Visual Studio Team Services (aka VSTS) is the online\cloud hosted version of Team Foundation Server. There are some differences\benefits between the 2 which Buck Hodges clearly explains here.
Microsoft offers free access to VSTS for smaller teams. (5 users) This free access will allow you to get a pretty good handle on the VSTS online tool and its features. I must say I am thoroughly impressed. I have been a TFS user since the 2005 days and appreciate how far the tool has come.
So, after playing around with the tool I started pondering the idea of using it to help plan family tasks every week/month. By doing this, my family could get exposure to task boards, burn-down charts, stories, etc… So without even knowing it, they would be learning the ways of Scrum.
Below is a quick mock up of a family task board for an April iteration.
VSTS offers the ability to setup notifications and also allows you report off of past tasks. I can see both of these coming in handy.
You can also get VSTS on your mobile device, although I would consider this app useless for this family project. Seems to be geared for a PM or manager.
If I decide to give VSTS a try for family planning, I will be sure to provide the results here. 🙂