What's new for Application Lifecycle Management in Visual Studio 2013

Article
09/18/2015

Go here to open the Visual Studio 2015 version of this topic.

You can use Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) to manage your product lifecycle, reduce risks, and improve efficiencies. When you install or upgrade to Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2013, you and your team can benefit from the new features and supported tasks outlined in the following table.

For bug fixes and feature additions provided with the latest TFS updates, see the following articles:

	What’s new in version control Use Git for version control (requires that you create a Git team project). Get more work done in your web browser with enhanced version control features. Enhancements have been made to the navigation; viewing code, changesets, shelvesets, annotations, and history; and administering permissions. Create or reply to comments on changesets or commits using the web-based Version Control Explorer. This allows you to engage in conversations with your teammates about source code changes. Comments can be added to changesets and shelveset or Git commits. Undock () the Pending Changes, Changeset Details, and Shelveset Details pages from Team Explorer and open them in new windows.
	What’s new in Agile tools, team collaboration, and planning and tracking projects Manage project portfolios to understand the scope of work across several teams and see how that work rolls up into broader initiatives. You can define a hierarchy of up to 5 portfolio backlogs. For information, see the MSDN white paper: Agile Portfolio Management: Using TFS to support backlogs across multiple teams. Visualize progress by charting the results of flat-list queries. You can create several types of charts—such as pie, bar, column, or stacked column—for the same query. Use team rooms to discuss work in progress, ask questions, share status, and clarify issues that arise in real time. Create team projects that use Git for the version control system. New Connect page supports quickly switching context to other team projects using Team Explorer. Team Explorer now lists the solutions in your workspace. You can now select the solutions you want to work on and switch between them easily. Go here to learn about changes made to team projects and default process templates during a TFS upgrade.
	What’s new in Team Foundation build Build code using Git (requires that you create a Git team project). Organize build output files into the same folder structure that is used by Visual Studio on your dev machine. Run batch and PowerShell scripts before and after compilation, and before and after your tests run. Drop build outputs into TFS from Visual Studio Online or on-premises servers. Diagnostic logs are now available for all builds. Undock () the Builds page from Team Explorer and view it in its own window. Simplifications have been introduced in defining builds, in the build templates, and building and testing a Windows Store app. Default templates are stored on TFS instead of in version control. Set up your builds for deployment so that you can find the matching deployed code while you're debugging. See Set up your release to diagnose problems after deployment
	What’s new in architecture, modeling, and design Map relationships in the code by creating code maps from the code editor. See Map specific dependencies on code maps Visualize the call stack while debugging by creating code maps from the code window or call stack window. Navigate around your code visually with code maps. Code maps appear next to the code editor so you can easily see your place in the code while you work.
	What’s new in developer quality and diagnostic tools Find information about your code without leaving the editor when you use CodeLens in Visual Studio Ultimate. For example, you can find references, linked Team Foundation Server (TFS) items, and unit tests—all in the same context as your code. See Find code changes and other history with CodeLens Visualize the call stack while debugging by creating code maps from the code window or call stack window. See Map methods on the call stack while debugging in Visual Studio Diagnose ASP.NET web apps in deployment Monitor ASP.NET web apps locally for exception and performance events with Microsoft Monitoring Agent, either alone or with System Center 2012. You can record these events to an IntelliTrace log so that you can investigate these problems further in Visual Studio Ultimate and go to the deployed code when you start debugging from specific events. See Set up your release to diagnose problems after deployment and What's New for System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager. Diagnose SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013 applications in deployment Record diagnostic events from SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013 applications with Microsoft Monitoring Agent. You can save user profile events, Unified Logging System (ULS) events, and IntelliTrace events to an IntelliTrace log so that you can investigate these problems further in Visual Studio Ultimate and start debugging from specific events with IntelliTrace. See Set up your release to diagnose problems after deployment and Debug Your App with IntelliTrace Log (.iTrace) Files.
	What’s new in testing Cloud-based load testing sets up virtual machines for your load tests so that you don’t have to use your time or resources to do this. Lightweight browser-based test management and execution help you improve quality in software projects. Test plan creation. Full test suite management. Full test case authoring including shared steps and Parameters support. Execution of test cases, including inline editing capabilities during execution. Unit test Windows Store apps and run Windows Store unit tests in Team Build. Coded UI testing now supports Windows Store apps using XAML and Internet Explorer 11 with 100% zoom. Test Windows Store apps running on a remote device using manual tests or exploratory test sessions. Install and configure agents more easily for Lab Management for Visual Studio 2012. Include SCVMM 2012 and clustered Hyper-V hosts in Lab Management for Visual Studio 2012. To get started, see Plan Manual Tests using Team Web Access.
	What’s new in deployment Improve the process of managing the release of your app. Deploy your app to a specific environment for each separate stage. Manage the steps in the process with approvals for each step. To get started, see Automate deployments with Release Management.
	What’s new in TFS installation and administration TFS ships with SharePoint Foundation 2013. TFS supports the next wave of Microsoft server products, including Windows Server and SQL Server. Schedule automatic backup and restore activities through the TFS Administration Console.