what are the best distributed development methodologies for sharepoint

Question

Let's say we have some distributed developers in different countries working on the same sharepoint project.

Problems that they might face including (but not limited to):

1. webparts deployment & debugging which doesn't work anywhere but the server.
2. how can they apply source control over created sharepoint pages and other resources.
3. Source control over Visual studio solutions.
4. accessing the designer, central admin. ....

are there any guides, best practices for such scenario?

Answer 1

You want to use the TFS - Team Foundation Server 2010. Perfect for distributed development and covers all your 4 points. However point 4 is a standard Sharepoint feature and you only need to set permissions for the central admin / Sharepoint Designer.

The Team Foundation Server integrates seamlessly with your Visual Studio Development environment and you can even have a build server, so your integration environment is always up-to-date.

Also take note for debugging: You can make use of remote debugging, so even your offshore developers will be able to debug on the server (or use remote desktop).

Microsoft: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010