MS-1846 - Microsoft Solutions Framework Essentials

Course MS-1846

Introduction
Audience
At Course Completion
Prerequisites
Microsoft Certified Professional Exams
Student Materials
Course Outline
 

Introduction

This three-day, instructor-led course provides an introduction to the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). These key elements include the MSF Team and Process models as well as the Risk Management, Project Management, and Readiness Management Disciplines. The course utilizes a combination of presentation lectures and hands-on activities.

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Audience

The primary audience for this course is IT project professionals who are responsible for planning, building, and deploying Microsoft solutions. These IT project professionals include Microsoft customers and partners, and Microsoft Consulting Services.

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At Course Completion

After completing this course, students will be able to:

• Explain how an improved solution strategy can alleviate the challenges to delivering technology solutions.
• Describe how the MSF team model is used on an MSF project.
• Discuss the concept of MSF role clusters.
• Explain how MSF teams are scaled, depending on project size and complexity.
• Explain project management on MSF teams.
• Explain how the risk management discipline is applied to an MSF project.
• Explain the MSF envisioning phase.
• Explain how to ensure that the solution meets initial business goals and requirements.
• Describe how the team plans what to build.
• Explain the MSF developing phase.
• Explain the MSF stabilizing phase.
• Describe the tasks involved in testing and piloting a solution.
• Explain the MSF deploying phase.
• Describe the tasks involved in deploying to a production environment.
• Describe the tasks involved in completing a project.

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Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

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Microsoft Certified Professional Exams

This course will help students prepare for:

• Exam 74-100: MSF Practitioner Endorsement Exam

Note: This exam does not form part of the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) program. Candidates who pass this exam will receive a certificate recognizing their achievement, but the exam will not appear on the MCP Transcript.

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Student Materials

The student kit includes a comprehensive workbook and other necessary materials for this class.

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Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to the Microsoft Solutions Framework

This module:

• Discusses the characteristics of today's business environment that affect IT.
• Suggests some of the ways in which IT can help businesses meet its goals.
• Explains some of the factors that get in the way of successful IT projects.
• Describes where IT must direct its attention to make its projects more effective.
• Demonstrates how MSF meshes with the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF).

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain the purpose and key characteristics of MSF.
• Describe when and why MSF is used.
• Define key MSF terminology.
• Explain how improved solution strategy can alleviate the challenges to delivering technology solutions.
• Identify how the problems of a failed IT project could have been solved if MSF had been applied.

Module 2: Building an MSF Team

This module:

• Discusses some of the typical problems with challenged or failing projects.
• Demonstrates how the basic goals for successful projects contain the remedies for common project failures.
• Explains how the MSF foundational principles guide the functioning of the team.
• Presents the MSF Team Model.
• Discusses role clusters and functional areas.
• Identifies ways to scale up teams.
• Introduces feature teams and function teams.
• Defines project management and its several areas of responsibility.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Describe the purposes and goals of each team member on an MSF project.
• Identify a role cluster's tasks, responsibilities, and functional areas.
• Explain how to organize an MSF team with a specific number of participants.
• Identify the six quality goals that drive the team and define the team model.
• List the characteristics of effective teams.
• Explain how MSF teams can be scaled up or down depending on need.
• Explain how project management is distributed among team leads on an MSF project.
• Describe the benefits provided to the team through the project management discipline.

Module 3: Managing Project Risks

This module explains how the risk management discipline is applied to an MSF project and describes the six steps in the MSF risk management process.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain how the risk management discipline is applied to an MSF project.
• Describe the six steps in the MSF risk management process.

Module 4: Establishing Your Project Life Cycle

This module introduces the MSF process model. In addition, it explains how the MSF team model relates to the MSF process model.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Describe the five phases of the MSF process model and their major milestones.
• Describe how the MSF team model relates to the MSF process model.

Module 5: Starting Your Project

This module focuses on the envisioning phase, the first of the five process model phases.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain the goal, milestones, and deliverables of the MSF envisioning phase.
• Discuss the considerations for selecting and preparing a project team.
• Identify and describe the recommended elements of a vision and scope document.
• Explain MSF techniques for managing solution scope.
• Explain how change control and configuration management are used to maintain traceability to business goals.

Module 6: Planning Your Project

This module focuses on the planning phase, the second of the five process model phases.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain the goal, milestones, and deliverables of the MSF planning phase.
• Describe how MSF uses three different design views to support one solution.
• Identify how the master project plan and its respective project plans guide the team on how to build the solution.
• Describe the success criteria for the MSF planning phase.

Module 7: Developing Your Solution

This module focuses on the developing phase, the third of the five process model phases.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain the goal, milestones, and deliverables of the MSF developing phase.
• Explain the goal, process, and output of testing during the developing phase of an MSF project.

Module 8: Stabilizing Your Solution

This module focuses on the stabilizing phase, the fourth of the five process model phases.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain the MSF Stabilizing Phase.
• Describe the tasks involved in testing and piloting a solution.

Module 9: Deploying Your Solution

This module focuses on the deploying phase, the fifth of the five process model phases. This is the phase where the team executes a plan and gets the solution into production.

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Explain the goal, milestones, and deliverables of the MSF deploying phase.
• Describe the steps for deploying the solution to a production environment.
• Describe the recommended activities involved in completing a project.

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