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I want to ask you a very simple Question "What is the difference between the Agile, Scrum and CMMI TFS process templates from a developers point of view"..

I am creating a project in Team Foundation Server and it is asking me to chose a Project Template.

I have different options, but I am wondering how it is going to affect my development if I choose MSF for Agile Software devlopment or Scrum.

As a Layman developer, please tell me the difference between these templates. Your answer should be focused on "As a developer, what is the diference I am going to feel"

Dave Hillier
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user2739679
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  • Changed the title to better reflect what you're intending. Agile, Scrum and CMMI have very different meanings. In fact, you can be doing all three at once! The TFS templates dont represent the really meaning of the words. – Dave Hillier Sep 05 '13 at 10:09
  • [read this answer](http://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/a/251319/6481), you might understand them all much better after that. – balexandre Mar 12 '17 at 11:51

2 Answers2

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The process template defines the set of work item types and reports that you will use to plan and track your project

Here is all the documentation you need. It cannot be described better in "Layman developer" terms.

Chances are you don't use the tools that are affected by the process templates provided by TFS.

Link updated for TFS 2017 & Team Services

DdW
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j7m
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    This documents the differences but doesn't really provide any guidance in making a choice beyond that. E.g. "If you are working alone, you probably want x, but if you work in a small team y, or z is best." Or perhaps there are communities which are more likely to use one type over the others? Or other reasons to choose one... – James Newton Oct 14 '15 at 19:01
  • The link posted in the answer is not valid anymore. Needs to be adjusted. – Imaya Kumar May 12 '17 at 19:44
  • Link is updated – DdW Jun 12 '17 at 07:23
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http://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2011/february/implementing-scrum-(agile)-and-cmmi%C2%AE-together

Apparently CMMI is a more general set of software engineering rules, of which agile methods would be considered a subset, and scrum is a specific popular implementation of that subset, and this is reflected in the templates as well.

Also take a look at Difference between VS2010 Scrum v1.0 vs MSF for Agile software development v5.0 or the latter is the superset? from which one can come to the conclusion again as said above.

You can see this in the wizards definition:

  • For The Scrum Template:
        -"This template is for teams who follow the Scrum methodology and use Scrum terminology."

  • For The MSF Agile Template:
        -"This template is flexible and will work great for most teams using Agile planning methods, including those practicing Scrum."

  • For the CMMI Template:
        -"This template is for more formal projects requiring a framework for process improvement and an auditable record of decisions."

Community
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yoel halb
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  • The question is asking about the meaning of these process templates in Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS), not the methodologies in general. – nobody Jun 25 '14 at 20:00
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    @AndrewMedico the OP claimed in his question "Your answer should be focused on As a developer, what is the diference I am going to feel" and that is what I answered, to elaborate more take a look on the original non-edited question on http://stackoverflow.com/posts/18631900/revisions and then you will more appreciate how my answer fits into. – yoel halb Jun 25 '14 at 20:03
  • Basically the OP does not ask on the difference between templates but in the underlying methodology difference and how it will affect him in the long run – yoel halb Jun 25 '14 at 20:04