Buckets provide an essential way to view items in your Kendis Program Board that are being pulled from Azure DevOps (ADO) but are not linked to any parent item (like a Feature or Epic). In the context of the Program Board, these are often referred to as "Unparented" items. They ensure that all work items committed to a team's iteration are visible and accounted for in the overall Program Increment (PI) planning.

Previously, Kendis focused primarily on displaying the hierarchy of work, items that were direct children of Epics or Features appearing on the Program Board.

If a Task or User Story was in your team's sprint but not connected (linked) to a Feature being tracked on the Program Board, it would not appear in the Kendis visualization.

Similarly, if a high-level item (like a Feature) was in a team's backlog but not associated with a top-level Epic, it could be missed.

Buckets solve this challenge by making all these unparented items visible and assignable within the context of the PI.

Buckets are an extension of the "Card Types" in Kendis. To configure the Buckets, you need to have "Super Admin" rights.

Step 1: Navigate to Additional Card Types

In the left-hand navigation panel of the application, locate and click on Admin Settings (or the corresponding icon).

In the list of Admin options, select "Additional Card Types".

Step 2: Access the Buckets Tab

After selecting "Additional Card Types," you will see two main tabs. Click on the "Buckets" tab to view the existing global and ALM-specific bucket configurations.

Step 3: Start the New Bucket Configuration

You will see existing buckets categorized under Global and various ALM Connect accounts (like Jira or ADO). To create a new custom bucket linked to your ADO account, click the "Add Buckets" button, typically found in the top-right corner.

Step 4: Define Bucket Details and Process

A new dialog box will open. Here, you will:

Enter a descriptive name for your new bucket (e.g., "ADO Unparented Stories").

Optionally choose a Background Color and Text Color to make the cards visually distinct on the board.

Under "Select Agile Tool (ALM)," choose your ADO Connect instance.

A new dropdown will appear. Select the Process (e.g., Basic, Scrum, Agile, CMMI) that corresponds to the project where these work items reside.

Step 5: Select Work Item Type(s)

A list of available Work Item Types (Task, Bug, Epic, Feature, etc.) will appear. Important: You can select multiple types for a single bucket, but you can only select types that are not already assigned to another ADO-Specific Bucket definition.

Check the box next to the Work Item Type(s) you wish this bucket to capture.

Click Save.

Step 6: Managing Your New Bucket

Your new ADO-specific bucket will now appear under the relevant ALM connector section (e.g., "ADO Connect"). You can change the name, colors, or other settings at any time by clicking the three-dot option (...) next to the bucket in the list.

After creation, you must enable the Bucket on the specific Program Board where you want to use it.

Access Board Settings

Move back to your Program Board.

Click the "Board Settings" button.

In the "Edit Board Settings" dialog, click the "Additional Settings" tab.

Enable Buckets and Select Options

Check the box labeled "Enable Buckets (Iteration Items without Features)".

In the "Select Bucket" section that appears, use the dropdown to select one or more of your previously configured Global and ADO-Specific buckets.

For each selected bucket, you can manage the visibility: Check the "Show above Features" box if you want the bucket row to appear above the Features section on the Program Board.

Save and Confirm Synchronization

Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the dialog.

If you have certain synchronization settings enabled (like WSJF mapping), you may receive an "Are you sure?" warning about potential data overriding between the application and ADO. Review the warning and click "Ok" to proceed and initiate the re-sync operation.

Once activated, unparented work items that match your bucket's Work Item Type definition will appear in the team area on your board.

Bucket items are visually distinct and are placed within the team's sprint columns.

The work items captured by the bucket are correctly included in the Team Load calculation for that iteration.

Where else can you use Buckets?

Buckets are recognized as a special "Card Type" throughout the Kendis platform. This means you can filter or group by this type in various views for comprehensive reporting:

This ensures that all unparented ADO items have full visibility across all your planning, execution, and reporting workflows.