Cycle Time based on the specific custom column. Azure DevOps Azure Boards

Question

Hello,

Azure Boards teams in my Azure DevOps organization are trying to find a way of breaking down their cycle time based on the columns in their team's Kanban board. They are interested in how many days a work item spends in their custom board columns.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Azure Devops does not currently provide support through this site. Please use their official support channel over on Stack Overflow.

Answer 2

To break down cycle time based on the columns in your team's Kanban board in Azure Boards, you can use the Analytics and Queries features of Azure DevOps. These features allow you to create reports that show how much time work items spend in each column of your Kanban board.

Steps to Break Down Cycle Time by Kanban Columns

Step 1: Enable Analytics Views

1. Enable Analytics:
   • Make sure that Analytics is enabled for your Azure DevOps organization. You can check this by navigating to Project Settings > Analytics.

Step 2: Create a Custom Analytics View

1. Navigate to Azure DevOps:
   • Go to your Azure DevOps project.
   • Select Boards > Analytics views.
2. Create a New View:
   • Click on New view.
   • Name your view appropriately (e.g., "Cycle Time by Kanban Columns").
3. Configure the View:
   • Add the fields you are interested in, such as State, Created Date, Changed Date, and any custom fields representing your Kanban columns.
   • Save the view.

Step 3: Create a Query to Track Column Times

1. Navigate to Queries:
   • Go to Boards > Queries.
   • Create a new query.
2. Define the Query:
   • Set the query to return work items of interest (e.g., all work items in the current iteration).
   • Add filters for State or custom column fields if necessary.
3. Add Analytics Widgets:
   • Use the Cycle Time widget or other relevant widgets to visualize the data.
   • Configure the widget to break down cycle time by the columns in your Kanban board.

Step 4: Use the Azure DevOps REST API (Optional)

For more advanced reporting, you can use the Azure DevOps REST API to extract detailed information about work item movements across board columns.

1. Get Work Item Updates:
   • Use the REST API to get the history of work items and their state changes.
   • Example endpoint: GET https://dev.azure.com/{organization}/{project}/_apis/wit/workItems/{id}/updates?api-version=6.0
2. Analyze the Data:
   • Extract the relevant timestamps for when work items entered and left each column.
   • Calculate the duration spent in each column.

Example Query for Column Time

You can also create a query using the built-in query editor to get a sense of how long items stay in each column. Here’s an example:

1. Navigate to Queries:
   • Go to Boards > Queries.
   • Create a new query.
2. Define the Query:
   • Set the query to return the work items you are interested in (e.g., those in a specific iteration or area path).
   • Add columns for State Change Date and custom fields representing your columns.
3. Run the Query:
   • Run the query to see the results and export them if necessary for further analysis.

Using Power BI for Advanced Reporting

For more advanced reporting and visualization, you can connect Azure DevOps to Power BI.

1. Connect Power BI to Azure DevOps:
   • In Power BI, select Get Data > Azure DevOps (Beta).
   • Connect to your Azure DevOps organization and project.
2. Create Reports:
   • Use Power BI to create detailed reports and visualizations of work item cycle times, broken down by Kanban columns.

By following these steps, you can effectively break down cycle time based on the columns in your team's Kanban board and gain valuable insights into your workflow efficiency.

Answer 3

Try using the Time in State for Azure DevOps extension. In addition to calculating cycle time, time in state or time in Board Columns, transition count, and more. You can customize your work calendars to suit your needs. I think you’ll find it helpful.