Unlocking Agile Insights: Building Automated Burndown Charts with Microsoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI This blog post was authored by Weston Hyman - Consultant, Microsoft Solutions on Protiviti's technology insights blog.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. Yet, given Agile’s emphasis on adaptability and continuous improvement, presenting real-time insights into project progress remains challenging for many teams. This is when the power of building automated burndown charts with Microsoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI truly shines. Topics IT Management, Applications and Transformation Technology Enablement Image Generated screen for reporting mid sprint eight story point burndown progress. Filterable by area path and date. Showing improved story points earned velocity from sprint seven and progress toward project completion.Business benefitsReal-time insights: Automated burndown charts provide business teams with real-time visibility into project progress, enabling them to make informed decisions promptly. With up-to-date data at their fingertips, teams can identify potential bottlenecks, adjust priorities and allocate resources effectively to ensure project success.Improved transparency: By leveraging Microsoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI, business teams can promote transparency across the organisation. Accessible and easy-to-understand burndown charts facilitate open communication, foster collaboration and build trust among team members, stakeholders and leadership.Enhanced predictability: Automated burndown charts enable business teams to forecast project timelines and outcomes more accurately. By tracking trends and historical data, teams can anticipate potential challenges, mitigate risks proactively and optimise their approach to achieve predictable delivery of products and services.Efficient resource allocation: With insights derived from burndown charts, business teams can optimise resource allocation and prioritise tasks effectively. By identifying areas of underutilisation or overcommitment, teams can reallocate resources strategically, streamline workflows and maximise productivity across projects.Data-driven decision making: Leveraging Microsoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI empowers business teams to make data-driven decisions based on key metrics such as velocity, sprint progress and backlog trends.Building automated burndown charts with Microsoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI equips business teams with the tools and insights necessary to optimise project management processes, foster collaboration, and drive business success.Getting startedConnecting Power BI to Microsoft DevOps:Launch Power BI and navigate to the “Get Data” section.Select “Online Services” and choose “Azure DevOps (Boards only)” as the data source.Input the organisation’s URL (e.g., “https://dev.azure.com/organisation-name”) and the project name.Authenticate and connect to the DevOps account to retrieve relevant data.Building a data model:Identify the necessary data entities, such as work items, sprints and team assignments, to include in the data model.Create relationships between different data tables within Power BI to establish connections and enable comprehensive reporting.Define calculated columns and measures to derive additional insights from the data, such as velocity and remaining work.Modeling data for burndown charts:Structure data to support the creation of burndown charts by organising it into relevant categories, such as work items, dates and progress tracking.Calculate key metrics, such as total story points completed and remaining work, to visualise sprint progress accurately.Use data analysis expressions (DAX) formulas to calculate cumulative metrics and forecast trends for informed decision-making.Adding interactive filtering for multiple teams’ needs:Incorporate interactive filtering functionality into the Power BI report to accommodate multiple teams’ needs.Create slicers or dropdown menus that allow users to filter data by team, area path or other relevant criteria.Customise the filtering options to provide a tailored experience for different stakeholders, enabling them to focus on specific subsets of data.Sharing the model through Microsoft Teams:Publish the Power BI report to Power BI Service and configure sharing settings to make it accessible to relevant stakeholders.Embed the Power BI report directly into Microsoft Teams channels or tabs to facilitate easy access and collaboration.Encourage team members to interact with the report, ask questions and provide feedback directly within Teams, fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration.Unlocking valuable insightsMicrosoft DevOps Analytics View and Power BI integration offers organisations a powerful platform to gain insights, drive continuous improvement and elevate their DevOps practices. By leveraging DevOps Analytics View’s comprehensive analytics capabilities and Power BI’s advanced visualisation and analytics features, organisations can unlock valuable insights, optimise DevOps processes and deliver high-quality software faster and more efficiently.To learn more about our Microsoft 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 Shane Silva Shane is an accomplished managing director based in Sydney, leading the data governance and technology assurance practices. With a career spanning more than 16 years in the professional services industry, Shane is recognised for his exceptional expertise and proficiency ... Learn More Ghislaine Entwisle Ghislaine is a managing director and leader in technology consulting and business performance improvement. She has over 20 years of applied experience across strategy, transformation, and delivery, guiding CIOs, CFOs, CDOs and CISOs in transformational initiatives that ... Learn More 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 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 Azure DevOps: 3 tips to organise work items using standard functionality 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... 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