Configure Inherited Processes in Azure DevOps

Introduction

Azure DevOps is a powerful tool for software development and deployment and can be adjusted based on our needs. In Azure DevOps, processes are important. Processes are like the foundation of everything - they help keep track of work items, control versions, and manage builds and releases.

There are two main kinds of processes.

inherited processes and system processes. System processes follow pre-set patterns, while inherited processes can be changed to fit your specific requirements.

Use Cases

Azure DevOps Inherited Processes find applications in diverse scenarios, showcasing their flexibility and utility in the software development lifecycle.

Tailored Workflows: Customize workflows to suit the unique needs of your projects, ensuring efficiency and alignment with specific development methodologies.
Quick Adaptation to Changes: Easily adapt to changing project requirements by modifying inherited processes, ensuring your development approach stays agile and responsive.
Efficient Version Control: Customize version control mechanisms to efficiently manage code changes, branches, and releases based on the specific needs of your development teams.
Project Onboarding: Accelerate the onboarding process for new projects by tailoring inherited processes to match the unique requirements and workflows of your teams.

Step-by-Step Process to Implement Inherited Process

Step 1. Go to your Azure DevOps Organization.

Pre-requisites

The user performing these steps must be part of the 'Project Collection Administrators' group.

Step 2. Go to Organization Settings -> Under Boards, click on Process -> Select the System Process which needs to be inherited -> Click on 'Create Inherited Process' as shown in the image below.

Project Collection Administrators

Step 3. Give a name to the inherited process. In the below image, I have named it 'Agile Inherited 1' and clicked on the create process.

Agile Inherited 1

Step 4. Once the inherited process is created, open the process by clicking on the hyperlink as shown below.

Hyperlink

Step 5. Customize Work Item Types and Fields based on project requirements.

Click on 'New work item type' as shown in the image below.
Give this work item a name and click on Create.
A work item editor will open. It will have 3 tabs, Layout(To create new fields, groups, and pages), States(Define new stages such as Proposed, InProgress, Completed, etc), and Rules(We can define custom rules for work items), as shown below.
We will use the default setup for this new work item.

Step 6. Once we have made the desired changes to our new inherited process, we should assign it to an existing project. After the assignment of this process only, the new work item type will be visible in the existing project.

Open an existing project that needs to be assigned an inherited process. Go to project settings and click on the existing process hyperlink, as shown below.
You will be navigated to the new page. Click on the Change Process option under the projects tab for the project that has to be assigned a new inherited process.
A new pop-up will appear on the right-hand side. Select the inherited process created in Step 3 and click on save.
Now open your existing project and navigate to work items under boards, click on New Work Item, and verify 'Test work item' created in Step 5 exists as shown in the image below.

Conclusion

Process customization in Azure DevOps empowers teams to adapt their workflows and methodologies to suit their unique needs. By following the steps outlined above, teams can efficiently implement process customizations, ensuring a tailored and efficient development process. Whether you're adjusting work item types, fields, workflows, or project hierarchies, Azure DevOps provides a flexible framework for customization to enhance collaboration and productivity. Please feel free to reach out in case of any concerns.