Azure Boards Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Boards. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, and integrations & coding patterns. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

> IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

> IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description | |----------|-------|-------------| | Troubleshooting | L35-L43 | Diagnosing and fixing Azure DevOps Office integration errors, backlog nesting/reordering issues, and common Azure Boards query problems. | | Best Practices | L44-L54 | Guidance on Agile/Scrum best practices in Azure Boards: work item management, scalable product and sprint planning, process customization, and querying for workflow/board changes. | | Decision Making | L55-L61 | Guidance on selecting Azure Boards migration/integration options, cross-team reporting tools, and the best process template (Agile/Scrum/CMMI) for your project. | | Limits & Quotas | L62-L66 | Managing limits, quotas, and recovery for Azure Boards test artifacts and work item attachments, including deletion, restoration, size/count constraints, and best practices. | | Security | L67-L73 | Managing Azure Boards security: default permissions, configuring query/folder access, and setting access controls and policies for teams and users. | | Configuration | L74-L84 | Configuring Azure Boards: work item fields and processes (Agile/Scrum/CMMI), bug/risk tracking, code review/feedback fields, query fields/macros, charts, and GitHub Enterprise integration. | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L85-L95 | Connecting Azure Boards to Excel, GitHub, Copilot, Slack, Teams, and using WIQL—covering bulk edits, status badges, artifact linking, and collaboration/work item query patterns. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Resolve Azure DevOps Office integration errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/office/tfs-office-integration-issues?view=azure-devops | | Resolve Azure DevOps Office integration errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/office/tfs-office-integration-issues?view=azure-devops | | Resolve Azure DevOps Office integration errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/office/tfs-office-integration-issues?view=azure-devops | | Troubleshoot Azure Boards backlog nesting and reordering | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/resolve-backlog-reorder-issues?view=azure-devops | | Resolve common Azure Boards query issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/query-faqs?view=azure-devops |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Apply Azure Boards work item management best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/manage-work-items?view=azure-devops | | Apply Azure Boards Agile product management practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/best-practices-agile-project-management?view=azure-devops | | Plan and configure Azure Boards process customization | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/configure-customize?view=azure-devops | | Apply scalable Agile practices in Azure Boards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/plans/practices-that-scale?view=azure-devops | | Create queries for workflow and board changes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/query-by-workflow-changes?view=azure-devops | | Query work items by titles and rich-text fields | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/titles-ids-descriptions?view=azure-devops | | Apply Azure Boards sprint and Scrum best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/sprints/best-practices-scrum?view=azure-devops |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Select migration and integration options for Azure Boards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/extensions/migrate-integrate?view=azure-devops | | Choose Azure Boards tools for cross-team visibility | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/plans/visibility-across-teams?view=azure-devops | | Choose the right Azure Boards process template | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/guidance/choose-process?view=azure-devops |

Limits & Quotas

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Manage Azure Boards work item attachments and limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/manage-attachments?view=azure-devops |

Security

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Understand default permissions and access in Azure Boards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/get-started/permissions-access-boards?view=azure-devops | | Configure query and folder permissions in Azure Boards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/set-query-permissions?view=azure-devops | | Secure Azure Boards with access controls and policies | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/secure-your-azure-boards?view=azure-devops |

Configuration

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Configure on-premises Azure DevOps with GitHub Enterprise | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/connect-on-premises-to-github?view=azure-devops-server | | Configure Azure Boards query charts for dashboards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/example-query-charts?view=azure-devops | | Use Azure Boards query fields, operators, and macros | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/query-operators-variables?view=azure-devops | | Track bugs, issues, and risks fields in CMMI process | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/guidance/cmmi/guidance-bugs-issues-risks-field-reference-cmmi?view=azure-devops | | Use code review and feedback fields in Azure Boards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/guidance/guidance-code-review-feedback-field-reference?view=azure-devops | | Reference Agile and Scrum work item fields in Azure Boards | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/guidance/work-item-field?view=azure-devops | | Configure and manage Azure Boards work item fields | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/work-items/work-item-fields?view=azure-devops |

Integrations & Coding Patterns

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Bulk edit Azure Boards work items using Excel | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/backlogs/office/bulk-add-modify-work-items-excel?view=azure-devops | | Add Azure Boards status badges to GitHub repos | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/configure-status-badges?view=azure-devops | | Integrate Azure Boards projects with GitHub repositories | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/connect-to-github?view=azure-devops | | Link GitHub artifacts to Azure Boards work items | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/link-to-from-github?view=azure-devops | | Integrate GitHub Copilot with Azure Boards work items | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/github/work-item-integration-github-copilot?view=azure-devops | | Integrate Azure Boards with Slack channels | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/integrations/boards-slack?view=azure-devops | | Use Azure Boards with Microsoft Teams channels | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/integrations/boards-teams?view=azure-devops | | Use WIQL syntax for Azure Boards queries | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/boards/queries/wiql-syntax?view=azure-devops |