Azure Devops - Unable to reorder work items in backlog

Question

Azure Devops - Unable to reorder work items in backlog

Louise Pancholi 0

Since joining the project I have been unable to click and drag to reorder work items on the backlog view in DevOps. I have both Project Administrator and Team Administrator permissions. When I try to click and drag to reorder the items, nothing happens. I do not think it's a problem with our project or board setup, because other members of the team with the same permissions as me are able to reorder them.

Anonymous

2025-11-26T12:43:43.15+00:00
Hello Louise Pancholi

Thanks for reaching out on Microsoft Q&A and really appreciate your patience while we looked into this.

Understand from description that you're having a bit of trouble with reordering work items in your Azure DevOps backlog, even though you have the necessary permissions.

Steps:

Check Parent-Child Relationships: If you have any nested work items (like user stories with child tasks or bugs) that are of the same type/category, it can prevent reordering. Make sure there are no parent-child links among the same work item type that restrict this function. You might need to change any necessary parent-child links to a Related link instead.

Refresh Your Backlog: After adjusting any nested items, refresh your backlog to see if the changes take effect.

View Options: Ensure that your backlog’s view options aren't filtering out any work items you wish to reorder. If the “In Progress” filter is turned off, it can cause certain work items to disappear temporarily, making it seem like you can't reorder them.

Browser Caching Issues: Sometimes, caching can affect how Azure DevOps displays work items. Try clearing your browser cache or using an incognito mode to see if this resolves the issue.

User Permissions: Even though you mentioned having Project Administrator and Team Administrator permissions, double-check that you have the permissions set to "Allow" for View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node for your specific area paths.

If you've already checked these steps and are still having difficulties, here are some follow-up questions to look the problem further:

Are there any specific work items you are trying to reorder, and are these items nested under others?

Are there any error messages appearing when you attempt to drag and drop items?

Have you tried accessing Azure DevOps from different browsers or devices to see if the issue persists?

Hope this helps you get back on track with your backlog management! If you continue to experience issues, consider reaching out for additional support.

Reference Documentation:

Troubleshoot reordering and nesting issues

Work with multi-team ownership of backlog items

Thanks
Louise Pancholi 0 Reputation points

2025-11-26T12:57:11.53+00:00
Hi Rupesh,

I have checked the following:

Check Parent-Child Relationships: we do not have any nested work items of the same type/category.

View Options: no filters set

Browser Caching Issues: tried clearing cache & using incognito window

User Permissions: checked I have the permissions set to "Allow" for View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node for specific area path. (attached image)

Are there any specific work items you are trying to reorder, and are these items nested under others? - no, the problem is for ALL work items on ALL boards

Are there any error messages appearing when you attempt to drag and drop items? - no

Have you tried accessing Azure DevOps from different browsers or devices to see if the issue persists? - yes, same issue occurs

Thank you

1 answer

Your answer

Louise Pancholi 0 Reputation points

2025-11-26T12:57:11.53+00:00

Hi Rupesh,

I have checked the following:

Check Parent-Child Relationships: we do not have any nested work items of the same type/category.

View Options: no filters set

Browser Caching Issues: tried clearing cache & using incognito window

User Permissions: checked I have the permissions set to "Allow" for View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node for specific area path. (attached image)

Are there any specific work items you are trying to reorder, and are these items nested under others? - no, the problem is for ALL work items on ALL boards

Are there any error messages appearing when you attempt to drag and drop items? - no

Have you tried accessing Azure DevOps from different browsers or devices to see if the issue persists? - yes, same issue occurs

Thank you

Answer 1

Hi Louise Pancholi,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A

Can you check if you have all the permissions mentioned in this document's Pre-requisite: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/organize-backlog?view=azure-devops#prerequisites

You need Basic access level assigned to yourself at Organization level.

Along with the Project Administrator and Team Administrator permission, can you check if you have Basic level access like below:

Visit your Organization Settings > In General Tab > Select Users > Search for yourself > Select ... dots > Change access level > Click on Basic and change your access to Basic.

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Azure Devops - Unable to reorder work items in backlog

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