Not every Azure DevOps organisation uses the Scrum process template. Some use CMMI with Requirements. Some use a custom template built for SAFe with Features and Enablers. Some have inherited a process where bugs are called Defects, stories are called User Stories, and spikes are called Research Items. Before version 3.7.2, all of those teams had the same problem: their work items were being excluded from sprint metrics because the extension only recognised four hardcoded names.
The Old Approach and Its Limits
The extension was built assuming four specific ADO work item type names: User Story, Story, Bug, and Research. These map naturally to the default Scrum and Agile templates. But they are not universal — and teams on CMMI, SAFe, or custom processes discovered their velocity charts were empty, their sprint summaries showed zero items, and their cycle time scatterplots had no dots. The only workaround was a low-level config override that required manually listing every type name with exact casing.
Item Type Category Mapping
Version 3.7.2 replaces all hardcoded type references with a configurable mapping built around three abstract analytics categories.
- Story-equivalent: the planning units your team commits to in a sprint. Counted in velocity, scope change, carryover, and sprint metrics.
- Bug-equivalent: defects and quality work. Counted separately in the bug bucket across Sprint Summary, Cycle Time, and Live Stats.
- Research-equivalent: spikes, enablers, and discovery work. Tracked in the research bucket.
Auto-Detect From ADO
The new Item Types tab in Configuration includes an Auto-detect from ADO button. One click calls the ADO process template API for your project, reads the work item type names defined there, and pre-fills suggested mappings based on name heuristics. User Story maps to Story-equivalent. Requirement maps to Story-equivalent. Feature maps to Story-equivalent. Bug and Defect map to Bug-equivalent. Spike, Research, and Enabler map to Research-equivalent. You review the suggestions, adjust if needed, and save.
How It Works Across Views
Once you save a mapping, the extension uses it everywhere.
- Sprint Summary counts items by their mapped category — velocity, commitment, carryover, and breakdown all update to reflect your types.
- Cycle Time Scatterplot filter buttons change from four hardcoded toggles to three category toggles — Story, Bug, Research — mapped to your actual type names.
- Live Stats story count uses the story-category mapping, not a hardcoded string comparison.
- Sprint Burndown effort fallbacks use category-based defaults when items have no story points.
- Workflow Tab type selector now dynamically shows all configured type names from your mapping.
Org-Scoped and Zero-Friction
The mapping is stored at the organisation level per project. An admin configures it once from the Item Types tab, and it applies immediately for every user in the organisation viewing that project. No per-user setup, no CSV upload, no pipeline required.
Item Type Category Mapping is available in Agile Analytics 3.7.2. Install the update from the VS Marketplace, then open Configuration → Item Types to set up your mapping.