TitleSpecial Education Teacher at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
Real User
Good traceability for managing workflows, but not flexible enough for agile environments
Pros and Cons
  • "The traceability is valuable. While managing the workflows, it was always nice to have that traceability from requirements and all the way through design. It integrates with Microsoft Test Manager, and you can have everything that is related to a requirement attached to it."
  • "It has been really dated. When you start to work more in an agile environment, it is not really that flexible. They tried to replicate the look and feel of Jira, but it is not quite there. It was nice to use in the past, but it is not as flexible now with the changing development environments and methodologies."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for software development, but we are moving to Jira.

How has it helped my organization?

We work with life science companies, and they need traceability. Because we have the capability of being able to provide the traceability that they require, it helps us with laying out what they need for their validation efforts.

What is most valuable?

The traceability is valuable. While managing the workflows, it was always nice to have that traceability from requirements and all the way through design. It integrates with Microsoft Test Manager (MTM), and you can have everything that is related to a requirement attached to it.

What needs improvement?

It has been really dated. When you start to work more in an agile environment, it is not really that flexible. They tried to replicate the look and feel of Jira, but it is not quite there. It was nice to use in the past, but it is not as flexible now with the changing development environments and methodologies.

It should have some of the things that Jira has, such as boards. We're focused on the scrum boards where you can actually drag and drop work from one queue to another. There should be more flexibility where you can just drag and drop as a user and have more visibility about what's active, what's not, and what's assigned to you through dashboards.

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TFS
March 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for almost 14 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It was quite stable. We did not have a lot of issues over all those years. So, it definitely was a reliable solution for a long period of time. It just was not flexible when we started moving to a more agile model.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It was able to scale to meet our needs. It also allowed us to do our customization. I'm not sure if that ended up being a good thing, but it did allow us to do what we wanted it to do.

We have about 150 users, and they're developers, FQA, software quality engineers, business analysts, user experience team members, and architects. For its deployment and maintenance, in general, there are four or five people. They are from the DevOps team.

We don't plan to expand its usage. We're transitioning to Jira.

How are customer service and support?

Their support was good. We had the support we needed for both TFS and Microsoft Test Manager.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were not using any different solution. This company has been working with TFS for as long as I can remember. We're now transitioning to Jira.

How was the initial setup?

It was fairly complex, but some of it was due to us. We did more configuration and customization, and because we customized the system, it made it more complicated.

In terms of duration, some of our previous upgrades took several days. Most of that was the actual deployment, but the preparation took several weeks.

What about the implementation team?

We did use an integrator once or twice. Our experience with them was good. It was easier because we didn't have to worry about a lot of things. They took the burden of the effort, and we just had to give them information.

What was our ROI?

We haven't quantified that. In general, there has been a great time saving because with what we've done around validation artifacts, we've been able to build it right into the system. So, we can automatically generate it at the end of a release. Earlier, it would've taken us six weeks to put together a validation package. With what we've set up in TFS, it would take us a week at the max.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I was working with the engineering team, and that was not under my umbrella. From what I can remember, its license was yearly. They had the licenses on a per-user basis, and they included MTM.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I'm not really sure what they did. It was already in place when I joined the company.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise Microsoft to update the tool. If a lot of users are starting to move to Jira because of the agile environment, Microsoft might want to adapt a little faster and provide similar or better functionality. It has been reliable for a very long time, and I've been really happy with it, but you've got to be able to change with the methodologies and the environments.

I would rate it a six out of 10 because it hasn't changed enough. I would've given it a much higher rating years ago, but because of the lack of evolution and not being able to adapt to the current business needs, its rating is not higher at this point.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Project Manager at Duck Creek Technologies
Real User
One-stop solution that is useful, and makes things easier to manage, but the burndown charts are problematic
Pros and Cons
  • "Basically, the capacity to construct various products is something I find handy."
  • "I'm looking for specific options that aren't currently available, such as active status, new status, or what's currently in progress."

What is our primary use case?

We use TFS for project management.

What is most valuable?

Basically, the capacity to construct various products is something I find handy. For example, I could write a user story and then add some tasks to it, as well as subtasks and test cases.

Everything can be linked together, making it easy for us to track down and document hours for each and every task, whether it's a task, above, or anything else.

Everything is interconnected. As a result, tracking and viewing the bulletin board dashboard and burndown charts, among other things, is much easier.

It's a one-stop solution that is useful and makes it easier to handle.

What needs improvement?

The overall ability in the Agile process has some room to improve, even though it is interconnected. When I worked on Jira, it had the capability of better linkage.

When it comes to project management, we are having trouble with burndown charts, which we can't seem to display. As a result, we have created new tasks and realigning our process. Rather than creating larger tasks, we are creating subtasks such as development tasks, QA tasks, and deployment tasks.

An area of improvement is when there is a login for a specific user story present, it should display automatically. This is an area that where we are having difficulty and struggling in.

The scalability can be improved.

Linkage and task management are two areas that we are having difficulties with. It could be more like Jira, which has a number of different plugins. In addition, I feel that the status should include additional options. For example, they offer fewer options for a specific task user story or bugs.

I'm looking for specific options that aren't currently available, such as active status, new status, or what's currently in progress. I would like to see an in-progress capability where you can mark it active, but you can also write that it is in progress. When I look at the dashboard, there is nothing there to show me what has been done or why it is active or not.

For how long have I used the solution?

My company has been using TFS since it started. It may be more than 10 years. I joined the company a year ago.

We have been using it through the cloud during COVID and working from home. We can connect to it from any network.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There have been some lags in the past, and we have also encountered some latency when setting it up on the laptop. You may have some problems at first, but as soon as you connect to the internet and update your product, everything becomes stable.

Within our organization, for example, we use Microsoft Teams for communication, chats, and for calls. We had some issues with it being unreliable and not fully airing the sound over the laptop speakers and mic. I discovered that as soon as we updated the product, the stability was restored. There was a problem with Teams, which they fixed and updated.

Initial difficulties are to be expected, but things are constantly improving.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It can be scaled to some extent. The main issue is that, unlike Jira or any other tool, the burndown chart is not displayed.

How are customer service and support?

I have never used technical support because I've never been in a situation where it has gone down and I needed to contact them, but I believe that because Microsoft is a reputable organization with adequate technical support right now.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have also worked with Jira.

I come from a QA background, and we used to do automation. Jira was far easier to integrate with our QA automation frameworks because it has a large number of exposed APIs and public APIs that we could use, which is a positive development. Also, the burndown charts, as well as the ability to manage different Agile model frameworks, where we could use scrum in one project but also had to use Kanban. As a result, the transition from one framework to another was simple. These are the things I found useful but haven't seen in the case of TFS yet.

How was the initial setup?

Initially, TFS was a bit complicated. Now that it's Azure DevOps the initial setup is much easier.

It's a one-stop shop for building code repository, and a version control system within TFS or Azure DevOps, as TFS has been renamed.

What other advice do I have?

I am a project manager.

I would rate TFS a seven out of ten

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
TFS
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about TFS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Soft Engineer at SECP
Real User
Top 10
Keeps code secure while working in a team
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of TFS is that it keeps the code secure while working collaboratively in a team of four or five individuals."
  • "I would like to see TFS improve its web interface as there are some limitations with IDs and the integration behind it and with open-source tools like VS Code."

What is our primary use case?

We use TFS for volume control, source checking, and source control.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of TFS is that it keeps the code secure while working collaboratively in a team of four or five individuals.

We have different teams working on different solutions using different technology sets. At the backend, it has good source control. We work with Microsoft technology stack, open source stack, as well as IBM stack. We have different teams working on the backend with TFS as our source control.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see TFS improve its web interface as there are some limitations with IDs and the integration behind it and with open-source tools like VS Code.

As a version control, we have found some inconsistencies related to updates from previous versions. If you set up the Git repository, and you want to change it back to TFS, it is a bit confusing now in the latest update. We were hung up when two repositories were intermingled together. We were confused about why the Git project was not converting to TFS. I believe Microsoft is supporting the Git repositories. 

The TFS TFVC is not user-friendly because, for Git repositories that you have already created to use the TFS repositories, you need to go back into the ID to Video Studio when the TFS repository comes up by default.

Using the web interface, by default you get the Git repository. For a team that is not familiar with this and is not using the ID as a video studio or VS, code management gets difficult. Even with VS Code as an open source ID, TFS at the backend as a repository is difficult and integration is complex.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using TFS on a daily basis for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, I have found TFS to be stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable, however, we do not need to scale because we do not have many people on each team. The administration part requires three or four people, and for development teams, we have about 15 team members who actively use VS Code.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of TFS is really just a click. It is basic and not complex.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed the solution in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Our organization has an enterprise license with TFS.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We explored other sources before. We also used some open-source tools.

What other advice do I have?

We are considering trying another solution as we don't find TFS assistance or community help when compared to Git.

TFS is a good solution once you get comfortable using it. If you are coming from TFS 2013 or TFS 2015, you are going to find the 2019 version different. I understand that TFS is moving towards the cloud, so all the features are designed with this in mind. In the 2019 version, you will see more DevOps-related tools and automated app tools.

The solution is easy and complex at the same time. If you are familiar with pipelines, you will find it interesting. You need a technical team to provide help and assistance to get the whole value from 2000 DevOps TFVC. If you are not actually fully exploring the feature set or using them, it is just another source control like any other open-source control.

If you gain experience with the iron value sets with TFVC DevOps, the whole project management will be smooth and stable. Releases will come out but all the hiccups between the teams, such as the development teams, QA teams, and deployment teams will smooth out. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten overall.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sanjay Patankar - PeerSpot reviewer
General Manager at Godrej Infotech Ltd.
Real User
Top 5
Is easy to use, traceable, and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "Team Foundation Server (TFS) is easy to use, and we have a complete trail and traceability. We also like the access control part."
  • "The price could be cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for code archiving, complete CI/CD functionality, code propagation, code repository, etc.

What is most valuable?

Team Foundation Server (TFS) is easy to use, and we have a complete trail and traceability. We also like the access control part.

What needs improvement?

The price could be cheaper.

We're going for a cloud solution that will give us similar functionality and integration with our other products that we are customizing, like SFD. At present, those codes aren't many. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for more than eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. We have around 45 users.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it using an in-house team. You will need two to three people who are in the DevOps teams, who do all the testing, and programmers, who use it and check the code.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You will need to obtain server and account licenses.

What other advice do I have?

TFS is a good product, and I would rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Lead Automation Architect at Contour
Real User
Reusable test plans, reliable, and beneficial test automation
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of TFS are the test plans. We can reproduce reusable test plans in test automation. We have a lot of queries and this feature is very useful."
  • "TFS is scalable with different Microsoft tools for test management but it is not scalable with other third-party tools."

What is our primary use case?

We use TFS for manual testing in our labs and as an automation tool., basically use TFS and we have the shared for that. 

The TFS was previously used for the build repository, but we have moved away from using it and we use other tools for builds. We are moving towards JIRA for other activities, such as cascade management, and test automation management.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of TFS are the test plans. We can reproduce reusable test plans in test automation. We have a lot of queries and this feature is very useful. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using TFS for approximately seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

TFS is highly stable. We have a lot of queries and the test plans can generate for automation purposes and runs very well. I prefer TFS over Jira in this area.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

TFS is scalable with different Microsoft tools for test management but it is not scalable with other third-party tools.

We have more than 200 users using this solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We use JIRA in parallel with TFS and we are facing a lot of difficulties with JIRA because we do not receive the leverage and the same features in JIRA that we do in TFS. Our preference is TFS over JIRA.

What about the implementation team?

There is some maintenance required from our team. For example, licensing and overall support. 

What other advice do I have?

When the applications are developed in VideoStudio and other technologies. It's preferred to use TFS for all of the management solutions.

I rate TFS a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Neetu Majumdar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Quality Assurance Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 10
Very good filters that help us create a monitoring dashboard, as well as test and script planning
Pros and Cons
  • "User alerts are very helpful for knowing when work is required."
  • "There's not automatic access to test case management and execution."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for test management and defect tracking. 

What is most valuable?

Most of my work is in the defect area of the solution. I like the attachments which can be directly inserted and highlighted. Users get alerted so they know when there's work required which makes the solution quite efficient. TFS also has filters that help us create a dashboard for monitoring, as well as test and script planning.

What needs improvement?

I haven't been able to get access to the test case management and execution because it requires an extra license fee. It would be helpful if that was made available to all the users who have already bought TFS.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for about three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The features in TFS are similar to those found in Jira. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution came with our Microsoft package so no deployment was required, it was just a matter of clicking on the web link. We currently have more than 500 users and that will increase in the future. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution nine out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Product Owner at PerkinElmer, Inc.
Real User
Reliable, good performance, good reporting tools, and useful for managing all of your development tasks
Pros and Cons
  • "The work item feature is most valuable. It allows us to store all product requirements. We can also link the test cases to those requirements so that we know which feature has already been tested, and which one is waiting for testing. We can also couple the code reviews, unit tests, and automated tests into these requirements. It is reliable. It has all the features and good performance. It also has reporting tools or analysis tools."
  • "Currently, we are looking for a solution with which we can incorporate third-party development sites or third-party project teams into the system. Because it is on-premise, it is a bit problematic because we need to have a VPN or something else in the system. A cloud-based solution would be better for us, and that's what we are looking for. Our biggest problem is the external connection, which, of course, is limited by our own IT. It would be good to have some kind of publishing service for this external connection. It might be there, and it might be that our IT is making it impossible for us. Its template editor could be easier to use. Currently, customizing the project templates according to your needs requires some work."

What is our primary use case?

It is mainly for the work item handling, which is the documentation for the development projects. We also use it for requirement handling and then following a project's progress with tasks or issues.

How has it helped my organization?

It doesn't improve the way our organization functions, but it supports the way we work. Instead of having separate Excel or other work item lists, we can just utilize the work items provided by TFS for record-keeping and monitoring the progress.

What is most valuable?

The work item feature is most valuable. It allows us to store all product requirements. We can also link the test cases to those requirements so that we know which feature has already been tested, and which one is waiting for testing. We can also couple the code reviews, unit tests, and automated tests into these requirements.

It is reliable. It has all the features and good performance. It also has reporting tools or analysis tools. 

What needs improvement?

Currently, we are looking for a solution with which we can incorporate third-party development sites or third-party project teams into the system. Because it is on-premise, it is a bit problematic because we need to have a VPN or something else in the system. A cloud-based solution would be better for us, and that's what we are looking for. Our biggest problem is the external connection, which, of course, is limited by our own IT. It would be good to have some kind of publishing service for this external connection. It might be there, and it might be that our IT is making it impossible for us.

Its template editor could be easier to use. Currently, customizing the project templates according to your needs requires some work.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for 15 years. I have been using its latest version for a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is reliable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't actually used their support very much. I'm not really the one who is maintaining the system. 

You can find a lot of information by searching the web. There is also a community around it, and a lot of answers are available. Microsoft has its own support if needed.

How was the initial setup?

I haven't been so much involved in building up the TFS server, but I think it is rather simple. The installation is simple. There are so-called project templates that you might need to adjust according to your needs. These require some work. If you can use the default templates, then no work is needed. We have managed to adjust everything for what we needed. There were no problems that we couldn't overcome. Its template editor could be easier to use.

What about the implementation team?

It was done in-house. It is pretty easy to come up with an installer. There is nothing difficult there.

What other advice do I have?

The Team Foundation Server is now called Azure DevOps. We are using an old product. I would advise others to consider whether they need an on-premises or a cloud solution. The on-premises solution requires external developers. They can also look at the cloud option and see which product offering is better for their needs.

It is a nice system to have. You get a managed system where you can manage your development tasks easily, and you don't need to keep your own bookkeeping for tasks and backup items. They are already there in TFS. You can just use the system monthly and produce reports out of the system. For me, it was nice to see that such a tool exists.

I would rate TFS a nine out of ten. I'm pretty happy with it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Kumar Rajan - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at Havells
Real User
Good user interface, with longevity in the market, optimal performance compared to other choices
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is good with TFS."
  • "I would also like a true command prompt like Git."

What is most valuable?

The interface is good with TFS.

What needs improvement?

I am looking for some pull request features, like Git.  I do not see a pull request option for branching and merging. I would also like a true command prompt like Git.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using TFS for the past fourteen or fifteen years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

TFS is definitely stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

TFS is scalable because it is managed by Microsoft internally. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good. We have optional support with Microsoft.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used VSTS however TFS is a far better product.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very easy and straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The overall price of TFS is good.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I think most people are working with Git. We feel comfortable with TFS because we are already used to it. TFS is a good product and you can continue working with it.

What other advice do I have?

I am overall happy with TFS and would rate it a nine on a scale of one to ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free TFS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free TFS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.