Tracking Work Items with Azure Boards

Azure Boards is a powerful suite of Agile tools that helps teams plan, track, and discuss work across the entire lifecycle of an application. This tutorial will guide you through the fundamental concepts and practical steps for effectively tracking work items.

Figure 1: An overview of various work item types in Azure Boards.

Understanding Work Item Types

Azure Boards uses different types of work items to represent various units of work. Common types include:

User Story: Describes a feature or functionality from an end-user perspective.
Bug: Represents a defect or issue found in the software.
Task: A specific piece of work required to complete a User Story or Bug.
Epic: A large body of work that can be broken down into smaller User Stories.
Feature: A service or business capability that can be delivered to users.

The specific work item types available may vary depending on the process template you are using (e.g., Agile, Scrum, CMMI).

Creating and Managing Work Items

You can create work items directly from the Azure Boards interface. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Navigate to Boards

From your Azure DevOps project, select Boards from the left-hand navigation pane, then choose Work Items.

Step 2: Add a New Work Item

Click on the New Work Item button. A dropdown will appear allowing you to select the type of work item you want to create (e.g., User Story, Bug).

Step 3: Fill in the Details

Once you've selected a work item type, a form will appear. Fill in the relevant fields, including:

Title: A concise description of the work item.
Description: More detailed information, acceptance criteria, or context.
Assigned To: Assign the work item to a team member.
State: Track the current status (e.g., New, Active, Resolved, Closed).
Priority: Indicate the urgency of the work item.

Other fields like Area, Iteration Path, and Tags are crucial for organization and reporting.

Step 4: Save the Work Item

Click the Save button to create the work item. You can also use Save & Close if you are finished.

Using the Backlog and Boards

Azure Boards provides two primary views for managing work items:

Backlog: A prioritized list of all work items. You can drag and drop items to reorder them and set their priority.
Boards: A Kanban-style board where you can visualize the flow of work. Columns represent different stages of your workflow, and you can move work items between columns to update their status.

Configuring Your Board

You can customize your board to match your team's workflow:

Go to Boards > Boards.
Click the gear icon (Configure team settings) in the upper right corner.
Here you can define columns, specify mapping between states and columns, and set swimlanes.

Linking Work Items

Linking work items helps establish relationships and understand dependencies. Common link types include:

Parent/Child: To break down larger initiatives (e.g., Epic > Feature > User Story).
Related: To connect items that are associated but not hierarchical.
Blocks/Blocked By: To indicate dependencies where one item prevents another from progressing.
Duplicates: To mark identical work items.

To link items, open a work item, scroll down to the Development or Related Work section, and click Add link.

Querying Work Items

Azure Boards allows you to create powerful queries to find specific work items. This is invaluable for reporting and analysis.

Navigate to Work Items > Queries. You can use the query editor to build complex queries based on fields, operators, and values.

Example Query: "My Open Tasks"


AND @Status = 'Active'
AND Assigned To = @Me
AND Work Item Type = 'Task'

Best Practices for Tracking

Keep titles concise and clear.
Provide detailed acceptance criteria in the description.
Assign work items promptly.
Regularly update the state of work items.
Utilize tags and links for better organization.
Regularly review your backlog and boards.