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Leverage Azure Boards within Azure DevOps to plan, track, and manage your project lifecycle using the Basic process template. This streamlined approach uses just three work item types—Epics, Issues, and Tasks—while maintaining clear visibility and control over your work.
The Basic process is ideal for small to medium teams looking for a lightweight planning experience without sacrificing transparency.

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Work Item Types and States

Azure DevOps organizes work around discrete items that move through predefined states. In the Basic process, there are three work item types:
Work Item TypePurposeStates
EpicsLarge features or long-term goals spanning releasesTo Do → Doing → Done
IssuesUser stories, bugs, and feature requestsTo Do → Doing → Done
TasksGranular steps to complete an IssueTo Do → Doing → Done
The image is a flowchart illustrating the introduction of work items, showing a progression from "Epics" to "Issues" to "Tasks."

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Epics

An Epic captures a major feature or strategic initiative, often spanning multiple sprints or releases. Use Epics to group related Issues and maintain a high-level overview of your project goals.
The image illustrates the role of "Epics" in project management, showing a central "Epics" box connected to three "Issue" circles, indicating a hierarchical relationship.
Within an Epic, you can:
  • Organize multiple Issues (user stories, requirements, or bugs)
  • Track progress at a strategic level
  • Align work with business objectives

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Issues

Issues are the core planning units in the Basic process. They include:
  1. User Stories – Descriptions of user-facing features and their value.
  2. Bugs – Defects that require triage, prioritization, and resolution.
  3. Feature Requests – Ideas for new functionality or enhancements.
Logging work as Issues creates a predictable backlog, replacing ad hoc methods like email or chat.
The image is an infographic titled "Understanding the Issues," highlighting three steps: tracking user stories, logging bugs and features, and establishing a foundation of planning. Each step is represented by an icon and a number.

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Tasks

Break each Issue into Tasks—the actionable items your team executes. Tasks make it easy to assign work, estimate effort, and monitor daily progress.
The image is a flowchart illustrating "Detailed Tracking With Tasks," showing the progression from "Epics" to "Issues" and then to "Simpler Tasks."
Key benefits of using Tasks:
  • Clear ownership and due dates
  • Granular tracking of work items
  • Improved resource allocation

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Implementing the Basic Process

Follow these steps to get started:
  1. Create Issues to log user stories, bugs, and features.
  2. Group Issues into Epics for strategic alignment.
  3. Decompose Issues into Tasks to define specific action items.
The image illustrates a flowchart titled "Implementing the Basic Process," showing a hierarchy starting with "Epics" at the top, branching into three categories with icons and documents below each.

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Benefits of the Basic Process

  • Streamlined work item hierarchy
  • Focused planning with Issues and Epics
  • Detailed progress monitoring via Tasks
BenefitDescription
Simplified workflowOnly three item types to manage
Enhanced visibilityClear state transitions for every work item
Predictable deliveryBreak down complex work into manageable steps
The image outlines a basic process implementation with three steps: streamlined work items, effective planning, and enhanced tracking, each represented by an icon.

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