Azure?
DevOps?
... For Business Analysts?
Yes, that’s right! Azure DevOps is absolutely one of those tools you need to know and master as a BA.
Why Should You Care?
Because this tool is tremendously popular and often replaces Jira as the tracker of choice in many organizations.
So, if your company or project starts using it, but you’re new and don’t know where to get started – stay tuned! In this post, we’re going to share the three things you need to know about Azure DevOps to get started today.
Make sure to read until the end because we’ll also show you how to get access to your very own personal training sandbox – absolutely free.
Ready? Let’s dive right in!
Why Is Azure DevOps So Popular?
Azure DevOps has been around for quite some time and is widely used as a preferred project management tool. What makes it so popular? Here are the top three reasons:
Built-In Integrations: Azure DevOps works seamlessly with enterprise platforms like Microsoft Office Suite, GitHub, and various CI/CD pipelines.
Backlog and Sprint Management: Its implementation for Agile projects makes it almost ideal.
Customization Options: You can tailor Azure DevOps to your specific needs, including custom workflows and ticket types.
With all this popularity comes a growing demand for business analysts and product owners who know how to use it effectively. However, training materials specifically tailored for BAs and POs are hard to find.
This post will give you a quick head start with three things that will boost your confidence as a BA or product owner working with Azure DevOps.
Backlog Management in Azure DevOps by Business Analysts
Azure DevOps offers a lot of flexibility for organizing your product backlog. Here’s how it works:
Epics: Large-scale chunks of functionality implemented over many sprints (e.g., “Checkout” or “Shipping”).
Features: Smaller, specific functionalities under each epic (e.g., “International shipping with FedEx”).
User Stories: The smallest elements of work handled by the development team.
For example, if the epic is “Shipping,” you might create a feature like “International Shipping with FedEx,” and underneath it, user stories such as:
“Choose FedEx at Checkout,”
“Track FedEx Shipment Status,”
“Receive Shipment Notifications from FedEx.”
One of the best features in Azure DevOps is the hierarchical display. You can view epics, features, and user stories all at once or focus on specific levels. It’s intuitive and much easier to use compared to Jira.
For each ticket, you can also view details like acceptance criteria, release version, and links to other stories or epics.
Sprint Management Made Simple
The Sprint management capabilities for Business Analysts in Azure DevOps are straightforward yet powerful. Here’s how it works:
In the Sprints view, you can see all user stories in scope, along with their titles, statuses, and other attributes.
For detailed tracking, go to the Taskboard, where you can see workflows for each user story, including statuses.
You can create sub-tasks for individual user stories (e.g., backend work, API integrations) and track them within the Taskboard.
To switch between sprints (called “Iterations” in Azure DevOps), simply change the target iteration in the dropdown menu. However, adding new sprints requires going to Project Settings > Project Configurations to manage iterations.
Boards: Tracking Progress with Ease
The boards in Azure DevOps provide a simple but powerful way to track your team’s progress. Here’s what you can do:
Get an overview of the team’s progress, whether it’s the development team or the BA team.
View user stories for upcoming sprints, their statuses, and assignments.
Drill down into specific epics to track readiness for individual user stories.
Customize columns and statuses to match your workflow.
Assign tickets in real-time and move them between columns to change statuses.
Boards are often used by delivery managers to oversee project progress or by lead business analysts to balance workloads across the team.
Free Webinar Invitation! 🎁
As a way of saying thank you for reading this far, I want to invite you to a free Azure DevOps webinar specifically designed for BAs and Product Owners. We'll dive deeper into these topics and explore specific use cases to help you organize and work effectively with Azure DevOps as a BA or Product Owner.
Try Azure DevOps for Free
Excited to try Azure DevOps but don’t know where to start? Here’s the good news: Azure DevOps has a free plan! With the Basic Plan, you can get up to five users for free. It includes everything you need to get started, from backlog management to sprint planning and boards.
Visit azure.microsoft.com for more details.
Final Thoughts
What do you think about Azure DevOps as a backlog management tool?
Have you tried it? Share your thoughts in the comments below - I'd love to hear from you.
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