Azure Boards: Getting Started

Create Your First User Story

User Stories are typically used to capture requirements from the perspective of an end-user. They follow a simple format:

As a <user role>, I want <goal> so that <reason/benefit>.

To create one:

1. Navigate to your Azure DevOps project.
2. Go to Boards > Backlogs.
3. Click the + New Work Item button.
4. Select User Story from the dropdown.
5. Fill in the Title and Description fields using the standard format.
6. Click Save.

Define Your Workflow with Columns

Your Kanban or Task board visualizes your workflow. By default, Azure Boards provides columns like "New", "Active", and "Done". You can customize these to match your team's process.

To customize columns:

1. Navigate to Boards > Boards.
2. Click the settings gear icon (⚙️) in the top right corner of the board.
3. Select Board configuration.
4. In the Columns tab, you can add, rename, reorder, or delete columns to represent your workflow stages (e.g., "Analysis", "Development", "Testing", "Deployed").
5. Click Save.

Track Progress by Moving Cards

As work progresses, team members can drag and drop work item cards across the columns on the board. This provides an immediate visual indicator of status.

For example, when a developer starts working on a User Story, they would drag its card from "New" to "Active". When it's ready for testing, it moves to "Testing", and so on.

Use the Task Board for Sprint Planning

If your team uses Scrum, the Task board (found under Boards > Taskboard) is invaluable. It allows you to break down User Stories into smaller, manageable Tasks.

For each User Story, you can add Tasks, estimate effort (e.g., using hours or story points), and assign them to team members. The Task board then shows the status of these individual tasks within the sprint.