get-started-stakeholder.md

title	titleSuffix	description	ms.technology	ms.prod	ms.assetid	ms.manager	ms.author	author	ms.topic	monikerRange	ms.date
Get started with Stakeholder access	Azure DevOps	Add & update work items, approve releases, view work tracking progress with Stakeholder access	devops-new-user	devops	D76507F1-3154-4EE5-A23A-9179C2F5A365	jillfra	kaelli	KathrynEE	tutorial	>= tfs-2013	04/22/2019

Get started as a Stakeholder

[!INCLUDE temp]

::: moniker range="azure-devops" With Stakeholder access, you can add and modify work items, manage build and release pipelines, and view dashboards. You can check project status and provide direction, feedback, feature ideas, and business alignment to a team. Stakeholder access is one of several supported access levels. To understand the full set of features Stakeholders have access to, see About access levels.

Note

For public projects, Stakeholder access gives users greater access to work tracking features. To learn more, see Default roles and access for public projects. ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">= tfs-2017 <= azure-devops-2019" With Stakeholder access, you can add and modify work items, view and approve pipelines, and view dashboards. You can check project status and provide direction, feedback, feature ideas, and business alignment to a team. Stakeholder access is one of several supported access levels. To understand the full set of features Stakeholders have access to, see About access levels. ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">= tfs-2013 <= tfs-2015" With Stakeholder access, you can add and modify work items. You can check project status and provide direction, feedback, feature ideas, and business alignment to a team. Stakeholder access is one of several supported access levels. To understand the full set of features Stakeholders have access to, see About access levels.

::: moniker-end

Use this tutorial to learn how to do the following tasks:

[!div class="checklist"]

• Sign in to a project
• Add a work item
• View the product backlog and add new work to it
• View work in progress on the Kanban board
• Find work assigned to you, or query for other work items

For information about working with pipelines, see these articles:

• Build your GitHub repository
• Build OSS repositories

First time signing in

1. Choose the link provided in the email invitation you should have received. Or, open a browser window and enter the URL for the web portal. ::: moniker range="azure-devops"
   http://dev.azure.com/OrganizationName/ProjectName ::: moniker-end ::: moniker range="<= azure-devops-2019" http://ServerName:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection/ProjectName For example, to connect to the server named FabrikamPrime and project named Contoso, enter http://FabrikamPrime:8080/tfs/DefaultCollection/Contoso. ::: moniker-end

2. Enter your credentials. If you can't sign in, ask the organization owner or Project Administrator to add you as a member of the project with Stakeholder access.

View and add work items

You can start viewing and adding work items once you connect to a project.

::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"

1. (1) Check that you have selected the right project, then (2) choose Boards > Work Items.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]

2. Within the drop-down menu, you can focus on relevant items inside a project using one of the seven pivots, as described next.

   Work Items" />

   Assigned to me: lists all work items assigned to you in the project in the order they were last updated. To open or update a work item, simply click its title. Following: lists work items that you've elected to [follow](../../boards/work-items/follow-work-items.md). Mentioned: lists work items in which you've been mentioned in the last 30 days. My activity: lists work items that you've recently viewed or updated. Recently updated: lists work items recently updated in the project. Recently completed: lists work items completed or closed in the project. Recently created: lists work items created within the last 30 days in the project.

3. To add a work item, choose the work item type from the New Work Item drop down menu.

   For example, here we choose User Story.

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4. Enter a title and then save the work item. Before you can change the State from its initial default, you must save it.

   

Note

A caution icon on a tab indicates values that violate validation rules. You must correct information on that tab in order to save the work item.
::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="tfs-2017 || tfs-2018"

1. Choose Work, choose a work item, for example User Story, from the New Work Item list of options. Choose the pin icon to have it show up within the Work drop down menu.

   

2. Enter a title and then save the work item. Before you can change the State from its initial default, you must save it.

   

   [!NOTE]
   A caution icon on a tab indicates values that violate validation rules. You must correct information on that tab in order to save the work item.

   Work items you add are automatically scoped to your team's default area and iteration paths. To change the team context, see Switch project or team focus.
   ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="<= tfs-2015"

1. Choose Work>Queries, choose a work item from the New drop down menu.

   

2. Enter a title and then save the work item. Before you can change the State from its initial default, you must save it.

   Work items you add are automatically scoped to your team's default area and iteration paths. To change the team context, see Switch project or team focus. ::: moniker-end

For descriptions of each field, see Work item field index.

Note

Depending on the process chosen when the project was created, the types of work items you can create may differ. For example, backlog items may be called user stories (Agile), product backlog items (Scrum), or requirements (CMMI). All three are similar—they describe the customer value to deliver and the work to be performed. For an overview of all three processes, see Choose a process.

Add tags to a work item

Tags are useful for filtering backlogs, boards, and queries

All users granted Stakeholder access for a private project can only add existing tags to work items, not add new tags. Even if the Create tag definition permission for the user is set to Allow, per the Stakeholder access settings.

::: moniker range="azure-devops" Azure DevOps Services users granted Stakeholder access for a public project can add new and existing tags to work items. ::: moniker-end

Check the backlog, add work items to the backlog

Work appears in the backlog in priority order. Work item types may include bugs depending on the settings made for the team.

::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"

1. (1) Check that you selected the right project, (2) choose Boards > Backlogs, and then (3) select the correct team from the team selector menu.

   

   To choose another team, open the selector and select a different team or choose the Browse all sprints option. Or, you can enter a keyword in the search box to filter the list of team backlogs for the project.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

   [!TIP]
   Choose the star icon to favorite a team backlog. Favorited artifacts ( favorited icon) appear at the top of the team selector list.

2. Check that you have selected Backlog items (for Scrum), Stories (for Agile), or Requirements (for CMMI) as the backlog level.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

3. (Optional) To choose which columns should display and in what order, choose the actions icon and select Column options. To learn more, see Change column options.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

4. To view or edit a work item, select it and choose Enter.

5. To add a work item, choose the New Work Item, enter a title, and then press the Enter key or choose Add to top.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]

   Repeat this step to capture all your ideas as work items.
   ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">= tfs-2017 <= tfs-2018"

1. From your web browser, open your team's product backlog. (1) Select the team from the project/team selector, choose (2) Work, (3) Backlogs, and then (4) the product backlog, which is Backlog items (for Scrum), Stories (for Agile), or Requirements (for CMMI).

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]

   To choose another team, open the project/team selector and select a different team or choose the Browse option.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

2. To view or edit a work item, select it and choose Enter.

3. Add a work item to your backlog by entering a title and choosing Add. If you don't see the Add link, choose New to open the quick add panel. Repeat this step until you've captured all your main ideas.

   

::: moniker-end ::: moniker range="<= tfs-2015"

1. From your web browser, open your team's product backlog. Select Boards>Backlogs.

   

2. To view or edit a work item, select it and choose Enter.

3. To add a work item to your backlog, enter a title and choose Add. If you don't see the Add link, choose New to open the quick add panel. Your items are added to the bottom of the list.

   

   Repeat this step until you've captured all your main ideas. ::: moniker-end

Check work in progress

To view the team's progress, open the Kanban board. To view or edit a work item, choose a title and press Enter, or double-click the title.

::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"

1. (1) Check that you selected the right project, (2) choose Boards > Boards, and then (3) select the correct team from the team selector menu.

   

   To choose another team's board, open the selector and select a different team or choose the Browse all team boards option. Or, you can enter a keyword in the search box to filter the list of team backlogs for the project.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

   [!TIP]
   Choose the star icon to favorite a team board. Favorited artifacts ( favorited icon) appear at the top of the team selector list.

2. Check that you have selected Backlog items (for Scrum), Stories (for Agile), or Requirements (for CMMI) as the backlog level.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">= tfs-2017 <= tfs-2018"

1. To view your Kanban board, open your (1) project from a web browser and choose (2) Work, (3) Backlogs, (4) Stories, and then (5) Board.

   

   If you don't see Work, your screen size may be reduced. Choose the three dots (), then choose Work, Backlogs, and then Board.

   

2. To choose another team, open the project/team selector and select a different team or choose the Browse option.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

3. Your Kanban board displays.

   

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="<= tfs-2015"

1. To view your Kanban board, open your (1) project from a web browser and choose (2) Work, (3) Backlogs, (4) Stories, and then (5) Board.

   

   If you don't see Work, your screen size may be reduced. Choose the three dots (), then choose Work, Backlogs, and then Board.
   

2. To choose another team, open the project/team selector and select a different team or choose the Browse option.

   

3. Your Kanban board displays.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]
   

::: moniker-end

Find work assigned to you, or query for other work items

::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2019"

1. Choose Boards>Work Items, and then select Assigned to me.

   [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]

   You can focus on relevant items inside a project using one of the seven pivots as described next. Additionally, you can filter and sort each pivot view. For details, see View and add work items using the Work Items page.

2. To query for work items, see View, run, or email a work item query. ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="<= tfs-2018"

1. Open Work>Queries and select Assigned to me to see the list of work items assigned to you.

   

2. Or, open any of the queries defined in the Shared Queries folder.

   

3. And, you can create new queries or edit existing queries and save them under My Queries folder.

   

::: moniker-end

Related articles

For a comparison chart of Stakeholder vs Basic access, see this feature matrix. See also these quickstart guides:

• Add work items
• Create your backlog
• Kanban quickstart
• Access levels

If you want to provide a group of users access to provide feedback, then you don't need to give them Stakeholder access. Instead, give reviewers permissions to provide feedback.