We are happy to announce that TeamLook has support for Outlook 2007.  You can download the newly released TeamLook bits at our Products Download Page. 

If you haven't tried TeamLook yet because you've been enjoying the great new features Outlook 2007, install the Teamlook bits on your machine and take the 90 day trial now!  If you've already purchased TeamLook, you can reuse your license key to activate TeamLook for Outlook 2007.

Thanks for your continued support and feedback.  We love the comments...

I'm always floored by the magnitude of Microsoft's Tech Ed conference.  It's truly amazing!  The keynote is as huge as a Rolling Stones concert, there really are 15,000 people running around, and there really is an INCREDIBLE amount of information in the air.

Today I have gotten a chance to meet people in all kinds of roles from all kinds of different organizations.  At the Personify Booth (#451) I try to reel people in by asking the question: "What role do you play in your team?"  I had considered different strategies for getting people to talk to a company they had never heard of before, but the result of this question turns out to be kind of deep.  People LOVE their roles.  There is SERIOUS PASSION around the way they do their work and the problems or challenges that keep them up at night.  People get their roles and their domain.  In our conversation, we immediately jump into the terminology the role uses, the acronyms, and even the jokes that are typical from each role about the other roles.  This lingo is the source of the tension between the roles.  (It’s what I was talking about in a previous blog post in my JuanJPerez blog)  With Team Foundation Server Work Item Tracking, I can use the existing Work Item Types and as well as customized set of WITs and define the and interact with other people in my team in a prescribed way. 

For example, some of the folks I met today that are IT Managers didn’t believe they were part of the Software Lifecycle.  There seemed to be frustration that was stemmed from the fact that there was no communications channel available for these folks to get, their INCREDIBLY important knowledge about how the software works in the real world, into context for the next iteration of the software project.  The Answer: Use TFS Work Item Tracking to get involved!  It’s unambiguous communications!

With TeamLook, we bring your Team Foundation Servers, Projects, and Work Items into the center of communications: Microsoft Outlook.  This integratoin reduces communications ambiguity and clutter!  Do you get too much email that could have been (or should have been) a TFS work item?  Do you think you’ll ever want to track the evolution of this type of information in the future with Reports? Would you like your team to follow a pattern (fields, form, and workflow) for a specific type of information in your software team?

Use TeamLook and Team Foundation Server Work Item Tracking...

Since November 7, 2004, we've made 6 beta releases of TeamLook.  During this time we've received some incredible feedback from a surprisingly large number of beta users.  Thanks to everyone who submitted exceptions and send written comments on what they expected or desired out of TeamLook experience.  Well, now we're quickly approaching the day we've all been waiting for: The TeamLook Launch at Microsoft TechEd 2006 in Boston.  Some folks from the team will be at the Personify Design booth #451.  Swing by and say hi - we'd love to meet you.

In addition to running the 'Inside TeamLook' blog, I'll also be blogging about other topics including VSTS extensibility and integration, business, software engineering, among other (random) topics.  Check out the blog (and feed) at  http://meet.personifydesign.com/blogs/juanjperez.

My first post is a Podcast, which also happens to be my first podcast:  http://meet.personifydesign.com/blogs/juanjperez/archive/2006/05/16/9.aspx

 

TeamLook bridges the worlds of communications (Microsoft Outlook) and accountability (Microsoft Team Foundation Server Work Item Tracking).  People are the core of every software team and their ability to communicate with other people is critical to the success of every software project.  After all, it's each team member's creativity, contributions, and connection to other team members that makes a team greater than the sum of its parts.

In the 'Inside TeamLook' blog we hope to provide insight on

1. How you can use TeamLook in your organization and realize benefits.
2. How other TeamLook customers use TeamLook.
3. What our thoughts are as we're creating and extending TeamLook.