Reports
TeamLook integrates the Microsoft Team Foundation Server reporting system into Microsoft
Office Outlook 2010. In the TeamLook explorer tree, at the bottom of every project,
there is a "Reports" section, designated by a green notebook. For example as shown
below, with the
MSF for Agile Software Development Process Template there are five default
report types: Bugs, Builds, Dashboards, Project Management, and Tests.
Each category contains a few report types. The reports are automatically generated
graphical interpretations of project data. They can be extremely useful for monitoring
development progress and quality.
The creation of a report requires analysis of all the data within a given project.
This takes time. Be patient once you have selected a report. Impatient attempts
to navigate elsewhere within Microsoft Office Outlook 2010 while a report is loading
can put the program into a non-responsive state. These issues usually will resolve
themselves with time, as your machine catches up with your navigation. If Outlook
is still not responding after a few minutes, restart the program.
These default reports can be modified to meet your specific desires. With a default
report open, you can edit the conditions of the report to fit your demands. Once
you have tailored the report to your needs, click "View Report."
TeamLook gives you the tools to take these Microsoft Team Foundation Server reports
and disseminate them efficiently with Microsoft Office Outlook 2010. Along the top
edge of the report window are buttons to "Create Email," "Create Meeting," "Create
Task," and "Copy To Clipboard."
The create email, meeting, and task functions will open a new message of the selected
type with the project name and report name, separated by a colon, as the subject
line. The report is accessible by a hyperlink in the body of the message. The copy
to clipboard function will allow you to paste that hyperlink wherever you please.
In all of these cases the report that you are linking to will be hosted on the Microsoft
Team Foundation Server. Anyone who has access to the project the report pertains
to will be able to follow the link and view the report in their browser. Linking
to the report in this manner will allow recipients to modify the report by altering
the conditions just like you were able to in TeamLook.
The "Export" tool allows you to publish the report. In the "Select a format" drop-down,
choose from XML, CSV, PDF, MHTML, Excel, TIFF, or Word files. Then click "Export."
The report will be saved in the file type of your choice.
Using the appropriate program, you may publish it as you see fit. Reports published
in this manner will be modifiable in ways specific to the file type. The recipient
will not be able to adjust the report parameters like with the reports linked to
by the create and copy tools.
Additional Topics
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