A new version of the Branching guidance has been released (III), containing very good stuff on how to do branching. It includes labs, sketches and how-to’s.
See http://tfsbranchingguideiii.codeplex.com/
One of my favorites is the diagram poster shown below which I’ve used to explain the different branching strategies, and I find this very useful and easy to explain. You’ll find it in one of the tabs of the Visio file included in the download package.
Or you can pick off a lower res image from below:
For most purposes the basic branch plan is more than enough. I often also see it with only Main and Feature branches, typical for “one of a kind”-type of systems.
