Azure DevOps Dashboards

Overview

Dashboards provide a customizable canvas for visualizing key metrics and work items from your Azure DevOps projects. With built‑in widgets and the ability to add custom extensions, teams can create a single view that reflects development health, delivery progress, and business outcomes.

Creating a New Dashboard

  1. Navigate to Boards → Dashboards in your Azure DevOps project.
  2. Click New dashboard in the top‑right corner.
  3. Enter a name, select a team, and choose Make this the default dashboard for the team if desired.
  4. Click Create to open the canvas.
New Dashboard screen

Adding and Configuring Widgets

Widgets are the building blocks of a dashboard. Azure DevOps includes a gallery of pre‑built widgets such as charts, query results, and build pipelines.

  • Chart widget: Visualize work item trends over time.
  • Build health widget: Show the status of recent builds.
  • Markdown widget: Add rich text, images, or links.

To add a widget:

  1. Click Add a widget ➜ Browse marketplace or select from the Popular widgets list.
  2. Drag the widget onto the canvas.
  3. Configure the widget settings (data source, filters, visualization type).
Widget configuration

Managing Dashboard Permissions

Control who can view or edit dashboards by setting permissions at the team or project level.

Project Settings → Permissions → Dashboard

Assign roles such as Reader, Contributor, or Administrator to ensure data security and proper governance.

Best Practices

  • Keep dashboards focused—limit to 5–7 widgets for clarity.
  • Use consistent color schemes to align with your organization’s branding.
  • Refresh data intervals appropriately—avoid overly frequent updates that can impact performance.
  • Leverage markdown widgets for contextual information and links to detailed reports.

Resources

Official Documentation Marketplace Widgets