Azure DevOps Work Item Hygiene Audit
Find stale, unestimated and orphaned work items.
The Open buttons send the prompt text as currently shown below to that site only when you click. Fill in the placeholders first.
Audit work item hygiene with this export: [WORK_ITEM_EXPORT]. Our rules (required fields, parent links, age limits): [RULES]. Today's date: [TODAY]. Active-days limit: [ACTIVE_DAYS]. Start with the scope: how many items you reviewed, from which states, and what you excluded such as closed items; if a rule is ambiguous, say how you read it. Count items in each state, and those with no parent, description, estimate or assignee, active for more than the limit, or closed without a resolution note. Report each check as a count and a percentage of items in scope, and identify duplicate titles. Mention the sample size and any limits of the export. Return a table, a clean-up plan, and rules to prevent recurrence (required fields and a weekly review). Describe each check as a saved query in plain words so I can repeat it weekly. Finish with the ten oldest active items with their age in days for the next planning session. Do not delete or close items.
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See an example result (fictional data)
Invented export of 300 active items. No parent: 42 (14 percent). No estimate: 66 (22 percent). No assignee: 27 (9 percent). Active more than 30 days: 51 (17 percent). Closed without a resolution note: 18 of 120 closed (15 percent). Reading: the estimate gap is largest, so the first fix is a rule that items cannot enter a sprint without one. Clean-up: link 42 orphans to a feature, assign 27, ask owners about the 51 long-active items. Estimated effort: 3 hours. Re-run the audit in four weeks and compare the percentages.
Illustrative only, made-up data. Your results will differ and must be reviewed.