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Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server | Azure DevOps Server 2022
Add tasks to backlog items to track the work needed to complete them and to estimate effort per team member. The capacity tool shows how much work the team can commit to — defining and estimating tasks for each backlog item lets you compare capacity with planned work.
- Add as many tasks as needed to capture design, coding, testing, content, or sign-off work.
- Team members typically add their own tasks and estimates, though a lead can define the initial set.
Tip
You can use AI to help with this task later in this article, or see Enable AI assistance with Azure DevOps MCP Server to get started.
Prerequisites
| Category | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Project access | Project member. |
| Permissions | - Member of the Contributors or Project Administrators security group. - To view or modify work items: View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node permissions set to Allow. By default, the Contributors group has this permission set to Allow. For more information, see Set work tracking permissions. |
| Access levels | To add or modify work items: At least Basic access. Users with Stakeholder access for public projects have full access to backlog and board features, like users with Basic access. For more information, see Stakeholder access quick reference. |
| Defined iterations | To use the Planning pane: Ensure your team administrator defined iteration paths (sprints) and configure team iterations. |
| Category | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Project access | Project member. |
| Permissions | - Member of the Contributors or Project Administrators security group. - To view or modify work items: View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node permissions set to Allow. By default, the Contributors group has this permission set to Allow. For more information, see Set work tracking permissions. |
| Access levels | To add or modify work items: At least Basic access. |
| Defined iterations | To use the Planning pane: Ensure your team administrator defined iteration paths (sprints) and configure team iterations. |
Open a sprint backlog for a team
From your project, select Boards > Sprints, select your team, and then select Backlog.
To switch teams, open the team selector and choose a different team, or select the
Browse all sprints option. You can also enter a keyword to filter the list.
To switch sprints, open the sprint selector and choose the sprint you want.
Only sprints selected for the current team appear. If the sprint you need isn't listed, select New Sprint > Select existing iteration. For more information, see Define iteration (sprint) paths.
Add existing work items to a sprint
If you don't have any work items assigned to a sprint, see 1. Assign backlog items to a sprint.
If work items don't appear in your sprint backlog, check that:
- The Area Path matches one of the areas assigned to the team.
- The Iteration Path matches the sprint you selected.
For more information, see Define Iteration Paths and configure team iterations.
If tasks don't appear as children of a backlog item, you can reparent them. Unparented tasks appear at the top of the backlog under the Unparented group — drag the task onto the work item you want to parent it to.
Add tasks to backlog items
Before you start, make sure you assigned backlog items to your sprint and set the sprint dates.
Add a task for each backlog item. Tasks added from the sprint backlog or board are automatically linked to their parent backlog item and assigned to the sprint's Iteration Path.
Tip
To add tasks quickly, enter just the title on the taskboard and bulk edit later to assign them or add estimates. To show Remaining Work on the card, see Customize a sprint Taskboard.
From the Backlog — Select the plus sign next to a backlog item to open the task form.
From the Taskboard — Select the 
plus icon, enter a title, and press Enter.
To filter sprint views, select Filter 
and specify a keyword, field value, or tag. For more information, see Interactively filter backlogs, boards, queries, and plans.
Complete the task form
Enter the task name, an estimate for Remaining Work, and optionally assign the task to a team member.
Size tasks to take no more than a day. If a task is too large, break it down. If you can't estimate a task yet, create it now and add the estimate later.
During the sprint, update Remaining Work to reflect actual time needed. This value can increase — for example, if you estimated 8 hours, worked 4, and then realize you need 16 more, update the field to 20 (8-4+16). Accurate updates keep the sprint burndown chart reliable.
Field
Usage
The amount of approximate work required to complete a task. Typically, this field doesn't change after it's set. You can specify work in hours or days — no inherent time unit is associated with this field.
The amount of work remaining to complete a task. As work progresses, update this field. It's used to calculate capacity charts and the sprint burndown chart. You can specify work in any unit of measurement your team chooses.
The amount of work spent implementing a task.
Select the type of activity this task represents when your team plans sprint capacity by activity.
Unparented tasks
Tasks without a parent backlog item appear at the top of the Taskboard. You can track them like other tasks or drag them onto a backlog item to parent them. The unparented card shows the total remaining work for all unparented tasks but isn't associated with a work item.
Unparent a work item
To remove a task's parent association:
- On the Taskboard, select the task card to open its details.
- In the Links section, find the parent link and select Remove (trash can icon).
- Save the work item.
The task moves to the Unparented group at the top of the Taskboard.
Tip
To unparent multiple tasks at once, use Bulk edit — select the tasks, choose Edit, and remove the parent links.
Use AI to add and manage sprint tasks
If you have the Azure Boards MCP Server connected to your AI agent in agent mode, you can use natural language prompts to create and manage sprint tasks.
| Task | Example prompt |
|---|---|
| Add tasks to a user story | Add three tasks (Design, Implement, Test) to user story #1234 and set remaining work to 4 hours each |
| Create tasks in bulk | For each active user story in Sprint 12, add a Code Review task assigned to <me> with 2 hours remaining work |
| List sprint tasks | List all tasks in Sprint 12 for <Contoso Team> grouped by parent work item |
| Update task estimates | Set remaining work to 0 for all completed tasks in Sprint 11 in project <Contoso> |
| Identify missing tasks | Which user stories in Sprint 12 have no child tasks yet? List them so I can add tasks |
| Rebalance task assignments | Show total remaining work per team member in Sprint 12 and suggest which tasks to reassign to balance the load |
| Find overloaded stories | List user stories in the current sprint where total child task hours exceed 16 hours |
| Track incomplete tasks from last sprint | Find all tasks in Sprint 11 that are still active or in progress and move them to Sprint 12 |
| Generate a task breakdown | Break user story #2045 into tasks for front-end, back-end, unit testing, and documentation with 4-hour estimates each |
| Audit task completion | Show me tasks in Sprint 12 where the state is Active but remaining work is 0, so I can verify if they should be closed |
Note
Agent mode and the MCP Server use natural language, so you can adjust these prompts or ask follow-up questions to refine the results.