Azure DevOps Board: Basics to Advanced

🌟 What is Azure DevOps Board?

Azure DevOps Boards is a work tracking system from Microsoft to manage software development tasks, bugs, user stories, and test management in one place. It supports Agile, Scrum, and Kanban frameworks.

✅ You can explore more about it here: Azure DevOps official site.

🌟 Why use DevOps Boards?

• ✅ Manage backlogs, sprints, and tasks visually
• ✅ Integrate with pipelines for continuous integration and deployment
• ✅ Provides traceability between requirements, tasks, and bugs
• ✅ Supports collaborative workflows with testers, developers, and product owners
• ✅ Includes powerful reporting tools

🌟 How to Access DevOps Boards

• 👉 Go to https://dev.azure.com/
• 👉 Log in with your Microsoft work account
• 👉 Create or select an organization and project
• 👉 Use the left-side menu to find “Boards”

🌟 How to Create Test Plans in DevOps Boards

• ✅ Navigate to Test Plans in the left panel
• ✅ Click “New Test Plan”
• ✅ Give it a name, area path, and iteration
• ✅ Add static or requirement-based test suites to group related tests
• ✅ Save the plan

🌟 How to Create Test Cases in DevOps Boards

• ✅ Inside a Test Plan, click “New Test Case”
• ✅ Add a title, priority, and description
• ✅ Define test steps: action and expected result
• ✅ Link to requirements if needed
• ✅ Save the test case

🌟 Executing Test Cases

• 👉 Open the test plan
• 👉 Select the test suite
• 👉 Click “Run for web app” to execute tests
• 👉 Mark Pass/Fail for each step and add evidence (screenshots/notes)
• 👉 Results are stored for reporting and metrics

🌟 Importing & Exporting Test Cases

• ✅ Use Azure DevOps Test Plans extension or REST API for imports
• ✅ Simple bulk import via Excel with the “Test Case Migrator” plugin
• ✅ Export test cases to Excel or CSV from the query results grid
• ✅ Always check field mapping before importing large data sets

🌟 Pro Tips

• ✅ Keep test titles meaningful and short
• ✅ Group tests into suites logically (e.g., Smoke, Regression, Performance)
• ✅ Use tags and priority fields to make searching easier
• ✅ Train your team on boards, sprints, and queries to maximize value

🌟 Common Mistakes to Avoid

• 🚫 Forgetting to assign ownership to test cases
• 🚫 Using unclear test titles that confuse readers
• 🚫 Not updating results after execution
• 🚫 Mixing unrelated test cases into one test suite
• 🚫 Failing to link test cases to requirements for traceability