User Guide

User Guide

This guide covers how to log effort on work items and manage your time entries.

Accessing the Effort Tab

The Effort tab is available on all work item types (User Stories, Tasks, Bugs, etc.):

1. Open any work item in Azure Boards
2. Click the Effort tab in the work item form

Logging Effort

The Effort Form

The effort logging form contains the following fields:

Field	Required	Description
Date	Yes	The date when the work was performed
Hours	Yes	Time spent in H:MM format (e.g., 1:30 for 1h 30m)
Activity Type	Yes	Category of work (Development, Testing, etc.)
Notes	No	Optional description of work performed

Adding an Entry

1. Select the Date (defaults to today)
2. Enter Hours spent (format: H:MM like "1:30" for 1 hour 30 minutes)
3. Select an Activity Type from the dropdown
4. Optionally add Notes
5. Click Add

The entry will appear in the grid below immediately.

Validation Rules

• Hours: Must be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 24. Enter as H:MM (e.g., 1:30) with minutes from 0-59
• Activity Type: Must select from available options

Viewing Effort History

The Effort Grid

Below the form, you'll see a grid showing all effort logged on this work item:

Column	Description
Date	When the work was done
Hours	Time spent
Activity	Type of activity
User	Who logged the entry
Notes	Optional notes
Actions	Edit/Delete buttons

Pagination

If there are many entries, the grid will be paginated:

• Use Previous and Next buttons to navigate
• Page size is 10 entries by default

Editing Entries

You can edit your own effort entries:

1. Click the Edit (pencil) icon on the entry row
2. Modify the fields as needed
3. Click Save to apply changes
4. Or click Cancel to discard changes

Note: You can only edit your own entries.

Deleting Entries

To delete an effort entry:

1. Click the Delete (trash) icon on the entry row
2. Confirm the deletion in the dialog

Warning: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Understanding Activity Types

Activity types help categorize your work. Common examples include:

• Development - Writing code
• Testing - Manual or automated testing
• Code Review - Reviewing others' code
• Documentation - Writing docs or comments
• Meetings - Team meetings, standups
• Planning - Sprint planning, estimation
• Support - Helping others, answering questions

Your project administrator can customize these. See Admin Guide - Activity Types.

Tips and Best Practices

Log Effort Daily

Log your effort at the end of each day while the work is fresh in your mind. This leads to more accurate time tracking.

Use Meaningful Notes

Add notes that will help you remember what you worked on:

• ✅ "Fixed null reference bug in user authentication"
• ❌ "Fixed bug"

Round to Quarter Hours

For consistency, consider rounding to quarter hours:

• 0:15 (15 minutes)
• 0:30 (30 minutes)
• 0:45 (45 minutes)
• 1:00 (1 hour)

Use the Correct Activity Type

Accurate activity type selection helps with reporting and understanding where time is spent across the project.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Move between form fields
Enter	Submit the form (when Add button focused)
Escape	Cancel editing

Next Steps

• Reports Guide - Learn how to query and export effort data
• Admin Guide - Configure activity types for your project