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.  🙂