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Show bugs on backlogs and boards

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Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019

As your team identifies code defects or bugs, they can add them to the backlog and track them similar to tracking requirements. Or, they can schedule bugs to be fixed within a sprint along with other tasks.

When you track bugs as requirements, they appear on the product Backlogs and Kanban boards. When you track bugs as tasks, the bugs appear on Sprint Backlogs and Taskboards. For more information about other work item types, see Add other work item types to backlogs or boards.

You can define your team's tracking setting for the Agile, Scrum, and CMMI processes. The Bug work item type isn't defined for the Basic process, so there isn't a team setting for Basic. Instead, you should track bugs and code defects using the Issue work item type.

Note

Requirements specify expectations of users for a software product. In Azure Boards, requirements are defined by work items that appear on your product backlog. They correspond to User Story (Agile), Product backlog item (Scrum), Issue (Basic), or Requirement (CMMI) work item types based on the process selected for your project. They also belong to the Requirements category, which manages the work item types that appear on the product backlog.

Prerequisites

To configure team settings, you must be added to the Team Administrator role or be a member of the Project Administrators security group. To get added, see Add a team administrator or Change project-level permissions.

Choose from options for bug tracking

The following table summarizes the options teams have for tracking bugs. Before you make your choice, we recommend you review the information provided in Define, capture, triage, and manage bugs, which provides an overview of the Bug work item type and supported tools for managing bugs.

Option

Choose when you want to...

Track bugs as Requirements

Note

  • Bugs are assigned to the Requirements Category

Track bugs as Tasks

  • Estimate work for bugs similar to tasks
  • Update bug status on sprint Taskboards
  • Link bugs to requirements as child items
  • Can drag and drop bugs onto Planning pane to assign bugs to a sprint

Note

  • Bugs are assigned to the Task Category
  • User Stories (Agile), Product Backlog Items (Scrum), or Requirements (CMMI) are the natural parent work item type for Bugs
  • Bugs won't be visible on Delivery Plans

Bugs don't appear on backlogs or boards

  • Manage bugs using queries

Note

  • Bugs are associated with the Bugs Category and won't appear on either backlogs or boards
  • Bugs won't be visible on Backlogs, Boards, Sprint Backlogs, Taskboards, or Delivery Plans
  • Can't drag and drop bugs onto Planning pane to assign bugs to a sprint

Set your team's preference for bug tracking

You can change settings from a backlog or board view, or from Project settings > Team configuration.

Screenshot showing sequence of navigation selection for working with bugs from project settings.

In the following steps, we show how to change it from the board view.

  1. Sign in to your organization (https://dev.azure.com/{yourorganization}) and select your project.

  2. Open your Kanban board. If you're not a team admin, get added as one. Only team and project admins can customize the Kanban board.

  3. Choose Board settings to configure the board and set general team settings.

    Open board settings for a team, vert nav

  4. Choose Working with bugs and then choose the option that best meets your team's way of working.

    Settings, working with bugs dialog

  5. When you're done with your changes, choose Save.

  6. To see the changes, open or refresh the team's backlog or Kanban board.

Nest items

When you manage bugs with requirements or tasks, they appear on one or more of your Agile tool backlogs and boards. However, if you nest items—create parent-child links of items that belong in either the Requirements or Task categories—not all items may appear on your backlogs and boards. To learn more about how nested items are treated, see How backlogs and boards display hierarchical (nested) items.

Tip

If, after refreshing a backlog or board, you don't see bugs where you expect to see them, review How backlogs and boards display hierarchical (nested) items. Only leaf nodes of nested items appear on the Kanban or task boards.

Add other work item types to your backlogs or boards

Bugs are a common item that teams want to track, and choose how they track them. For more information, see Manage bugs.

However, what if you want to track other work item types on your backlogs and boards?

You can add other work item types—such as change requests, issues, or impediments—by customizing your process or project, based on the process model you use. For details,

For an overview of process models, see Customize your work tracking experience.

Create, list, and manage bugs

Bugs that are managed with requirements can be added through the product backlog or Kanban board. When bugs are managed along with tasks, you can add them to a sprint backlog or task board. Or, capture them using other tools. For more information, see Define, triage, and manage bugs.

Tip

Effort should automatically be part of a bug, but if you don't see it, customize the bug work item type for it to appear.

You can review bugs defined for your project by creating a query and specifying the Work Item Type=Bug. Or, open a predefined query, Active Bugs (Agile and CMMI), or Work in Progress (Scrum).