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In this guide, you’ll learn how to build a tailored dashboard in Azure DevOps so your team can quickly surface key metrics—work items, builds, releases, pull requests, and more. Whether you pin it on a big screen or check it on the go, dashboards help you track progress and catch issues early.

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Viewing an Existing Dashboard

  1. Sign in to Azure DevOps and select your project (e.g., KodeKloud Hotel).
  2. In the left navigation, click Dashboards.
  3. Any dashboards created for this project will appear.
If no dashboard exists yet, you’ll see an empty canvas ready for widgets.

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Assigning a Work Item and Seeing Live Updates

Simulate a live update to verify automatic refresh:
  1. Go to Boards > Work Items in the left menu.
  2. Find a work item (e.g., “Services has a bug.”).
  3. Open it, assign it to yourself (e.g., Jeremy Morgan), and save.
The image shows a project management interface with a list of work items, including details like ID, title, assigned person, state, and activity date. A cursor is hovering over an item titled "Services has a bug."
Return to your dashboard. The Assigned to Me widget refreshes instantly, showing your newly assigned bug.

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Creating a New Dashboard

  1. In the Dashboards view, click New Dashboard.
  2. Enter a name and click Create.
  3. A grid canvas appears, representing widget slots—each occupies one or more cells.

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Adding and Arranging Widgets

Choose and place widgets that surface your critical insights:
Widget NameSize (columns×rows)Use Case
Assigned to Me6×2View your current work items
Build Health Overview3×2Monitor pipeline success and failures
Build History2×2Track recent builds
Burndown Chart6×4Visualize sprint progress
Work Items Chart4×3Analyze work item distribution
Cycle Time4×3Measure completion time
Drag each widget onto the grid. For optimal layout:
  • Top: Build health and history
  • Center: Assigned work and cycle time
  • Right: Burndown and workload charts
The image shows a dashboard interface with widgets for build health overview and work assignments, alongside options to add more widgets.
When done, click Done Editing.

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Preview with No Data

If your project has sparse data, some widgets display No results until builds or items populate them.
The image shows a dashboard interface with various widgets displaying information such as build status, work assignments, and cycle time, all indicating no results or data.
Empty widgets may look sparse at first. As your pipelines run and work items update, they’ll populate automatically.

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Tailoring the Dashboard for Your Role

As a development lead, consider adding:
  • Pull Requests front and center
  • Release Pipeline Health
  • Team Velocity
  1. Click Edit.
  2. Drag these widgets onto your canvas and adjust sizes.
  3. Click Done Editing.
Your morning glance now shows work items, PRs, builds, burndown, and velocity—all at once.
The image shows a dashboard interface with various widgets displaying project management metrics, such as work assignments, burndown charts, and pull requests. Some widgets indicate no data or require configuration.

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Best Practices

  • Keep widget sources current (pipelines, queries).
  • Remove unused widgets to reduce clutter.
  • Focus on 2–3 critical widgets for maximum visibility.
  • Review and adjust as team priorities evolve.

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Fixing Broken or Misconfigured Widgets

When a widget fails to load (e.g., unhandled exception or invalid JSON), reconfigure its connection:
  1. Click Edit and open the gear icon on the problematic widget.
  2. Select the correct pipeline or query.
  3. Save and click Done Editing.
If a pipeline or query no longer exists, the widget will remain broken. Ensure you recreate or update the source before reattaching.

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Example: Reattaching a Pipeline

  1. In Pipelines, click Create Pipeline.
  2. Connect to your repo (e.g., SmartHotel360 under KodeKloud Hotel).
  3. Use the starter template, then save and run.
The image shows a software interface for selecting a repository, with options for "PublicWeb" and "SmartHotel360" under the "KodeKloud Hotel" project. A cursor is hovering over "SmartHotel360."
  1. Return to Dashboards, edit the widget, attach the new pipeline, and save.
Your dashboard will now render correctly:
The image shows a project management dashboard for "KodeKloud Hotel Team," featuring various charts and metrics related to work assignments, team velocity, build health, and backlog items. It includes visual elements like pie charts, bar graphs, and tiles displaying work progress and issues.
Discover more widgets:
CategoryDescription
WorkCharts and lists for work items
BuildPipelines health and history
CodePRs, commits, and code coverage
ReleaseRelease pipeline status and logs
  1. Click Add Widget.
  2. Browse categories and click Add next to any widget.
The image shows a project management dashboard with various widgets displaying work items, burndown charts, and backlog information. There is also a sidebar for adding new widgets like lead time, markdown, and pull requests.

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Using Extensions

For richer dashboards, explore the Visual Studio Marketplace:
  1. Click the Marketplace icon in Azure DevOps.
  2. Search for “Azure DevOps” extensions.
  3. Install free or paid widgets (e.g., SonarCloud, Gantt charts).
The image shows a webpage from the Visual Studio Marketplace featuring extensions for Azure DevOps, with sections for "Featured," "Most Popular," and "Recently Added" extensions.

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Conclusion

Custom dashboards in Azure DevOps provide lightweight observability—granting immediate insights into builds, work items, burndown, and pull requests. Build the perfect layout for your role, keep it focused, and update it as your project evolves.

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