practical Guidance |
| 4 | Test Management guidance for MTM |
| 5 | Dashboard/Reporting Customization |
| 6 | Test Case Branching Guidance/Tool |
| 7 | WIT/Template Customization Guidance |
| 8 | Enterprise Test Strategy |
| 9 | TFS Projects Best Practices |
| 10 | TFS in the cloud practical guidance |
| 11 | Windows Azure Load and Performance Testing Framework |
| 12 | Windows Azure ALM Tools and Guidance |
| 13 | TFS Automation through Powershell |
| 14 | How to use TFS for Kanban Guidance |
| 15 | Build Customization Guidance for non-Microsoft environments |
| 16 | Dependencies management |
| 17 | Code review guidance and template customization |
| 18 | TFS 2010 Process Template Customization Guide |
| 19 | Capacity Analysis and Planning Tool |
| 20 | ALM Assessment Guidance |
| 21 | Word 4 TFS Phase 2 |
The side by side results shows the usual agreements and disagreements. It is actually more agreement if you look at the top 10. Six are common choices which we have highlighted below. (NOTE: the projects with the most votes are listed at the top. The number in front of the items below is not the ranking, but the original nomination reference number)
Microsoft Rangers |
MVP Rangers |
18 - Hitchhiker's Guide to Developing Reports for TFS |
04 - Strategies for Maintainable Coded UI Test Automation |
01 - Windows Azure Load and Performance Testing Framework |
19 - Test Management guidance for MTM |
04 - Strategies for Maintainable Coded UI Test Automation |
17 - Merging Practical Guidance |
15 - TFS in the cloud practical guidance |
45 - TFS Projects Best Practices |
20 - Windows Azure ALM Tools and Guidance |
12 - Dashboard/Reporting Customization |
17 - Merging Practical Guidance |
22 - Test Case Branching Guidance/Tool |
12 - Dashboard/Reporting Customization |
32 - Dependencies management |
22 - Test Case Branching Guidance/Tool |
11 - WIT/Template Customization Guidance |
49 - Enterprise Test Strategy |
16 - How to use TFS for Kanban Guidance |
19 - Test Management guidance for MTM |
18 - Hitchhiker's Guide to Developing Reports for TFS |
11 - WIT/Template Customization Guidance |
49 - Enterprise Test Strategy |
34 - TFS Automation through Powershell |
23 - TFS 2010 Process Template Customization Guide |
45 - TFS Projects Best Practices |
07 - Build Customization Guidance for non-Microsoft environments |
36 - Code review guidance and template customization |
15 - TFS in the cloud practical guidance |
05 - Capacity Analysis and Planning Tool |
36 - Code review guidance and template customization |
07 - Build Customization Guidance for non-Microsoft environments |
34 - TFS Automation through Powershell |
25 - Word 4 TFS Phase 2 |
51 - ALM Assessment Guidance |
23 - TFS 2010 Process Template Customization Guide |
05 - Capacity Analysis and Planning Tool |
51 - ALM Assessment Guidance |
20 - Windows Azure ALM Tools and Guidance |
16 - How to use TFS for Kanban Guidance |
01 - Windows Azure Load and Performance Testing Framework |
32 - Dependencies management |
25 - Word 4 TFS Phase 2 |
That brings us to the frequently asked question of which projects are we going to start soon. While the prioritized list of project ideas is a great starting point, it is not always possible to hold that ideal order. If for example all stars are perfectly aligned for project number 5, we don’t hesitate grabbing that opportunity for our 1st project.
There is also a 2nd source of influence, which is the strategic guidance from the product group. If we get a convincing request from the product group to go after a project which is not on top of this list, that provides another great opportunity to leverage.
And finally, there is another potential factor which can play a big role and modify our priorities. At this point, we only know that the vNext readiness is going to be a big priority for us. Stay tuned for that discussion.