In this challenge you will create an Azure DevOps account, invite users, set up a project and create a team with your colleagues. If you need help check out the 📘 hints for this challenge. If an Azure DevOps account and an Azure account has already been set up for you, skip the corresponding steps.
Think of Azure DevOps as an integrated solution to support you throughout development and deployment of software. It covers a lot of tasks which typically can be found in distributed tools in a central place which can make your live easier but which also allows easy combination of artifacts and data and simplifies maintainance.
- An Azure DevOps Account is reflected by an URL like dev.azure.com/mycompany. For huge companies it can make sense to have multiple Azure DevOps accounts. Often a single Azure DevOps Account is sufficient as one account can be used for a huge number of Team Projects.
- A Team Project is created within an Azure DevOps Account and is used to wrap all kind of artifacts which somehow are related - e.g. for development of a single software solution. Sharing artifacts across Team Projects is limited.
- A Team Project can host an unlimited number of Source Code repositories, work items for work planning, build and release definitions etc.
- A Team Project can host several teams - a number of persons working on a specific set of tasks. It is possible to put a single person into mutlipe teams.
- A Team Project is always based on a process template - a definition of what working in this Team Project looks like. A process templates defines e.g. whether a "bug" is called "bug", "issue" or "defect" and which states it can take.
- Ideally a Team Project is connected with Azure Active Directory which eases user management.
- Azure DevOps is not limited in the kind of applications you want to create - it works with any kind of source code, can trigger builds and deployments from and to Linux, Windows and Mac OS (and others) and supports working with containers and all kinds of clouds.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Create a Microsoft Account on https://signup.live.com/ | 3 |
| 2. | Create a Free Microsoft Azure Account on https://azure.microsoft.com/de-de/free/ | 3 |
| 3. | Create an Azure DevOps account on http://dev.azure.com | 3 |
| 5. | Give your colleagues access to your account and an appropriate security level | 5 |
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | Create a Team Project called RedBlueTeamProject within your Azure DevOps account | 3 |
| 8. | Create a team named "Team Blue" within your Team Project and invite your colleagues | 5 |
| # | Bonus Goal | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Create another team named "Team Red" within your Team Project and invite some colleagues | 10 |
In this challenge, you will set up version control, upload code and configure policies. If you need help check out the 📘 Version Control Hints.
You probably are alread working with Version Control today. Maybe you're using Git already - but maybe it's hosted in GitLab, GitHub, Bitbucket or in another system. These existing external systems could be integrated, however Azure DevOps supports working with Git directly as well. After this challenge you'll have set up a Git repository in Azure DevOps which can be accessed from Git clients (e.g. git.exe). You'll also learn how to create some policies around Git in Azure DevOps and enforce the pull request workflow.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Create a new Git repository in your Team Project | 10 |
| 2. | Import our sample repository found here (https://github.com/AndreasM009/devops-partsunlimited) to your new VSTS Repository | 10 |
| 3. | Modify your repo to require a pull request to merge code into your master branch | 10 |
| 4. | Modify your repo to require a Work Item linked to a pull request | 10 |
| 5. | Configure your repo to require at least one of your colleagues as approver | 10 |
| 6. | Create a new Branch. Check it out and modify code locally changing the displayed Name of the Demo Website. Commit the change, then initiate and complete a pull request. Link a work item and follow the review process. | 10 |
| # | Bonus Goal | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Investigate the history of the file committed following the trace from the work item | 10 |
| - | (With several teammembers:) Create a merge conflict on purpose and solve it | - |
| 2. | Integrate an external Git Repository (e.g. hosted on GitHub) and wire it up for CI | - |
| - | Discuss: What would be an appropriate code flow & branching stratgey in Git? | - |
| - | Discuss: What are the main differentiators between TFVS and Git? | - |
| 3. | Revisite this Challenge after you have successfully created a Build definition and change the Branch Policie to also require a successful build. Create a Pull Request to see it working. | 10 |
In this challenge, you will set up a build definition for your project and configure it for continuous integration. If you need help check out the 📘 Build Configuration Hints.
After this challenge you'll have a system set up where you can trigger a new build with every code change on a specific branch. This is the first step towards a full Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. You'll learn how to modify build definitions, how to set triggers and how to add tasks which gives you a basic understanding of configuration options for Azure DevOps. If you're working with CI already you might have set up a similar definition already in another tool like Jenkins or Bamboo. While it's always possible to trigger external systems or to integrate steps to activate e.g. Jenkins, in this challenge you'll set up a definition for usage of cloud builds orchestrated via Azure DevOps.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a new build definition "CI Build" | 10 |
| 1 | Configure your build definition to build the ASP.NET Core website. Choose Hosted Linux Preview as agent or add make sure your agent has the correct .NET SDK installed. (2.0.0 should work!) | 10 |
| 1 | Modify your build definiton for CI - so set the trigger to build with every new push to the master branch | 10 |
| 1 | Clone your build definition, call the clone "PR Build" and set the trigger to Pull Request (see Branch Policies) | 10 |
| 1 | Modify your source code locally, push the code, trigger a PR and follow the Pipeline in the UI. You will be able to see the build output realtime-like. | 10 |
| 1 | Add another Build Task to copy the ARM-Templates to make them accessible for the release definitions. Use "Publish Build Artifacts" task. | 10 |
| # | Bonus Goal | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a private build agent (e.g. on your local machine or any VM) and spin it up so it is connected to your account. (You can find the required agent application in your Azure DevOps portal for download). | 10 |
| 1 | Modify your CI build to create a work item on failure. | 10 |
In this challenge, you will release your application to Azure. If you need help check out the 📘 Release Management Hints.
After this challenge you'll be able to deploy the sample application to an environment hosted in the cloud automatically. You'll be able to target different environments based on a single configuration so that you avoid inconsistencies between dev, test and production environments. You'll be using "infrastructure as code" approaches to specify the required infrastructure - in this case you'll be using ARM (Azure Resource Manager) templates. Maybe you have a similar system running today which might be based on e.g. Chef, Puppet, Octopus. While - again - it's possible to integrate those tools this challenge will help you learn about the integrated automation in Azure DevOps.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a release definition which will be triggered automatically after a successful build of "CI build". Hint: Use the Azure Resource Group Deployment Task | 30 |
| 1 | Add a task to deploy the required infrastructure on Azure. Use the ARM Template provided in /env/Templates/FullEnvironmentSetupMerged.json and also use the provided parameters file in the same folder. Overwrite the parameters as required. Make sure you're using globally unique values by e.g. adding a random string at the end. Otherwise you might run into collisions. (See hints.) | 10 |
| 1 | Modify your release definition to deploy your application. Use task "Azure Deploy App Service". Use your the name of your website as App Service Name. Pick to deploy to slot "Dev". Hint: You can use variables for the values provided. Typically you'd work with values provided by a dropdown list. In our case those values might not exisit yet, so we have to provide them manually. | 10 |
| 1 | Modify your code locally, push the code and watch the pipeline. | 10 |
| 1 | After a successful release investigate the information in the release's overview - see how you can navigate between releases, corresponding builds, source code artifacts, pull request and related work items via linked items. | 10 |
| 1 | Create another release environment which deploys to another deployment slot. | 10 |
| # | Bonus Goal | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Add a 3rd deployment slot called "Test" by modifiying your ARM template accordingly. | 50 |
In this challenge, you will leran how to use ApplicationInsights to monitor your application. If you need help check out the 📘 Application Monitoring.
ApplicationInsights is a Monitoring tool that is integrated in your application. After this challenge you will have learned about how to monitor your application using ApplicationInsights in the Azure Portal. You will have learned how to add custom telemetry to ApplicationInsights.
| # | Achievment | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Go to the Azure portal and explore telemtry in your ApplicationInsight instance | 2 |
| 2. | Go to live metrics, browse your website and explore the genreated data | 2 |
| 3. | Go to ServiceMap and explore the available data | 3 |
| 4. | Collect telemtry about search time in SearchController.cs using custom events | 5 |
In this challenge, you will configure Azure DevOps to trace and plan your work. If you need help check out the 📘 Process Customization Hints and 📘 WorkItem Management Hints plus the 📘 Dashboard customization Hints.
Azure DevOps brings Work Management in a default way and very often it is not necessary to do customization. After this challenge you will have learned about how to customize some areas of work management in Azure DevOps. You'll be creating a new process template which could be shared across projects. This new templates will include new hierachy levels of work. You'll also modify some of the display options of work and learn about linkning work items and using the dashboard.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Create a custom process template called "RedBlueAgileTemplate" based on agile template | 10 |
| 2. | Create new Portfolio Backlog Levels "Scenario" and "Vision" | 10 |
| 3. | Create a new Work Item Type "Scenario" and make it the default WorkItem for the Backlog Level "Scenario" do the same for "Vision". | 10 |
| 4. | Modify your team project to inherit from this template. | 10 |
| 5. | Customize your board to display items which are done in green + also display Epics | 10 |
| 5.1 | Create a style rule to display Items which have not been moved for 7 days in red | 10 |
| 6. | Create sample work items with releationships (e.g. parent/child). Create them in a hierarchical manner. Start at Feature / Epic level or higher and build up the whole tree down to Task level. | 10 |
| 7. | Link work items, view history | 10 |
| 8. | Modify dashboard to show Reports & Stats | 10 |
| 9. | Modify dashboard to show team members, your current workitems, nr of bugs | 10 |
| # | Bonus Goal | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Add a few styling rules to your board highlighting important Items ( e.g. Bugs or Items with a special Tag) | 10 |
| 2. | Add a custom state Testing in your Work Item | 10 |
| 3. | Add a custom field 'Coffee consumed in liters' on your work item | 10 |
| 4. | Customize your board to display Id, owner and the value of your new custom field | 10 |
Congrats! You've passed the essential challenges. Now take a step back, relax and explore: Azure DevOps automatically combines all the information you provide - see if you can find an easy way to figure out which features have been implemented newly in your latest release compared to the release 2 releases ago?
Take your time to explore Azure DevOps and all the other options available - whether it's Wiki or the Test Hub. If you have some time left, here are even more challenges.
In this challenge, you will integrate automated tests into your application. If you need help check out the 📘 Auto Test Hints.
After this challenge you'll be running a test on your newly deployed application whenever it's been updated.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create an automated performance test for the start page of your website which will be executed after deploying to environment "Dev". Configure it to simulate 100 users over 2 minutes. Configure it to fail if response times are larger then 5 seconds. Hint: There's a task which will help you. | 10 |
| # | Bonus Goal | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a (multi-step) cloud based load test for your website which will be executed after release to test environment.Use the loadtest provided. | 10 |
| 1 | Visual Studio users only: Use VS to record a new webtest and use it during release. | 10 |
In this challenge, you will create a pipeline for container deployment. If you need help check out the 📘 Container Hints.
| # | Achievement | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dockerize your application" by creating a Dockerfile for it. You don't have to have Docker installed to create a Dockerfile. In doubt, check the hints file. | 10 |
| 1 | In Azure Portal create an Azure Container Registry. | 10 |
| 1 | Create a new build definition in Azure DevOps for your application which creates a container image. | 10 |
| 1 | Extend your pipeline to automatically deploy your image into your container registry. | 10 |
| 1 | If you have Docker installed, run the image locally and pull it from your Azure Registry. | 10 |
| 1 | Running a container locally is rather boring. Run your container image as an Azure Container Instance manually on a managed container platform. | 10 |