| title | titleSuffix | description | ms.subservice | ms.custom | ms.assetid | ms.author | author | ms.topic | monikerRange | ms.date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Define iteration paths and configure team iterations |
Azure Boards |
Learn how to define the iteration and sprint fields when you assign work items and configure dashboards in Azure DevOps. |
azure-devops-settings |
teams, engagement-fy23, devx-track-azurecli |
27631A15-9EB1-4E79-814E-8145BB7707C8 |
chcomley |
chcomley |
how-to |
<= azure-devops |
02/10/2023 |
[!INCLUDE version-lt-eq-azure-devops]
Iteration Paths, also referred to as sprints, support assignment of work items to time-box intervals. You define iteration paths at the project level, and then each team selects the paths that they want to use. Iteration paths are a shared resource used by all teams that select them. You can create a flat set of iteration paths or a hierarchy of paths to support releases, sub-releases, and sprints.
[!INCLUDE temp]
For information about naming restrictions and limits placed on addition of Iteration Paths, see About areas and iterations, Naming restrictions.
Tip
If all you need to do is change the iteration dates, you can do that quickly as shown in Change sprint dates. However, if you need to define the iteration paths and tree structure, then follow the guidance provided in this article.
- To add an iteration path to a project, you must be a member of the Project Administrators group. If you don't have a project yet, create one now. By default, the user who created the project has these permissions set.
- To add, edit, and manage iteration paths under a node, you must have one or more of the following permissions set to Allow for the node that you want to manage: Create child nodes, Delete this node, Edit this node, and View permissions for this node.
- To set team iteration paths, you must be added as the team administrator or be a member of the Project Administrators group.
For more information about acquiring permissions, see Change project-level permissions or Set permissions and access for work tracking.
Newly created projects contain a single, root area path that corresponds to the project name. You add area paths under this root. Also, each project typically specifies a predefined set of iteration paths to help you get started tracking your work. You only need to specify the dates.
If you're new to managing projects and teams, complete the following steps.
- Review Configure and customize Azure Boards.
- Define the area paths and teams following the guidance provided in Define area paths and assign to a team.
- Determine the length of the iteration you want to support. Recommended practice is to have all teams use the same sprint cadence. For guidance, review About areas and iterations.
- Determine if you want a flat structure or hierarchy of sprints and releases.
- Open Project settings>Project configuration and define the iteration paths to support steps 2 and 3 at the project level. Follow the steps provided later in this article: Open Project Settings, Project configuration and Add iterations and set iteration dates.
- Open the team configuration and assign the default and additional area path(s) to each team. Follow the steps provided later in this article: Open team settings and Set team default iteration path(s).
- Each team should assign the default iteration path they selected to their work items. Do so for those work items to show up on their product backlogs and boards. Use bulk modify to modify several work items at once. See also Assign backlog items to a sprint.
As needed, you can do the following tasks at any time:
- Add additional child iteration nodes
- Rename an iteration path (except the root path)
- Move a child iteration path under another node
- Delete a child iteration path
- Change the default and selected iteration paths assigned to a team
Each team has access to many Agile tools, as described in About teams and Agile tools. Each tool references the team's default area path(s). Several tools reference the team's default and selected iteration paths or sprints. Most teams choose one area path and several iteration paths to support their work tracking activities. However, to support other scenarios, it's possible for teams to choose several area paths to appear on their backlogs and boards.
Teams can set a default iteration different from the backlog iteration. The backlog iteration determines which items appear on the team's backlogs and boards. And, the default iteration determines what value is assigned to work items created from the team context.
All work items that you create from your team context are automatically assigned both the team's default area path and default iteration path.
[!INCLUDE temp]
::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"
You define both areas and iterations for a project from the Project Settings > Boards > Project configuration.
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2020"
From the web portal, open Project Settings.
Define both areas and iterations for a project from the Project settings > Boards > Project configuration.
-
Choose (1) Project Settings, expand Boards if needed, and then choose (2) Project configuration and (3) Iterations.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="azure-devops-2019"
From the web portal, open Project Settings.
Define both areas and iterations for a project from the Project configuration > Iterations.
-
From the web portal, choose Project settings(1), select Project configuration(2), and then Iterations(3).
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
List project iteration paths | Add a project iteration | List team iteration paths | Set team iteration paths | Delete or update a project iteration path
List the iterations defined for a project using az boards iteration project list. To get started, see Get started with Azure DevOps CLI.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project list [--depth]
[--path]
[--project]
- depth: Optional. Depth of child nodes to be listed. Example: --depth 3.
- path: Optional. Absolute path of an iteration.
\Iteration\must follow after the\ProjectName, which distinguishes it from an area path. Example: --path \ProjectName\Iteration\IterationName. If spaces are used within a node, then enclose in double-quotes, for example,--path "\Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Sprint 1". When not specified, lists iteration paths from the root level. - project: Optional. Name or ID of the project. Example: --project "Fabrikam Fiber".
For example, the following command lists the area paths to a depth of 3 for the Fabrikam Fiber project. For more information on other output format options, see Output formats for Azure CLI commands
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project list --depth 3 --project "Fabrikam Fiber" --output table
ID Identifier Name Path Has Children Start Date Finish Date
----- ------------------------------------ -------------- --------------------------------------------- -------------- -------------------- --------------------
55290 d77820e9-6bda-4deb-8052-cc519bc12ecc Fabrikam Fiber \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration True
55292 5938b25d-7235-499e-815f-4fc19d95d24c Release 1 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1 True
55297 c7063041-ff3a-4d7f-bb46-c433c7030d59 Sprint 1 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 1 False 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z 2019-01-18T00:00:00Z
55298 dd10f1bf-bedd-4c6f-926f-b2abea81bb50 Sprint 2 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 2 False 2019-01-21T00:00:00Z 2019-02-08T00:00:00Z
55340 862e961a-ac7a-4fcc-9ebc-8afd0c12fed5 Sprint 3 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 3 False 2019-03-11T00:00:00Z 2019-03-29T00:00:00Z
55341 8548898e-4dfd-4515-9d6e-d476d90033a3 Sprint 4 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 4 False
55342 d130534c-05dc-434b-a7f3-85689d11c36f Sprint 5 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 5 False
55343 738f5c0b-c62b-4ba5-96ab-026e606b0cef Sprint 6 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 6 False 2018-07-16T00:00:00Z 2018-08-03T00:00:00Z
55299 a0554e98-b1f1-4230-8500-733c739a0113 Release 2 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 2 False
55300 5c3a5d56-f860-4ebc-8838-7701256c88a4 Release 3 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 3 False
55301 ad722430-042b-4c45-87e5-8d67572d4fc1 Release 4 \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 4 False
55364 8b738736-fef6-49f5-be2a-31c86add6589 Future \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Future False
::: moniker-end
[!INCLUDE temp]
You can add iterations in the same way that you add areas. For more information about working within a sprint cadence, see Scrum and sprint planning tools.
::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2020"
-
Add and modify area paths from Project settings > Project configuration > Iterations.
For Scrum-based projects, you see the following set of sprints.
:::image type="content" source="media/areas/modify-areas-its-iterations-preview.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Project Settings context, project configuration, Iterations page.":::
-
To schedule the start and end dates for each sprint that your teams use, highlight the sprint and choose Set dates. Or, you can select Actions :::image type="icon" source="../../media/icons/actions-icon.png" border="false"::: for the iteration path and choose Edit.
:::image type="content" source="media/iterations/set-dates-preview.png" alt-text="Screenshot of dialog to Set dates.":::
-
Choose the calendar icon to select new dates.
:::image type="content" source="media/iterations/schedule-sprints-calendar-preview.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Iterations page, and calendar icon for selecting new dates.":::
-
When you're finished, you have a set of sprints scheduled - similar to the following image:
:::image type="content" source="media/areas/modify-areas-its-iterations-preview.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Iterations page, scheduled set of sprints.":::
Your next step is to choose the sprints each team uses.
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="azure-devops-2019"
From Iterations, you can add iterations that teams can then select for their use.
-
Add and modify area paths from the Work > Iterations page from the project admin or settings context.
For Scrum-based projects, you see the following set of sprints.
:::image type="content" source="media/areas/modify-areas-its-iterations-ts.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Project Settings Context, Work, Iterations page.":::
-
To schedule the start and end dates for each sprint your teams use, Highlight the sprint and choose Set dates. Or, you can select Actions :::image type="icon" source="../../media/icons/actions-icon.png" border="false"::: context menu for the iteration path and choose Edit.
Choose the calendar icon to choose new dates.
:::image type="content" source="media/iterations/schedule-sprints-calendar.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Work, Iterations page, and calendar icon to choose for new dates for Azure DevOps Server 2019.":::
-
When you're finished, you have a set of sprints scheduled - like this:
:::image type="content" source="media/areas/modify-areas-its-iterations-ts.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Work, Iterations page, scheduled set of sprints for Azure DevOps Server 2019.":::
Your next step is to choose the sprints each team uses.
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
You can add iteration paths to a project using az boards iteration project create. To get started, see Get started with Azure DevOps CLI.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project create --name
[--finish-date]
[--path]
[--project]
[--start-date]
- name: Required. Enter the name of the iteration path.
- finish-date: Optional. Finish date of the iteration. Example: "2019-06-21".
- path: Optional. Absolute path of an iteration. Example: \ProjectName\Iteration\IterationName. When not specified, adds an iteration at the root level.
- project: Optional. Name or ID of the project. Example: --project "Fabrikam Fiber".
- start-date: Optional. Enter the start date of the iteration path. Example: "2019-06-03". Must be earlier than the finish-date.
For example, the following command adds Sprint 36, which starts on September 1, 2019 and ends September 30, 2019 as an iteration path to the default project at the root node.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project create --name "Sprint 36" --start-date 2019-09-01 --finish-date 2019-09-30
{
"attributes": {
"finishDate": "2019-09-30T00:00:00Z",
"startDate": "2019-09-01T00:00:00Z"
},
"children": null,
"hasChildren": false,
"id": 55411,
"identifier": "af3ef6a7-6551-451b-8f9f-63af7a60fc55",
"name": "Sprint 36",
"path": "\\Fabrikam Fiber\\Iteration\\Sprint 36",
"structureType": "iteration",
"url": "https://dev.azure.com/fabrikam/56af920d-393b-4236-9a07-24439ccaa85c/_apis/wit/classificationNodes/Iterations/Sprint%2036"
}
::: moniker-end
[!INCLUDE temp]
You can set team defaults from team settings. If you're not a team administrator, get added as one. Only team or project administrators can change team settings.
Note
Teams can be assigned a maximum of 300 Iteration Paths. To learn more, see Work tracking, process, and project limits.
::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"
You define both areas and iterations from Project settings > Boards > Team configuration. You can quickly navigate to it from a team work tracking backlog, board, or dashboard.
-
Open a backlog or board for a team and choose :::image type="icon" source="../../media/icons/team.png" border="false"::: Team profile and then Team Settings.
Here we open the Board for the Web team and from there the team profile.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
-
Choose Iterations and areas.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
-
If you need to switch the team context, use the team selector within the breadcrumbs.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
You can list the iteration paths defined for a team using az boards area team list. To get started, see Get started with Azure DevOps CLI.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration team list --team
[--project]
[--timeframe]
- team: Required. Name or ID of the team.
- project: Optional. Name or ID of the project.
- timeframe: Optional. A filter for which iterations are returned based on relative time. Only Current is supported.
For example, the following command lists the area paths for the Service Delivery team. For other output format options, see Output formats for Azure CLI commands
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration team list --team "Service Delivery" --project "Fabrikam Fiber" --output table
ID Name Start Date Finish Date Time Frame Path
------------------------------------ --------- ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------ ---------------------------------
c7063041-ff3a-4d7f-bb46-c433c7030d59 Sprint 1 2019-01-01T00:00:00+00:00 2019-01-18T00:00:00+00:00 past Fabrikam Fiber\Release 1\Sprint 1
dd10f1bf-bedd-4c6f-926f-b2abea81bb50 Sprint 2 2019-01-21T00:00:00+00:00 2019-02-08T00:00:00+00:00 past Fabrikam Fiber\Release 1\Sprint 2
862e961a-ac7a-4fcc-9ebc-8afd0c12fed5 Sprint 3 2019-03-11T00:00:00+00:00 2019-03-29T00:00:00+00:00 current Fabrikam Fiber\Release 1\Sprint 3
::: moniker-end
[!INCLUDE temp]
You define sprints for the project and then select them to be active for each team. You assign the default iteration to use when creating new work items.
::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"
-
Open Project settings > Boards > Team Configuration > Iterations for a team.
Here, we navigate to the Fabrikam Fiber Team.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
-
Backlog iteration. Only work items assigned to an iteration equal to or under this backlog iteration appear in the team's backlogs and boards.
Also, all work items added through a team's backlog or board are assigned the backlog iteration.
-
Default iteration. The default iteration defines the iteration that's used when you create a work item from the team backlog or Kanban board. You can specify any iteration defined under the Backlog iteration path. To assign new work items to the current iteration, specify @CurrentIteration. The same macro used in queries to list work items assigned to the currently active iteration assigned to the team is used.
For example, you might want all new work items added to a future iteration path, which you use to triage and assign to specific sprints at periodic intervals.
[!NOTE]
New work items added through the Work Items page or the New Work Items widget on a team dashboard don't reference the Default Iteration Path assigned to the team. Instead, new work items are assigned the last Iteration Path selected by the user. New work items added through a team's Sprints backlog or taskboard are always assigned the Iteration Path associated with the selected sprint. -
Active sprints. Add an iteration for each sprint backlog you want active for the team. Add each sprint, one by one, by selecting it from the menu.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
When you're done, you should see a list of sprints, similar to the following.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
If you don't see the sprints or dates that you need, you can add or edit iterations for the project, provided you have the required permissions. For more information, see Define iteration (sprint) paths.
-
To see the newly activated sprint backlogs, refresh your team's product backlog page.
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
Add iteration paths, set the default iteration path, or set the backlog iteration path for a team using one of the following az boards iteration teamAzure DevOps CLI commands. To get started, see Get started with Azure DevOps CLI.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration team add --id --team
[--project]
az boards iteration team set-default-iteration --team
[--default-iteration-macro]
[--id]
[--project]
az boards iteration team set-backlog-iteration --id --team
[--project]
- team: Required. Name or ID of the team.
- default-iteration-macro: Optional. Default iteration macro, the only valid entry is @CurrentIteration.
- id: Optional. Enter the ID of an iteration path. To determine the ID, list the iteration paths using az boards iteration project list.
- project: Optional. Name or ID of the project. Example: --project "Fabrikam Fiber".
For example, the following command adds \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 2 path to the Service Delivery team for the Fabrikam Fiber project.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration team add --id a0554e98-b1f1-4230-8500-733c739a0113 --team "Service Delivery" --project "Fabrikam Fiber"
{
"attributes": {
"finishDate": null,
"startDate": null,
"timeFrame": "future"
},
"id": "a0554e98-b1f1-4230-8500-733c739a0113",
"name": "Release 2",
"path": "Fabrikam Fiber\\Release 2",
"url": "https://dev.azure.com/fabrikam/56af920d-393b-4236-9a07-24439ccaa85c/43e6bd2e-696f-492c-bbf7-9cde9cd420ea/_apis/work/teamsettings/iterations/a0554e98-b1f1-4230-8500-733c739a0113"
}
::: moniker-end
[!INCLUDE temp]
When you rename an iteration, or move the node within the tree hierarchy, the system automatically updates the work items and queries that reference the existing path(s).
-
To rename an iteration path, choose the :::image type="icon" source="../../media/icons/actions-icon.png" border="false"::: context menu for the node, and then select Edit.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
-
In the dialog that opens, enter the new name.
[!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
-
To move the node within the hierarchy, change the Location field.
-
To delete a node, choose the Delete option from the actions menu.
[!NOTE]
When you delete an iteration node, the system automatically updates the existing work items with the node that you enter at the deletion prompt.
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
You can rename, move, or delete an iteration path for a project, using the following az boards iteration project commands. To get started, see Get started with Azure DevOps CLI.
To rename or move a project iteration path, use the az boards area project update command.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project update --path
[--child-id]
[--finish-date]
[--name]
[--project]
[--start-date]
- path: Required. Absolute path of an iteration. Example: \ProjectName\Iteration\IterationName.
- child-id: Optional. Moves an existing iteration path and adds it as a child node for the specified path name or path ID.
- name: Optional. New name of the iteration path.
- project: Optional. Name or ID of the project. Example: --project "Fabrikam Fiber".
- finish-date: Optional. Finish date of the iteration. Example: "2019-06-21".
- start-date: Optional. Start date of the iteration path. Example: "2019-06-03". Must be earlier than the finish-date.
- yes: Optional. Do not prompt for confirmation.
For example, the following command updates the start and end dates of the Sprint 3 iteration path for the Fabrikam Fiber project.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project update --path "\Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 3" --finish-date 2019-08-31 --start-date 2019-08-01 --project "Fabrikam Fiber" --output table
ID Identifier Name Start Date Finish Date Path Has Children
----- ------------------------------------ -------- -------------------- -------------------- -------------------------------------------- --------------
55340 862e961a-ac7a-4fcc-9ebc-8afd0c12fed5 Sprint 3 2019-08-01T00:00:00Z 2019-08-31T00:00:00Z \Fabrikam Fiber\Iteration\Release 1\Sprint 3 False
::: moniker-end
[!INCLUDE temp]
[!INCLUDE note-delete-area-paths]
When you delete an Iteration Path, you must provide an Iteration Path to use to update the work items assigned to the Iteration Path you want to delete.
-
To delete an Iteration Path, open the web portal Project settings>Project configuration>Iterations page.
-
Choose the :::image type="icon" source="../../media/icons/actions-icon.png" border="false"::: context menu for the node, and select Delete or Remove.
-
In the dialog that opens, select the Iteration Path to reassign work items to, and then choose Delete path.
:::image type="content" source="media/iterations/delete-iteration-path-dialog.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Delete iteration dialog.":::
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
To delete a project iteration path, use the az boards area project delete command. To get started, see Get started with Azure DevOps CLI.
[!div class="tabbedCodeSnippets"]
az boards iteration project delete --path
[--project]
[--yes]
- path: Required. Absolute path of an iteration. Example: \ProjectName\Iteration\IterationName.
- project: Optional. Name or ID of the project. Example: --project "Fabrikam Fiber".
- yes: Optional. Do not prompt for confirmation.
::: moniker-end
[!INCLUDE temp]
You can't export or import the structure of tree paths for one project to use with another project.
::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2020"
However, using the az boards iteration commands you can list the iterations defined for one project and then add them to another project. Once they are added, you can then use the az boards iteration team commands to add them to a team and set the default and backlog iteration path for the team. Using the Classification Nodes (REST API) and Teams (REST API), you can perform similar actions.
::: moniker-end
After a while, you may want to archive iteration paths that were used for sprints that are a year or more out of date. You can do that by moving the iteration path under a node that you label "Archive". All work items are updated with the moved iteration path. Also, teams can de-select those sprints that have past. All data is maintained in the data store with the new iteration path assignments.
Before you archive the iterations, consider if you've captured all the reports that you may want.
You can quickly generate queries to view the progress for those areas. For example, you can visualize progress of work items that are assigned to sprints, as shown in the following stacked bar chart.
A: If your team doesn't use sprints to plan and track work, then no. You can leave the defaults assigned to the team as they are. You can then use the product and portfolio backlogs and boards, however you can't gain much use of sprint planning tools.
- About areas and iterations
- Add another team
- Configure team settings and add team administrators
- Assign backlog items to a sprint
- Agile tools that rely on areas or iterations
Area paths and iteration paths are also referred to as Classification Nodes.
::: moniker range="azure-devops"
::: moniker-end
::: moniker range="< azure-devops"
- Teams (REST API)
- Classification Nodes (REST API)
- Define the classification plug-in (Process Template)
::: moniker-end