How to manage Delivery Plans with Azure DevOps
Tags: azure, programming, cloudcomputing, beginners
Published: 2024-01-27 19:56:47

## Introduction
Delivery plans offer insight into features being developed over multiple sprints by multiple teams. Portfolio managers can examine the timeline of features or stories that their teams want to deliver with Delivery Plans. Delivery Plans display the planned tasks for the chosen teams' sprints (iteration paths) on a calendar view.
- Under the selected project, click board and select Delivery plans
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/j4fy7ppd79ivcal69r8q.png)
- Click New Plan
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/osb99rvhxejukrtiplg8.png)
- Provide a name for the plan, select a project team, choose Features from the dropdown under Backlogs and click create.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/avexk719zdqr40luaigb.png)
- Click the settings button
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ft0rune51fuv3u292wob.png)
- Choose the field criteria and click Add criteria
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4loiw91dw05vaax2wrz1.png)
- Choose a field, an operator and a value.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ijntcgrdu9ccn0izkozs.png)
- Change the tab to Markers and click Add Marker.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/lafn6x4hv1lpwre6vzn1.png)
- Set the date, fill the label section, choose the color and click save.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/5szvrfammauvbhudch5v.png)
- Scaling the calendar is another useful feature of the delivery plan extension. Zoom out allows you to view more than one month at once. And enlarge for a far clearer picture.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7ioraihekw435yumf3ap.png)

## How to bring an external team to the Project
- Click project settings
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/r9lpe1tbw7pe5golq905.png)
- Under the general tab, select Teams and click New Team
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/pr000ck4vhqt1jm0oi21.png)
- Provide a name for the team and click create
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ghwm6n2jbvzv7qujxrv7.png)
- Click Project configuration and add new iteration by clicking New child
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/b8dp1wl2manh75km02ay.png)
- Provide a name for the iteration and set the start and end date, click save and close after.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7w0vakeiuvfw6aa3j9mq.png)
- In order to configure the newly created team, select Teams under general tab and click the new team to open it.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/z5z7j3ccupbv2zgxfrlx.png)
- Click Iterations and Area Paths
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/i8670603ygt5so0qzues.png)
- Click iteration tab and click + Select iteration
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/uksat5ozfjnph6hgq2rl.png)
- Select the iteration from the dropdown and click save and close
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/mia3fvbtnn3u05gfgs3v.png)

## How to make delivery decisions.
- Go to board and click delivery plan
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/8tpuwkqiy6ajqhmhy2ld.png)
- Select a plan.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/sfocxx3qbblyymzmrt99.png)
- Click the settings button.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rpp4mej5jppsh974vao6.png)
- Change the tab to team and click Add team
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rjm80abxfeoozd5w1w7j.png)
- Select the new team under Team and Features under Backlog. Click save after.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/d83tof6ig5oin4onin2m.png)
- We need to add stories to the iteration by clicking + sign in front of the iteration.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rpnwvr15kw2fpfncz561.png)
- The toggle button can be used to collapse and expand teams next to their name.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6356ecr17avzmvyj9lmm.png)

## How to use delivery plans to track dependencies
You can keep track of dependencies that have been introduced to work items using Delivery Plans. The Predecessor/Successor connection type between work items is supported by dependency tracking.
- Go to the delivery plan created and select an iteration. change the branding feature to sprint 1, click Add Link and choose new link.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/zt69907v1httb3kyamw7.png)
- Choose the Link type from the dropdown, select the work item to link and click Ok.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/x0v4rrna2h4a0mmk1yle.png)
- The newly added link will be seen under links column, click save and close.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/f2pht508cx5vjzohfnvo.png)
- One can view the dependencies by clicking on the delivery plan
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/14cw0uvxfbeommfol1oz.png)
- Click on show all dependencies to show the dependencies lines
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2h9i25tkaiki0bsg9cca.png)

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3t0uzi97sm3p2okq5iz9.png)