Portfolio and Analytics

Say goodbye to needing a separate system to keep track of your Epics. With Portfolio & Analytics feature, everything's updated in real-time, keeping you in the know about all project statuses without breaking a sweat.

Are we focusing on what's most important?

Peeking at your portfolio's status is a walk in the park with the Kanban view. Crafting the right states with just the right amount of policies is the secret sauce. Too many rules, and you're looking at a bureaucratic nightmare; too few or don't follow the rules, and that board might as well be a ghost, forgotten and ignored.

How are we doing?

Requesting a status report isn't itself an issue; it's what we do about it. If you use it just to punish teams, you're off track—they'll just start to game the system. Genuinely ask what you can do to help, and most importantly, do it. You can check the project's progress with the "View Analytics" option and choose the type of view that best suits your needs.

Can we do anything about the delay?

Or use the "Delayed Cards" view to see which tasks are falling behind and identify the ones that need immediate attention.

Release Plan

Feeling like a traitor to agility for using a Gantt chart? Think again. The essence of agility is using tools that radiate information—and if it's visual, even better. Remember, it's not just about the tool itself, but how you utilize it. If you're more concerned about keeping the tool updated than addressing the issues it highlights, then it's time to reassess your priorities.

Are we on track? Do we need to ramp up work or catch up?

• Prioritize Effectively: Identify and organize key milestones. Concentrate your efforts on what truly impacts progress.

• Boost Communication: Roadmaps make your project's timeline clear to all stakeholders, supporting smarter decisions and managing expectations effectively.

Team Breakouts

Ideal for teams of any setup—remote, in-person, or hybrid—it eliminates the need for physical boards and simplifies your planning session. Offering a clear view of work distribution, dependencies, and risks, it's the perfect solution for effective team breakouts.

Team Breakout 1: Planning Board

It's Planning Time: Just like on a physical board, each column represents a sprint. You can easily move tasks from one sprint to another, offering a dynamic approach to planning.

Team Breakout 2: Cross-Team Dependencies

Next Up: Cross-Team Collaboration: After setting your sprints, it's time to align with other teams. This section highlights cross-team dependencies. Internal team dependencies can be managed by the team itself. Once a dependency is acknowledged, simply click 'Accept' or 'Reject' to reflect the status in the overall dashboard (Dependency Monitor).

Team Breakout 3: Risks Board

Final Step: Risk Strategy: Use this section not just to identify but to strategize on risk mitigation. A risk is assessed by its likelihood of occurrence against its impact. If a risk is so low that you choose not to address it, then it's 'Accepted'. If you've taken steps to reduce its impact or likelihood, it's 'Mitigated'. If it's already resolved at this stage, then it's 'Resolved', and if you have a mitigation plan in place, it's 'Owned'.

Program Board

Ever seen a dependency spiderweb stretching across the whole wall? Sure, it worked, but it quickly got outdated, and keeping it up to date was a headache. Use this tool to simplify planning and tracking of User Stories. It boosts collaboration, aligns teams on priorities, and offers a clear snapshot of progress.

What are the dependencies between teams?

• Click "Dependencies" to effortlessly track and manage dependencies between projects. Identify conflicts easily—if a task's predecessor is scheduled to finish after its successor's start date.
• At a glance, see how the program is progressing and spot any User Story delays with the "Delayed Items" feature. Colors indicate status: green for 'Completed' (in production), yellow for 'Resolved' (requiring final steps), and red for tasks either 'In Progress' or not started yet. This color coding applies when the current date is past the sprint's end date.

How's the quarter going?

• You can get a view of how each team is doing this quarter with the "Show Summary" option. Once commitments are made, remind teams not to move their Sprint card; otherwise, you won't see the delays.

Cross-Team Dependency Monitor

It doesn't happen often, but when there are quarterly delivery failures due to high interdependencies, or when the Confidence Vote from teams is low, transparency often emerges as a key solution. This dashboard, fueled by each team's dependencies, is crucial to review during your planning sessions to address critical issues promptly. Moreover, an abundance of dependencies might indicate a need for more cross-functional teams.

What are the rejected dependencies? Which support area is most needed?

• View & Stay Updated: Gain insight into all dependencies in one place, emphasizing those marked as "rejected". Updated in real-time, this dashboard is crucial for sparking the necessary conversations to tackle issues and realign team efforts efficiently.
• Filter by Area: Identify which support areas face the most dependencies and rejections, guiding you to focus efforts and strengthen collaboration precisely where it's most impactful.

User Story Mapping

This tool is all about quickly and easily creating a high-level vision. It simplifies how you interact with the backlog, allowing you to add stories and features, edit content, and set priorities directly aligned with your planning iteration.

Can we easily grasp the whole scope?

• Click the "+" to effortlessly create a feature or story.
• Click on the title to edit it, then hit enter to save your changes.

Ever started drafting your user stories in a Word doc?

• Not anymore. With this tool, you can create and refine your user stories directly where they'll live and breathe. Dive into "Edit Mode" for a hands-on approach to each story, customizing details such as the title, description, and acceptance criteria without ever leaving Azure DevOps. Need to see the full picture? Just hit "Open" to delve deeper.
• Effortlessly navigate through stories with the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons for efficient editing, making the process of refining your backlog smoother than ever.

Looking for a way to see work by iterations?

• Click "Show Iterations" to display and easily move stories between iterations. This will add priority, development sequence, and if we are releasing each sprint up to the release sequence.

Iterations Setup

This feature empowers Project Administrators to effortlessly define sprints for multiple projects in one go leading to time savings and reduced errors.

How can we streamline this task?

• Start by setting the initial dates for each quarter. Then, hit "Calculate Sprints," and we'll do the heavy lifting by mapping out the sprint dates for you. Don't worry if the calculated dates don't perfectly align or if holiday dates were missed; adjustments to the dates or the number of sprints are just a few clicks away.

• Next, select the projects you wish to apply these configurations. Take a look at the summary and confirm your selections. Then, wait and see the magic unfold as it transitions from this summary:

• To the iterations set up across all your selected projects: