Catch my Point

During the SharePoint Server solution development process, establish an authoring environment where the following is possible:

• Content developers can use SharePoint Designer to create and modify content (master pages, custom pages, style sheets, and so on) within a mirrored site collection that actually represents the production environment.
• Authoring activities make use of SharePoint source control and publication features.
• Content developers have the ability to modify the existing production environment and conduct publication using a content management path to the production Web farm.
• A production-class environment is provided by the authoring environment, such that all assemblies, Web Parts, SharePoint Server solutions, and structural changes that are deployed to the production Web farm are also deployed to the authoring environment.
• The authoring environment can exist within the production environment as the SharePoint Server Web content publication feature provides a level of abstraction between proposed changes to content and approved changes.
• From a team perspective, the shared authoring environment is more effective than individually separate authoring environments.
• SharePoint Designer artifacts do not need to be integrated with enterprise source control.
• Enterprise source control (such as Team Foundation Server) should be used strictly for assembly development in a team environment, while the effort to integrate content management items into source control is not a supported process.
• Attempts to integrate items into enterprise source control that are considered SharePoint Designer content items and part of content development require extensive workarounds involving manual processes and procedures.
• Items built into SharePoint Designer as content are subject to the Web publication process of source control, approval, and publication.

Use content management paths to publish SharePoint Designer changes to production environments. Source http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb428899.aspx