Area and Iteration Path
"Area Path" and "Iteration Path" are standard fields in Azure DevOps (ADO), and they are used to organize work items by product classification, team, and time period.
They both have a tree structure, and they are defined in "Project Settings". They are covered in the online ADO documentation.
This guide focuses on how to use area and iteration paths in PCP.
Area path
An area path represents a functional area:
- It can be a component/product and its version where applicable.
- A team can be assigned to a specific area or a set of areas.
It’s possible to group work items in an area path, and to restrict access or to organize them in a logical structure. For example, the components developed in a stream are under the stream node, and can be grouped in an area path like this:
"Team Project\Stream\Product[\Major Product Version\Target Product Version]",
where "Product" can be a tree structure of a main product type with several components. The sections within square brackets are optional and defined at product level. Depending on the convention used in the team, the optional parts may be used or not.
Examples of area paths:
- PCP\Engineering\MyProduct\MyComponent\1.0
- 800xA Engineering and Production\Engineering\Eng Studio\6.0\6.0.0\6.0.0-3
An area path is usually set up by a configuration manager or a team project administrator. A product owner can request to be able to edit the areas of his/her product.
Iteration path
An iteration path represents a time interval and it is synchronized with increment planning, which gives a structure like this:
"Team Project\Stream[\Product]\Teams\Team Name\Increment\Sprint"
A concrete example of an iteration path is: "PCP\Operations\Teams\ATeam\24.1\24.1.3"
The configuration manager or scrum master administrates the sprints and selects sprints in the team configuration for the team to plan work items.
Sprints and increments are managed according to the SPI calendar and synchronized with SPI planning.
Bulk editing many iterations for many teams is possible using Azure CLI
Team configuration
Area path and iteration path are part of the Team Configuration in Azure DevOps
Teams can be defined for:
- A virtual management team at the system or stream/project level, to monitor the backlog at that level.
- An actual development team.
For each team, a backlog area and iteration are defined that identifies the scope of the team. Work items under the selected area/iteration appear in the team backlog.
In particular, the iteration up to the team's name (PCP\Operations\Teams\TeamName) is the team's backlog iteration, where the team keeps work items not planned for a specific iteration yet.
Area and iteration paths can be secured in "Project Settings" so that only authorized people can edit them.
It is possible to set permissions on area paths to restrict viewing or editing work items of each area.
Defining backlog levels
Backlog levels described in the SAFe mapping and mapped to SAFe Agile can be implemented by configuring teams with area path and iteration path.
| Backlog level | Items | Area path example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | System epic | Area: <ADO Project Name>\PCP Work\System 800xA\7.0\7.0.0 Iteration: PCP\Operations\Teams\SystemManagementTeam\23.4 | System epics imported from DFN and used as a basis for development. |
| Stream (or project) | Epic | Area: PCP\Engineering\NGT_Engg\CertificateDashboard\2.0\2.0.0 Iteration: PCP\Operations\Teams\ProjectManagementTeam\23.4 | Epics planned for a version of a product/component. |
| Team | Feature User story (bug) | Area: PCP\Engineering\NGT_Engg\CertificateDashboard\2.0\2.0.0 Iteration: PCP/Engineering/Teams/TeamName/SPI/Sprint | Detailed work items that a development team plans and executes, to produce deliverables. |