This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough of the 9-step wizard for setting up a Kendis PI Board integrated with Azure DevOps (ADO). Following these steps ensures your brand is aligned with your teams, projects, and iteration structure for successful PI planning.

Getting Started: Creating a New ADO Board

Click the + Create Board button.

From the dropdown menu, select Azure DevOps.

Step 1 of 9: ALM Account Setup

Here, you need to establish the board connection and perform basic settings.

Select ALM Account: Choose your existing ADO connection (e.g., ADO Connect).

New Board Information: Enter a unique New Board Name, a Prefix, and select a Color.

Click Next.

Step 2 of 9: Terminology

Customise the terminologies and visual settings for your work items.

Review Terms: Verify the Singular and Plural forms for key items like Feature, Story, Team, and Iteration/Sprint.

Set Appearance: Adjust the default Card Color and Text Color.

Workflow: Set the Feature Workflow, Story Workflow, and Dependency Workflow.

Click Next.

Step 3 of 9: Add Project

Link the board to your source ADO project(s).

Click Add Projects from ADO.

Select ADO Project: Choose the primary project (e.g., Great Minds).

NOTE: You can load multiple projects, but subsequent configuration (team mapping and data fetching) will be performed only using the selected ADO Project.

Click Next.

Step 4 of 9: Add Teams

This step ensures precise alignment by mapping your internal Kendis teams to their ADO project settings.

Select Teams: Choose the Kendis teams (e.g., Dragons, Aliens) that will participate in the planning.

Map Teams: For each Kendis team, map it to the appropriate ADO Team (e.g., Dragons to Cherokee).

Define the Area Path (e.g., Great Minds\Cherokee).

Work Item Type: Select the item type to be displayed at the feature/epic level (e.g., Feature or Epic).

Click Next.

Step 5 & 6 of 9: Select & Review Iterations

Define and verify the sprints/iterations that form your Program Increment.

Step 5 (Selection): Select the target Sprints/Iterations from the ADO Project list (e.g., selecting 8 iterations under Great Minds). All stories from the selected iteration path will be automatically included.

Step 6 (Review): Review the Iteration Mapping Overview. Verify the Iteration Name, Iteration Label (e.g., S1, S2), and Iteration Path.

Click Next.

Step 7 of 9: Features from Azure DevOps

Choose one of the following methods for pulling Features (Epics) into your new Program Board.

Include Features from iteration path (recommended): Automatically includes all Features from the selected iteration path. You can refine the features to be included by applying additional filters.

Work Item Type: Narrow down to only include Features, Epics, or Tasks.
Iteration Path: This is a required filter that defines the relationship between the Work Item Type you are including and the chosen iteration path. You must select an operator (e.g., Equals, Under, Not Under, In, or Not In) and then select the specific Iteration Path from the dropdown.
Area Path: Allows you to filter features based on their organizational mapping. You can select an operator (Equals, Under, Not Under, In, or Not In) to define the relationship to a specific Area Path.
State: Allows you to include only items that are 'In' or 'Not In' specific workflow states (e.g., "New" or "Approved").

Click the validate query, and you will see the item count.

Use Azure DevOps query: This option allows you to use advanced filtering logic defined within Azure DevOps.

You select a pre-defined query from the available list (My Queries or Shared Queries). The system will then use that query's complex criteria to pull the relevant Features onto your new board.

Create Board without Features for now: Creates an empty board structure. Features can be added later via Board Settings.

Click Next.

Step 8 of 9: Dependencies & Custom Fields

Configure dependency tracking and visibility of key data fields.

Dependencies: Use the dropdown menu to select the Dependency Link Type from ADO (e.g., Predecessor). The selected Link Types (e.g., Successor and Predecessor) will be listed.

ADO Custom Fields: Use the dropdown menu to select Custom Fields (e.g., Acceptance Criteria) that you want displayed on the board.