Azure DevOps Work Items Skill

This skill provides guidance on creating and managing Azure DevOps work items when using the Azure DevOps MCP server tools. It ensures work items follow organizational best practices for hierarchy, formatting, naming conventions, and hour estimation.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Creating Features, User Stories, or Tasks in Azure DevOps
• Planning work item hierarchies for a feature or epic
• Structuring acceptance criteria or task descriptions
• Applying naming conventions to work items
• Estimating hours or story points for work items
• Using the @azure-devops/mcp MCP server tools

Work Item Hierarchy

Azure DevOps uses a three-level structure for Agile projects:

1. Features (top level) - High-level capabilities or business objectives
2. User Stories (child of Features) - Specific functionality from a user perspective
3. Tasks (child of User Stories) - Individual work items for implementation

Key Rules:

• Every User Story must belong to a Feature (parent-child relationship)
• Every Task must belong to a User Story (parent-child relationship)
• Features contain one or more User Stories
• User Stories contain one or more Tasks

HTML Formatting Requirement

CRITICAL: All text fields (Description, Acceptance Criteria) must use proper HTML formatting for correct rendering in Azure DevOps.

Examples:

<!-- Good: Proper HTML -->
<p>As a developer, I need to implement user authentication.</p>
<p><strong>Background:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>Current system has no authentication</li>
  <li>Users need secure login</li>
</ul>

<!-- Bad: Plain text -->
As a developer, I need to implement user authentication.

Background:
- Current system has no authentication
- Users need secure login

HTML Formatting Guidelines:

• Use <p> tags for paragraphs
• Use <ul> and <li> for bullet lists
• Use <ol> and <li> for numbered lists
• Use <strong> for bold text
• Use <em> for italic text
• Use <h3>, <h4> for section headers (if needed)

Feature Requirements

Purpose: High-level business capability or objective containing related User Stories.

Description Field:

• Provide a simple, high-level summary of the feature
• Explain the business value or objective
• Avoid fine implementation details (those belong in User Stories)
• Use HTML formatting with <p> tags and lists

Example Feature:

Title: 1: User Authentication System
Description:
<p>Implement a complete user authentication system with login, registration, and password reset capabilities.</p>
<p><strong>Business Value:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>Enable secure access to the application</li>
  <li>Support personalized user experiences</li>
  <li>Meet security compliance requirements</li>
</ul>

Field Settings:

• Area Path: Set to appropriate team area
• Iteration Path: Set to target sprint/iteration
• State: "New" (default for new work items)
• Assigned To: Leave unassigned (team members assign themselves)

User Story Requirements

Purpose: Specific functionality described from a user perspective, containing implementation Tasks.

Structure

• Each User Story belongs to exactly one parent Feature
• Each User Story contains one or more child Tasks
• User Stories remain unassigned until team members pick them up

Description Field Format

Use HTML formatting with this structure:

<p><strong>As a</strong> [user persona], <strong>I want to</strong> [capability], <strong>so that</strong> [benefit].</p>

<p><strong>Background:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>[Context point 1]</li>
  <li>[Context point 2]</li>
  <li>[Context point 3]</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Additional Information:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>[Implementation detail 1]</li>
  <li>[Implementation detail 2]</li>
</ul>

Example:

<p><strong>As a</strong> website visitor, <strong>I want to</strong> register for an account, <strong>so that</strong> I can access personalized features.</p>

<p><strong>Background:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>Current system has no user accounts</li>
  <li>Marketing team requires user tracking</li>
  <li>Future features depend on user identity</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Additional Information:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>Email should be the unique identifier</li>
  <li>Password strength validation required</li>
  <li>Email verification recommended but not required for MVP</li>
</ul>

Acceptance Criteria Format

Use the "Given, When, Then" format with HTML:

<p><strong>Scenario 1: Successful Registration</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Given</strong> I am on the registration page</li>
  <li><strong>When</strong> I enter valid email and password</li>
  <li><strong>Then</strong> my account is created and I am logged in</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Scenario 2: Invalid Email</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Given</strong> I am on the registration page</li>
  <li><strong>When</strong> I enter an invalid email format</li>
  <li><strong>Then</strong> I see an error message and cannot submit</li>
</ul>

Guidelines:

• Keep criteria concise and testable
• Focus on observable behavior, not implementation
• Use bullet points for readability
• Structure for QA testers to execute

Story Points

Apply Fibonacci sequence values to the "Story Points" field to estimate relative complexity:

• 1 - Trivial change, very well understood
• 2 - Simple change, clear requirements
• 3 - Moderate complexity, some uncertainty
• 5 - Complex change, multiple components
• 8 - Very complex, significant uncertainty
• 13 - Epic-level work (consider breaking down)

Field Settings:

• Area Path: Set to appropriate team area
• Iteration Path: Set to target sprint/iteration
• State: "New"
• Assigned To: Leave unassigned
• Story Points: Fibonacci value (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13)

Task Requirements

Purpose: Lightweight work tracking items representing individual implementation activities.

Structure

• Each Task belongs to exactly one parent User Story
• Tasks do NOT have Description or Acceptance Criteria fields
• Tasks reference the parent User Story for all context
• Tasks remain unassigned until developers pick them up

Title Format

Keep Task titles simple and descriptive, focused on the work activity:

Good Task Titles:

• "Implement registration API endpoint"
• "Create registration form UI"
• "Write unit tests for registration flow"
• "Add email validation logic"
• "Update database schema for users table"

Bad Task Titles:

• "Do the registration stuff" (too vague)
• "As a user I want to register..." (that's the User Story, not a Task)
• "Registration" (not specific enough)

Hour Estimation

Tasks are the primary container for hour tracking. Set both fields to the same estimated value:

• Original Estimate: Total hours estimated to complete the work
• Remaining Work: Same value as Original Estimate (initially)
• Completed Work: Leave empty (will be filled during work)

Example:

Original Estimate: 4
Remaining Work: 4
Completed Work: (empty)

Estimation Guidelines:

• Break tasks into 2-8 hour chunks when possible
• Tasks over 16 hours should be split into smaller tasks
• Be realistic and include testing/debugging time
• Consider code review and documentation time

Field Settings:

• Area Path: Inherited from parent User Story (or set explicitly)
• Iteration Path: Inherited from parent User Story (or set explicitly)
• State: "New"
• Assigned To: Leave unassigned
• Original Estimate: Hours (e.g., 4)
• Remaining Work: Same as Original Estimate

Naming Convention Standards

Azure DevOps lacks robust priority sorting, so naming conventions ensure proper organization in the backlog.

Features Naming

Format: [NUMBER]: [DESCRIPTION]

• Prefix with a single digit from 1-99
• Use the number to indicate priority/sequence
• Keep description concise and business-focused

Examples:

• "1: User Authentication System"
• "2: Product Catalog Management"
• "3: Shopping Cart and Checkout"

User Stories Naming

There are two supported naming conventions. Check the project's CLAUDE.md file for the configured convention, or ask which convention to use before creating User Stories.

Convention 1: Decimal Notation

Format: [FEATURE_NUMBER].[STORY_NUMBER]: [DESCRIPTION]

• Use decimal notation incorporating the parent Feature number
• Stories under Feature 1 are numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3...
• Stories under Feature 2 are numbered 2.1, 2.2, 2.3...

Examples:

• "1.1: User Registration"
• "1.2: User Login"
• "1.3: Password Reset"
• "2.1: Product Listing Page"
• "2.2: Product Detail View"

Benefits:

• Clear parent-child relationship visible in title
• Automatic sorting keeps stories grouped by feature
• Easy to identify which feature a story belongs to

Convention 2: Simple Descriptive Names

Format: [DESCRIPTION]

• Use clear, descriptive titles without numbering
• Focus on the capability being delivered
• No decimal notation or prefixes

Examples:

• "Create user registration system"
• "Implement user login flow"
• "Add password reset functionality"
• "Build product listing page"
• "Develop product detail view"

Benefits:

• More flexible and natural language
• Easier to read and understand
• Less maintenance when reorganizing features

Tasks Naming

Format: [DESCRIPTION]

• Always use simple, descriptive titles without numbering
• Focus on the implementation activity
• Keep concise and action-oriented

Examples:

• "Implement user registration API endpoint"
• "Create login UI components"
• "Write authentication unit tests"
• "Design product listing page layout"
• "Add product search functionality"

Default Field Values

When creating work items, apply these defaults unless explicitly specified otherwise:

All Work Item Types:

• State: "New"
• Assigned To: Unassigned (leave blank)

Project-Specific Values: These are typically configured in the project's CLAUDE.md file:

• Organization: (from configuration)
• Project: (from configuration)
• Team: (from configuration)
• Area Path: (from configuration, e.g., "ProjectName\Team\TeamName")
• Iteration Path: (from configuration, e.g., "ProjectName\Sprint 1")

Best Practices

1. Check Configuration First: Before creating work items, check if the project has Azure DevOps configuration in CLAUDE.md that specifies organization, project, team, area path, iteration path, and naming convention preferences.
2. Always Use HTML: Never use plain text or markdown in Description or Acceptance Criteria fields - always use proper HTML formatting.
3. Maintain Hierarchy: Never create orphaned work items. Every User Story needs a parent Feature, every Task needs a parent User Story.
4. Check Naming Convention: If not specified in CLAUDE.md, ask which naming convention is preferred (decimal notation like 1.1, 1.2 or simple descriptive names) before creating User Stories.
5. Keep Tasks Lightweight: Tasks should not duplicate the User Story's description or acceptance criteria. They should be simple work containers with just a title and hour estimates.
6. Leave Assignments Blank: Let team members assign themselves to work items during sprint planning or daily standups.
7. Estimate Realistically: Include time for testing, code review, documentation, and debugging in task hour estimates.
8. Use Story Points Consistently: Apply Fibonacci sequence values to User Stories based on relative complexity, not absolute time.
9. Progressive Disclosure: Create Features first, then User Stories, then Tasks. This allows for iterative refinement of scope and estimation.
10. Validate Before Creating: Review the work item hierarchy and ensure all required fields are populated before calling MCP tools to create items.

Common Patterns

Pattern: Creating a Complete Feature with Stories and Tasks

When asked to create a new feature with full breakdown:

1. Create the Feature with high-level description
2. Create User Stories as children of the Feature with proper descriptions and acceptance criteria
3. Create Tasks as children of each User Story with hour estimates
4. Review the hierarchy to ensure proper parent-child relationships
5. Confirm total estimated hours across all tasks align with story points

Pattern: Adding Tasks to Existing User Story

When asked to add tasks to an existing story:

1. Fetch the User Story to understand context
2. Review existing tasks to avoid duplication
3. Create new Tasks with appropriate titles and hour estimates
4. Link Tasks to the User Story as parent

Pattern: Breaking Down a Large User Story

When a User Story is too large (Story Points 13+):

1. Review the original User Story description and acceptance criteria
2. Identify natural breakpoints in functionality
3. Create multiple smaller User Stories under the same Feature
4. Distribute acceptance criteria across the new stories
5. Update or close the original story as appropriate
6. Create Tasks for each new User Story

Example Work Item Hierarchy

Feature: 1: User Authentication System
  Description: <p>Implement complete user authentication...</p>

  User Story: 1.1: User Registration
    Description: <p><strong>As a</strong> website visitor...</p>
    Acceptance Criteria: <p><strong>Scenario 1...</strong></p>
    Story Points: 5

    Task: Implement registration API endpoint
      Original Estimate: 4
      Remaining Work: 4

    Task: Create registration form UI
      Original Estimate: 3
      Remaining Work: 3

    Task: Write unit tests for registration
      Original Estimate: 2
      Remaining Work: 2

  User Story: 1.2: User Login
    Description: <p><strong>As a</strong> registered user...</p>
    Acceptance Criteria: <p><strong>Scenario 1...</strong></p>
    Story Points: 3

    Task: Implement login API endpoint
      Original Estimate: 3
      Remaining Work: 3

    Task: Create login form UI
      Original Estimate: 2
      Remaining Work: 2

Troubleshooting

Problem: Work items not appearing in the correct order in backlog

Solution: Ensure Features are numbered 1-99, and User Stories follow the configured naming convention (decimal notation or descriptive names).

Problem: Acceptance criteria rendering incorrectly in Azure DevOps

Solution: Verify all text fields use proper HTML formatting with <p>, <ul>, <li> tags.

Problem: Tasks showing as orphaned in queries

Solution: Verify each Task has a parent User Story link set correctly when created.

Problem: Story Points not summing correctly at Feature level

Solution: Ensure Story Points are only set on User Stories, not on Features or Tasks.