Azure DevOps – Kanban Boards, Scrum Boards, Queries & Dashboards

1. What are Kanban Boards, Scrum Boards, Queries, and Dashboards?

In Azure Boards, these features are used to visualize, manage, track, and report development activities.

They help developers, Scrum Masters, Project Managers, and Tech Leads monitor project progress.

Simple example: In a Banking Application, a Kanban Board displays the progress of User Stories, a Sprint Taskboard shows tasks planned for Sprint 1, Queries identify pending bugs, and Dashboards display overall project progress.

2. What is a Kanban Board?

A Kanban Board is a visual work management tool used to track Work Items as they move through different stages of development.

It focuses on continuous workflow and limiting Work in Progress (WIP).

Example Kanban Board

How does it work?

1. Create User Stories or other backlog items.

2. Display them as cards on the Kanban Board.

3. Assign Work Items to developers.

4. Move cards between columns as work progresses.

5. Monitor blocked work and Work in Progress.

6. Complete work and move cards to the final column.

Important concepts

• Columns: Represent workflow stages such as New, Active, Testing, and Done.

• WIP Limits: Restrict the number of items in progress to help prevent bottlenecks.

• Swimlanes: Separate important work, such as expedited production fixes.

• Cumulative Flow Diagram: Shows how work items move through workflow states over time.

Advantages

• Provides a clear view of development progress.

• Helps identify workflow bottlenecks.

• Supports continuous delivery of work.

• Improves team coordination.

• Does not require fixed sprint durations.

Key Point: Kanban focuses on continuous workflow rather than completing work within fixed-length sprints.

3. What is a Scrum Board (Sprint Taskboard)?

A Scrum Board, commonly called the Sprint Taskboard in Azure Boards, is used to track tasks planned for a particular Sprint.

Scrum is an Agile framework in which development is organized into fixed-length iterations called Sprints.

Example – Sprint 1 Taskboard

Suppose Sprint 1 runs for two weeks.

How does it work?

1. Product Owner maintains the Product Backlog.

2. During Sprint Planning, the team selects User Stories.

3. User Stories are divided into development and testing Tasks.

4. Tasks are assigned to developers.

5. Developers update Task status throughout the Sprint.

6. The team monitors progress using the Sprint Taskboard and Burndown Chart.

7. Completed work is reviewed at the end of the Sprint.

Important concepts

Advantages

• Helps teams track Sprint commitments.

• Provides visibility into individual Tasks.

• Supports capacity planning.

• Identifies delays during Sprint execution.

• Helps monitor remaining work.

Key Point: The Sprint Taskboard focuses on work planned for a specific Sprint, whereas the Kanban Board focuses on the broader workflow.

4. Difference Between Kanban Board and Scrum Board

Real-world example

Kanban: A Production Support team receives bugs daily and resolves them continuously.

Scrum: A development team plans Customer Login and Fund Transfer functionality for a two-week Sprint.

Important: Azure Boards can support both approaches within the same project. A team can use Kanban boards while also organizing work into Sprints.

5. What are Queries in Azure Boards?

Queries are used to search, filter, and retrieve Work Items based on specified conditions.

They help developers, Tech Leads, and Project Managers quickly identify relevant work.

Why do we need Queries?

Suppose your Banking Application contains 500 Work Items.

You want to identify:

• All active bugs.

• High-priority User Stories.

• Tasks assigned to a particular developer.

• Work Items planned for Sprint 2.

• Bugs created during the last seven days.

Instead of manually reviewing every Work Item, you can create a Query.

Example Query – Active Bugs

Types of Queries

How to create a Query

1. Open Azure DevOps → Boards → Queries.

2. Select New Query.

3. Choose the Query Type.

4. Add conditions such as Work Item Type, State, Assigned To, or Iteration Path.

5. Click Run Query.

6. Save the Query under My Queries or Shared Queries.

Advantages

• Quickly identifies relevant Work Items.

• Supports filtering by team, Sprint, or developer.

• Helps track unresolved bugs.

• Enables reusable reporting.

• Query results can be displayed on Dashboards.

Key Point: Queries retrieve Work Items based on conditions. They do not automatically modify Work Item status.

6. What are Dashboards in Azure DevOps?

A Dashboard is a customizable page that displays project information, charts, and metrics using widgets.

It provides a centralized view of project progress and team performance.

Why do we need Dashboards?

A Project Manager or Tech Lead may want to know:

• How many Tasks are completed?

• How many Bugs are still active?

• Is the current Sprint progressing as planned?

• Are CI builds succeeding?

• What is the overall project status?

Dashboards bring this information together in one place.

Example Azure DevOps Dashboard

Common Dashboard Widgets

How to create a Dashboard

1. Open Azure DevOps → Overview → Dashboards.

2. Select New Dashboard.

3. Enter the Dashboard name.

4. Choose the appropriate Dashboard visibility and ownership settings.

5. Select Add a Widget.

6. Configure widgets such as Query Results, Burndown, or Build History.

7. Save the Dashboard.

Advantages

• Centralized project reporting.

• Easy monitoring of Sprint progress.

• Visual tracking of bugs and tasks.

• Visibility into CI/CD build status.

• Supports data-driven project decisions.

7. How Do These Features Work Together?

Consider a Banking Application development team.

Product Backlog
      ↓
Sprint Planning
      ↓
Sprint Taskboard
(Track Sprint Tasks)
      ↓
Kanban Board
(Visualize Work Flow)
      ↓
Queries
(Filter Bugs / Tasks)
      ↓
Dashboards
(Monitor Project Metrics)

This diagram shows how the features complement one another, not a mandatory sequential workflow. Kanban boards and Sprint Taskboards are different views of work and can be used in parallel.

Real-world usage

8. Important Interview Questions and Answers

Q1. What is a Kanban Board in Azure DevOps?

A Kanban Board is a visual tool used to track Work Items through different workflow stages such as New, Active, Testing, and Done.

Q2. What is the difference between Kanban and Scrum Boards?

Kanban focuses on continuous workflow and WIP limits, while Scrum Sprint Taskboards focus on tracking work selected for a fixed-length Sprint.

Q3. What is WIP in Kanban?

WIP stands for Work in Progress. WIP limits help teams control how many Work Items are being worked on simultaneously.

Q4. What is a Query in Azure Boards?

A Query is a reusable search that retrieves Work Items based on conditions such as State, Assigned To, Priority, or Iteration Path.

Q5. What are the different types of Queries?

Flat List of Work Items, Work Items and Direct Links, and Tree of Work Items.

Q6. What is a Dashboard in Azure DevOps?

A Dashboard is a customizable page that displays project metrics, charts, Query results, Sprint progress, and build information using widgets.

Q7. What is the difference between Queries and Dashboards?

Queries retrieve and filter Work Items, while Dashboards visually display information and metrics from Queries and other Azure DevOps services.

Q8. Can Query results be displayed on a Dashboard?

Yes. Saved shared Queries can be used with widgets such as Query Results and Chart for Work Items.

9. Key Points for Interview

• Kanban Board: Visualizes continuous workflow.

• Scrum Board / Sprint Taskboard: Tracks work within a specific Sprint.

• Queries: Search and filter Work Items.

• Dashboards: Display project metrics and reports.

• Kanban uses WIP limits to improve workflow.

• Scrum uses fixed-length Sprints for planned development.

• Queries can be saved and shared with the team.

• Dashboards use widgets to display work tracking and CI/CD information.

Interview-ready answer

In Azure DevOps, Kanban Boards, Scrum Sprint Taskboards, Queries, and Dashboards help teams manage and monitor development activities.

A Kanban Board visualizes continuous workflow using columns such as New, Active, and Done. A Scrum Sprint Taskboard tracks development tasks planned for a specific Sprint.

Queries are used to filter and retrieve Work Items based on conditions such as State, Priority, and Assigned To. Dashboards provide a centralized visual view of project progress using charts, widgets, Sprint metrics, and build information.

Together, these features help developers, Tech Leads, Scrum Masters, and Project Managers track work efficiently and make informed decisions.