Work with the process templates
When you create a new project in Azure DevOps, you can select the work item process template you'd like to use for your project. Be careful when you select this template, because you can't change this afterwards.
By default, there are four templates you can choose from:
Basic
Agile
Scrum
CMMI
Most Business Central projects will be based on the Basic, Agile, or Scrum template. A CMMI template is for projects that require a framework for process improvement and an auditable record of decisions. We won't discuss CMMI in this module.
Basic template
The Basic template is the easiest template. It's flexible for any process and ideal for teams starting with Azure DevOps. There isn't many levels in the work items. With the Basic template you can create three types of work items:
Epic
Issue
Task
An Epic describes a large piece of work. It can be used to group different issues that all belong to the same business unit. For example, you can create an Epic to enhance and expand functionality in Business Central. The different changes will be created as Issues. The lowest level in the template work items are Tasks. A Task is an action that can be developed in a small amount of time. What the exact definition of a small amount of time is, is something you need to discuss within your development team. Sometimes teams make the agreement that if a task takes eight hours or longer to complete, your task is defined as too wide. In this case, you can split your a task into smaller tasks that are easier to work on as a developer. This scenario has a consequence that developers commit their changes more often.
Agile template
The Agile template is ideal for teams using an Agile planning methodology, including Scrum. The naming of work items is using a normal Agile convention. So, this template can be used for Scrum, but it's not targeted to Scrum only.
In the Agile template we have six types of work items:
Epic
Feature
User Story
Issue
Bug
Task
The Epic work item is just like the Basic template in that it's used to group other work items. In the Agile template, it can group features. Let's use the same example, an Epic can be created. Within that Epic, you can have a Feature that requires to extend functionality with fields for social media. The Feature describes what will be released with the product. Within a Feature, you can define User Stories, Issues, and Bugs. You can compare them with Issues from the Basic template. The User Story is there to create something new in the application, an Issue describes an obstacle in the application, and a Bug is a problem that needs to be worked on. They are all on the same level. It just depends which type of development is needed.
It's also useful to have a better overview when you split them in one of those three work items. Then you can see all bugs in one overview, without the work items that create new functionality. The lowest level is the Task that describes the work that a developer must do. It's also on the level of the Task that the amount of work is planned and registered.
In the image below, you can see how the different work items are linked together.
Scrum template
The Scrum template is targeted at teams that follow the Scrum framework. It's comparable with the Agile template, but the work items are using the naming conventions from the Scrum framework.
In the Scrum template we also have six types of work items:
Epic
Feature
Product Backlog Item
Impediment
Bug
Task
The main difference is that with Scrum, a User Story is called a Product Backlog Item and an Issue is called an Impediment.
Extending or modifying the templates
The standard templates can't be modified, but you can always create an inherited process that can be modified. You can add new work item types, change the fields per work item, add new states, and so on.
Select Organization Settings on the Azure DevOps start page. You can find the Organization settings button in the left bottom corner. In Organization Settings, you can find the Process item in the Boards section. A list with all the available processes is displayed. The default process templates are locked, but you can select the three dots in the middle of the window, to select the Create inherited process button.
This will create a copy based on the parent process, where you can modify the process. We previously mentioned that once a project is created you can't change the process template. That is technically true. You can't change from Basic to Agile, or from Agile to Scrum, but you can change the template to an inherited process template. In the next screenshot, the Agile template has one inherited process template, Automation. Projects that are using the Agile template can be moved to the Automation template, but they can't be moved to Basic or Scrum.
Once the inherited process is created, you can add new work item types.
When you create a new work item type or you edit an existing one, you can select the fields you'd like to see on the work item card generated when users create work items. In the next example, the User Story work item is in edit mode. You can add a new page, next to the default Details page, you can create groups and add new fields. You can also move or remove fields from the page. When you add a new field, you can select from the existing fields in Azure DevOps, or you can define your own new field. Maybe, you want to add an extra dropdown list that users need to select when they are working on a User Story.
The options are endless. In the next units, we are going to work with the default Basic template, but of course, you can use another template that suits your organization better.