Storyboard your ideas for free

Update (April 2016): Microsoft has released Office Integration 2015 Update 2.

With the recent release of Team Foundation Server Update 1, Microsoft has enabled all users to create storyboards in PowerPoint for free. This means that even stakeholders (VSTS/TFS users that don’t need a license) can now also create storyboards in PowerPoint without a Visual Studio license as well.

This capability is provided by the Team Foundation Server Office Integration 2015 Update 1, which includes a standalone Office integration installer that provides Excel integration, Project integration, and the PowerPoint-based storyboarding tool.

Here are the steps to make this happen:

1. Add the user to the team project.
2. Make that user a stakeholder.
3. Install PowerPoint 2007 or later.
4. Install TFS Office Integration 2015 Update 1.

Happy storyboarding, but remember these two agile values: “individuals and interactions over process and tools” and “working software over comprehensive documentation”