Ado Work Tracking

ADO Work Tracking Configuration

When to Use

• Setting up boards for a new team or project
• Configuring area paths and iteration paths (sprint schedule)
• Customizing work item types and workflows
• Creating shared queries for reporting
• Migrating between process templates

Core Jobs

1. Area Paths & Team Configuration

# Create area path
az boards area project create \
  --name "Platform/Infrastructure" \
  --project MyProject

# Assign area to team
az boards area team add \
  --team "Platform Team" \
  --path "\MyProject\Platform\Infrastructure" \
  --include-sub-areas true \
  --project MyProject

Structure: Project → Areas → Team areas → Each team sees their subset of the board

2. Iteration Paths (Sprints)

# Create iteration (sprint)
az boards iteration project create \
  --name "Sprint 1" \
  --start-date 2026-04-14 \
  --finish-date 2026-04-25 \
  --path "\MyProject\2026" \
  --project MyProject

# Assign to team
az boards iteration team add \
  --team "Platform Team" \
  --id $ITERATION_ID \
  --project MyProject

3. Work Item Management

# Create work item
az boards work-item create \
  --title "Implement OAuth2 login" \
  --type "User Story" \
  --assigned-to user@company.com \
  --project MyProject \
  --fields "Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority=1" "System.Tags=auth;security"

# Update work item
az boards work-item update --id 1234 --state "Active" --assigned-to dev@company.com

# Query work items (WIQL)
az boards query --wiql "SELECT [Id],[Title],[State] FROM WorkItems WHERE [System.TeamProject] = 'MyProject' AND [State] <> 'Closed' ORDER BY [Priority]"

4. Process Template Customization (Inherited Process)

• Go to: Org Settings → Boards → Process → select template → customize
• Add custom fields: work item type → Layout → add field
• Add custom state: work item type → States → New state
• Cannot customize hosted XML processes (Agile/Scrum/CMMI) directly — must migrate to Inherited Process first

5. Shared Queries

# List queries
az boards query list --project MyProject --path "Shared Queries" --output table

Common useful queries:

• Active bugs by priority: [Type] = 'Bug' AND [State] <> 'Closed' ORDER BY [Priority]
• Unassigned work: [Assigned To] = '' AND [State] = 'Active'
• Sprint work: [Iteration Path] = @CurrentIteration AND [Team Project] = @Project

Key Concepts

• Area path — hierarchical categorization (product area, team, component)
• Iteration path — time-boxed sprint schedule; teams subscribe to a subset
• Process template — defines work item types (User Story vs PBI vs Issue)
• Inherited process — customizable version of Agile/Scrum; create from base then customize
• WIQL — Work Item Query Language; SQL-like for querying work items

Checklist

• Area paths created and assigned to teams (each team owns their area)?
• Iteration paths (sprints) created with start/end dates?
• Teams subscribed to their iteration paths?
• Inherited process used (not locked XML process) if customization needed?
• Shared queries created for common reports?

Key Outputs

• Area paths organized by team/component with team assignments
• Sprint schedule created for next 3-6 months
• Custom work item fields for org-specific tracking needs
• Shared queries for sprint reporting and backlog health

Output Format

• 🔴 Critical — all teams sharing same area path (no isolation), no iteration paths (no sprint planning possible)
• 🟡 Warning — customizing base Agile/Scrum process (use Inherited instead), no shared queries for reporting
• 🟢 Suggestion — create area hierarchy matching org structure, automate sprint creation with CLI

Anti-Patterns

• One area path for all teams (board becomes unmanageable at scale)
• Customizing base process template instead of creating Inherited Process
• Not setting iteration dates (sprints without dates don't enable velocity tracking)

Integration

• ado-organization — project and team creation before work tracking setup
• ado-api-cli — bulk work item creation, query automation, sprint management