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Register nowAbout end-to-end traceability
Azure DevOps Services
Azure DevOps supports end-to-end traceability by linking various objects in your development process, such as work items, branches, commits, pull requests, builds, and releases. You can use built-in reports and Analytics to monitor traceability in real time.
This article provides an overview of how Azure DevOps enables and supports traceability, with links to more detailed information.
You can track the code changes, builds, and releases that are linked to a work item throughout the development lifecycle. This way, your team can see the audit trail of how the work was done or how a bug was fixed by looking at the changes in the code base.
The link types used for Git repositories are Build, Found in build, Integrated in build, Branch, Commit, Pull Request, and Integrated in release stage.
Branch: You can create a branch from a work item by opening the work item card menu on the product board or by selecting Create a branch in the work item form. The branch is automatically linked to the work item with the Branch link type.
Pull request: Once the code changes are done in the new branch, developers can create a pull request from the work item. Using the board and the work item to drive software development encourages developers to add comments as they work, documenting the changes and the reasons behind them. This way, the work item becomes a rich source of information and history for the code changes.
Link a test to a set of requirements and validate that the application works as expected. From the board, you can add tests to the work item. Then, you can run your new tests from the board and set the test status.
Test integration with the board makes it easy for teams to get started with manual testing and then take advantage of the full testing capabilities provided by Azure Test Plans. The board shows the test added to support the requirement when test cases are created from the board or when requirement-based test suites are created under Test Plans.
You can run automated tests in a pipeline or on demand. You can also link them to test cases in a test plan and run them from Test Plans. This way, you can track the quality of your requirements with automated tests, which is called planned testing.
After you define a pipeline to build and release the code changes, you can track the deployment of the work item requirement to each release stage. From the work item form, you can quickly open the links to builds and releases from the Deployment and Development sections.
When you open the work item form, it displays the stages to which the requirement is deployed. You can drill down for greater details with the dropdown menu.
- Development section: Open branches, commits, or pull requests linked to the work item.
- Deployment section: Find release information for work items associated with a Git commit that's part of a build being released.
For more information, see About kanban boards.
The following image illustrates the multiple environments that the release is targeting which the selected work item is associated with.
Manage your display options from the release settings. The work item deployment control shows you how the releases that are linked to your work items are progressing. You can see the release status for work items that have commits in the build and for release pipelines that you set up to send deployment information to Azure Boards.
Requirements traceability provides teams with insights into indicators such as the quality of requirements or readiness to ship requirements. A fundamental aspect of requirements traceability is the association of requirements to test cases, bugs, and code changes.
The Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) ensures that all requirements defined for a system are tested in the test protocols. For more information about the Requirements Traceability Matrix, see Requirements traceability.
Requirements traceability reports are a way of showing how different phases of a development process are related and documented. They help teams to measure the quality and completeness of their requirements, and to assess their readiness for delivery. They also help to track the code changes, tests, bugs, and deployments that are linked to the requirements.
You can see the bug and the test result together in the Tests tab, in the same context. The Work Items tab also shows any requirements that are linked to the test result.
For information about bug and source traceability, see Requirements traceability.
Based on the build or release pipeline, you can choose the timeline or pipeline view to see the committed code changes. You can analyze the code changes to identify the potential root cause of the test failure.
For more information about Test Analytics for builds and releases, tracking the quality of requirements, and test failures, see Test Analytics.
Note: The author created this article with assistance from AI. Learn more
Additional resources
Training
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AZ-400: Development for enterprise DevOps - Training
AZ-400: Development for enterprise DevOps
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Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert - Certifications
This certification measures your ability to accomplish the following technical tasks: Design and implement processes and communications, design and implement a source control strategy, design and implement build and release pipelines, develop a security and compliance plan, and implement an instrumentation strategy.