Azure DevOps: 3 tips to organise work items using standard functionality This blog post was authored by Kelsey Dario - Senior Manager, Business Application Solutions on Protiviti's technology insights blog.To effectively manage software development projects, it’s crucial to organise work items efficiently. Proper organisation not only boosts productivity but also enhances collaboration among team members. Microsoft Azure DevOps (ADO) is a powerful platform that allows teams to plan, develop, test and deliver software with efficiency and precision. Whether leveraging ADO for ongoing production support, optimisation and enhancements of the ERP environment or an implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365), there are often many users working in the tool. Collaboration is one of the main drivers of leveraging ADO. Key benefits include elimination of lost communication via email, more advanced search features and ease of migrating tested and approved code. But like many technologies, the tool is only as good as the structure and discipline of the user base. Here are three features of the tool that support a well-organised ADO environment. Topics Technology Enablement TagsThe tag feature is arguably the most underrated within the ADO tool. The benefit is high if the development team is leveraging tags appropriately. The Protiviti team leverages tags to find quick responses to questions from leadership on project progress within key areas. A tag in ADO is a short, key word phrase that can be created quickly and leveraged for anything unique to the development team’s needs. Good examples include a priority identifier for features that are required versus nice-to-have, release identifier or custom object identifier (report or integration).If tags are consistently used, the SCRUM master or development team creates corresponding queries to see a list of work items that have been tagged in a certain way. The team can then quickly follow up on work items in a specific category or provide insight into counts of work items. Pro tip: Leverage the query tile on the ADO dashboard functionality to show a count of work items that are tagged in a certain way.TeamsA team in ADO should represent a group of people focused on a specific product, feature or service. The granularity of the team will greatly depend on the purpose of an ADO project. For example, during ongoing production support, the team structure aligns with the IT team structure supporting the business users. In many organisations, this may be one team that supports the overall ERP environment corresponding to one team in ADO. During implementation projects, Protiviti leverages teams to align with the various workstreams of the larger project or program. The team structure may be as follows: Protiviti functional development team, client functional development team and data migration team. Functional teams include developers or functional leads responsible for configuration of the D365 environment and development of custom code. If the client is taking on any of this responsibility, creating a separate ADO team allows division of work into separate backlogs for status reporting.The team structure in ADO is especially important when considering how standups, backlogs and status reporting should be represented. Several standard widgets within the dashboard reporting (sprint burndown, sprint velocity, sprint capacity) rely on team setup. Key ADO ‘boards’ such as the Kanban board and backlog also can be filtered by the ADO team rather than reviewed at the project level. This filtering allows SCRUM Masters to lead a more targeted standup for their individual SCRUM teams.Area pathArea path functionality is designed to allow for more granular reporting on work effort within an ADO project. At a minimum, the area path setup should align with the defined team structure. To optimise the use of this feature, Protiviti recommends aligning area paths with products or business areas being supported. SCRUM masters may align ADO area path with a module in the D365 environment to better report on work items related to a particular process area or module. Alternatively, to track work effort on various Microsoft products (Power Automate, D365 and Power BI) use the area path to filter and report on progress by each product. Area path can be quickly leveraged in queries and dashboards, making for seamless reporting on work item progress at a more granular level than project. Effectively organising work items in Azure DevOps is essential for successful project management. By using standard functionality like iterations, area paths and customisation options, it is possible to streamline workflow, enhance collaboration and keep development projects on track. Whether managing a small team or a large enterprise project, these tips will help make the most of Azure DevOps for organising work items efficiently.ADO is a very powerful tool when leveraged appropriately. There are a number of functions and capabilities that allow the tool to aggregate and separate information. The key here is understanding what the end looks like and the different ways to consolidate and disseminate information. When determining how to leverage the ADO features, it is important to think with the end in mind, knowing that “if it can’t be reported, it didn’t happen.”Read the results of our 2023 Global IT Executive Survey: The Innovation vs. Technical Debt Tug-of-War.To learn more about our Microsoft consulting solutions, contact us. Find out more about our solutions: Microsoft Consulting Solutions Protiviti is a Managed, Microsoft Cloud Solutions Partner with proficiency in all 6 designations: Modern Work, Security, Data and AI, Infrastructure, Digital and Application Innovation and Business Applications. Leadership David Kissane David is a managing director and Protiviti’s global enterprise cloud solution lead. His primary focus is driving the growth and implementation of our cloud services across the globe. David has over 22 years’ experience across a variety of industries and senior IT ... Learn More Featured insights BLOGS Building a Business Case for Copilot for Microsoft 365 – A Game-Changer for Business Efficiency With the rapid rise in artificial intelligence (AI) tools, companies are updating technologies and processes as quickly as budgets allow. Industries are transforming rapidly as the drivers for economic growth are evolving. BLOGS Improving Financial Services’ Efficiency with Copilot for Microsoft 365 In an era of rapid technological advancement, businesses are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance productivity, streamline processes and improve decision-making. One such tool making waves in the financial services sector... BLOGS Unlocking Agile Insights: Building Automated Burndown Charts with Microsoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI In the fast-paced world of software development, staying ahead of the curve requires more than just coding prowess. Agile methodologies have emerged to provide a structured framework for teams to navigate the ever-changing landscape. BLOGS Building an Accessibility Culture with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Organisations across the U.S. recognise the criticality of accessibility for both consumers and employees. This concern dates to the early 2000s, when several well-known brands were targeted by lawsuits that ultimately changed how e-commerce works.... BLOGS Cloud synergy: Microsoft Azure and its relationship to Microsoft 365 As organisations increasingly embrace cloud-based technologies to enhance productivity and efficiency, understanding the dynamic relationship between Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 becomes crucial for maximising their potential. With the power of... BLOGS Microsoft SharePoint Premium simplifies content management and governance Content management involves the creation, organisation, storage and distribution of digital content within an organisation, ranging from documents and images to videos and web pages. One of the biggest problems businesses face with content management... BLOGS 9 common errors to avoid while implementing security in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (D365FO) is a comprehensive ERP solution that empowers businesses to optimise financial management and operational efficiency. With its integrated approach, powerful analytics, scalability and continuous... BLOGS Navigating the GenAI course with Microsoft Copilot Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a hot topic these days, and not just in the IT world. The statistics indicate off-the-charts interest in GenAI’s capabilities, with AI spending predicted to more than double to $300 billion by 2026.... BLOGS Capabilities, limitations of Microsoft’s native SoD tool Segregation of duties (SoD) is a well-known term among auditors and anyone who has ever been audited. SoD is the understanding that no user should have access to two conflicting business functions that would allow a user to commit fraud or error (e.g... BLOGS Creating Read-Only Roles for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management In today’s fast-paced business landscape, organisations rely heavily on robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management to streamline operations and drive growth. However, granting... BLOGS Migrating Security from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management This blog post was authored byJulia Artzi - Consultant, Sarah Guthrie - Senior Consultant, Enterprise Application Solutions onThe Technology Insights Blog. MicrosoftDynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management (D365 F&SCM... Button Button Featured client stories Global Hospitality Company Achieves Efficiencies with Microsoft and Nintex A global hospitality company needed to transition their highly manual process for RFPs to one that was more automated. The need to update their processes was driven by the changes required to address the Covid-19 pandemic, which created a dynamic... Global Retailer Goes Digital: Revitalising Store Operations and Enhancing Community Commitment Protiviti leveraged Microsoft Power BI to help this client transform its operational analytics. We built a user interface that generates analytics every 15 minutes and is easy to use with little training required. From staffing and sales targets to... Intelligent Document Retrieval System, Powered by Responsible AI, Helps Reduce Air Pollution Empower your engineers with responsible AI for efficient air pollution reduction. Our AI solution saves time, money, and reduces manual labor. Global Health Services Company Modernises Data and Applications with Microsoft A global health services company needed to execute on its corporate promise to deliver affordability and convenience to its patients. However, the company discovered that there was a disconnect between that promise and intended delivery. Further... Manufacturer Optimises Supply Chain Analytics With Azure Machine Learning Global Manufacturer optimises supply chain analytics with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning significantly improving its ability to adapt to rapid changes in both processes and cost analyses. Button Button
