The strongest articles on engineering excellence and technical leadership — ranked by substance, not recency. How this is ranked
Engineering as a Leadership System: Moving Beyond Frameworks
Delivery outcomes are shaped less by frameworks and practices than by the operating model leaders have designed. How an organisation's …
Why Most Companies Operating Models Fail in Dynamic Markets
A concise comparison of Predictive and Adaptive Operating Models, explaining why traditional structures fail in dynamic markets and how …
One Azure DevOps Project for 1,500 People Is Not the Risky Option
Compare the coordination costs of separate Azure DevOps Projects with the governance a shared Project requires, using actual dependencies …
Telling People What to Do Is Not Leadership. It’s a Failure of System Design
Explores why real leadership means designing systems that enable team autonomy, flow, and accountability, rather than relying on …
The AI Decided Is Not an Explanation
When an AI says it got bored or we say it lied, we give a machine feelings and intentions. The false output needs an explanation, not an …
AI Agents Lie About Being Done
My agent reported every task complete when half the tests were missing. Call that a lie if you like. The engineering problem is that the …
Don’t Manage Dependencies, Remove Them
Explains why dependencies are a sign of poor system design and outlines steps to eliminate them by aligning teams, clarifying ownership, and …
The Estimation Trap: How Tracking Accuracy Undermines Trust, Flow, and Value in Software Delivery
Tracking estimation accuracy in software delivery leads to mistrust, fear, and distorted behaviours. Focus on customer value, flow, and …
Is Agile Really Just a Mindset?
Explores Agile as a disciplined system of delivery, emphasizing engineering excellence, CI/CD, observability, and system design over mindset …
597 resources, newest first
TFS Sticky Buddy v1.0
Graphical tool for viewing, navigating, and managing TFS Work Items with customisable templates. Built in VB.NET and WPF; requires .NET 3.5 …
TFS Stick Buddy v0.4.0 CTP2 released
TFS Stick Buddy v0.4.0 CTP2 lets you customise and display TFS work items by query, with colour-coded states and support for Visual Studio …
TFS Sticky Buddy v0.3.1 CTP1
Preview release of a WPF-based dashboard for Team Foundation Server, showing Areas and Iterations as diagrams; early version with limited …
Bug in ObservableCollection?
Explains issues using ObservableCollection with generic types in .NET, why errors occur, and discusses workarounds and limitations when …
Creating a better TFS Sticky Buddy (Core)
Explains building a flexible WPF data model in VB.NET for visualising hierarchical relationships using generics, ObservableCollections, and …
What the 0x80072020?
Explains the 0x80072020 error in .NET 3.5 PrincipalContext when using ASP.NET impersonation with Active Directory, its cause, and security …
Loss of My.User.Name is not that bad
Explains how to access and manage user and security information in .NET applications using System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement …
TFS Sticky Buddy POC (WPF) release
Proof of concept release of a WPF-based Team Foundation Server dashboard app, including source code. Requires .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio …
TFS Sticky Buddy POC (WinForms) release
Proof of concept Windows Forms dashboard for Team Foundation Server, including source code. Requires .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008 Team …
TFS Sticky Buddy layout fun
A developer shares challenges and insights from building a TFS Sticky Buddy UI in WinForms and WPF, comparing layout issues and ease of use …
TFS Sticky Buddy Codeplex project
Open source tool for visualising Team Foundation Server project status, showing work items, assignments, and progress in real time on large …
Installing MOSS 2007 from scratch
Step-by-step guide to installing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 from a clean environment, including prerequisites, SQL setup, …
Kerberos and SharePoint 2007
Explains how to configure Kerberos authentication for SharePoint 2007 by setting Service Principal Names (SPNs) in Active Directory for each …
Connecting to SQL Server using DNS
Explains how to enable Windows Authentication for SQL Server connections via DNS by configuring the SQL Server Browser service and setting …
New Event Handlers
Adds two event handlers for TFS: one emails users when assigned a work item, the other notifies users when work is reassigned. Includes …
TFS Event Handler (Prototype) Refresh
Bug fixes and updates for the TFS Event Handler Prototype, now supporting .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008. Includes installer refresh and …
TFS Event Handler CTP 2 Released
CTP 2 of TFS Event Handler is now available, offering updated executables and source code for managing Team Foundation Server events. …
Removing ACL's for dead AD accounts
Explains how to identify and remove access control entries (ACLs) for deleted Active Directory accounts using .NET, including challenges and …
My first Extension method
Explains how to create and use extension methods in VB.NET, with an example for enhancing the XboxInfo class to display and track Xbox Live …
SharePoint 3.0 and MOSS 2007 Service Pack 1 Update
Guidance on resolving SharePoint 3.0 and MOSS 2007 Service Pack 1 installation errors, including database version issues and solutions using …
No love between McAfee Enterprise and MOSS 2007
Explains how McAfee antivirus can cause search errors in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, highlighting compatibility issues and the …
The new ClusterMaps: NeoWORX
Overview of NeoWORX, a web service for visualising global data on interactive maps, with potential for real-time fleet tracking and …
Identity crisis
Explores using Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 to unify and automate employee identity data across multiple systems, improving …
Hold on lads, I have an idea!
Proposal for an interface to view and edit company hierarchy data, enabling staff management, reorganisation, and integration with HR, …
Where am I?
Describes a .NET application that tracks users’ locations via IP, updates Active Directory, and uses LINQ for database queries, aiding …
Installing TFS 2008 from scratch
Step-by-step guide to installing TFS 2008 on a clean server, covering setup with SQL, Reporting Services, SharePoint integration, and …
Falling of the TFS rehabilitation wagon
Discusses implementing Team Foundation Server (TFS) for comprehensive project management, customising features, and integrating with …
Naming your servers in an enterprise environment
Explains the importance of consistent, informative server naming conventions in enterprise environments to improve identification, …
Team Foundation Server SharePoint Integration
Explores the need for deeper integration between Team Foundation Server and SharePoint, including work item visibility, workflow support, …
Amusing job requirements
A humorous look at unrealistic job requirements for analyst programmers, highlighting the pitfalls of overloaded skill lists and offering …
First day at Aggreko
Describes a first day at Aggreko, focusing on efficient onboarding, SharePoint deployment planning, and the challenge of migrating …
Interviewing for Microsoft
A personal account of interviewing for a Microsoft Application Developer Consultant role, detailing the process, technical requirements, and …
TFS Event Handler in .NET 3.5 Part 2 - Handling Team Foundation Server Events
Guide to implementing a resilient Team Foundation Server event handler in .NET 3.5 using WCF, including service contracts, endpoints, …
TFS Event Handler in .NET 3.5 Part 2
Explains how to build a resilient, scalable Team Foundation Server event handler using .NET 3.5, covering event handling techniques and key …
Microsoft does indeed listen
Discussion on Microsoft's response to user interest in hosted Team Foundation Server (TFS), licensing challenges, and needed features for …
TFS Event Handler in .NET 3.5 Part 1 - The Architecture
Explains designing a resilient, scalable TFS event handler in .NET 3.5, focusing on system architecture using Visual Studio diagrams for …
TFS Event Handler in .NET 3.5
Learn how to build a resilient, scalable Team Foundation Server event handler using .NET 3.5, covering architecture, event handling, WCF …
Creating a custom proxy class
Learn how to build a custom proxy class in .NET 3.0 for duplex communication, enabling maintainable code and easy updates when service …
Team Foundation Server Error TF30177: Team Project Creation Failed - Part 2
Explains how to resolve Team Foundation Server project creation errors caused by SharePoint managed path conflicts, with steps to identify …
Using Visual Studio 2008
Overview of Visual Studio 2008 features, including multi-.NET Framework targeting, project upgrade notes, source control tips, and new …
Team Foundation Server Error TF30177 : Team Project Creation Failed
Explains how to resolve Team Foundation Server TF30177 errors by updating server URLs to use the FQDN, addressing proxy and DNS issues …
Service Manager Factory
Provides an upgraded managed service factory for .NET, with installer support for GAC deployment, enabling integration into various …
Team Foundation Server Error 28936
Explains how Team Foundation Server installation fails with error 28936 due to IIS URLScan filter blocking web services, and how removing it …
Becoming a better developer
Practical steps for improving as a developer, including ongoing learning, project work, community involvement, blogging, and embracing …
Why I think VB.NET is a better choice than C#
Compares VB.NET and C#, highlighting VB.NET’s advantages in readability, accessibility, case insensitivity, and real-time code checking, …
Hosted Team Foundation Server
Explains challenges of hosting Team Foundation Server, including project isolation issues, upcoming improvements, and the availability of …
Microsoft's internal uptake of Team Foundation Server
Microsoft widely adopted Team Foundation Server internally, with 21 instances supporting 734 projects and 5,600 users, driving rapid product …
Application Owner
Explains the responsibilities of managing production applications, including vendor relations, issue resolution, audits, and system access, …
An Application Deployment
Highlights the challenges of deploying complex enterprise applications with incomplete, unclear documentation, emphasising the need for …
Team System Web Access finally released
Team System Web Access, the successor to TeamPlain, is now available, offering improved stability and features for TFS users, but with some …