Actual Effort Tracking for Azure DevOps
Track real effort on tasks with built-in timers, automatic field updates, audit trails, and team productivity dashboards — all without leaving Azure DevOps.
⏱️ How It Works
Open any Task work item and you'll see the Actual Effort Tracking section. Click Start to begin a timer, Pause when you take a break (logs a time entry with activity type and comment), and Complete when you're done. The extension automatically updates the work item's Completed Work and Remaining Work fields.
✨ Key Features
Timer-Based Time Tracking
- One-click Start/Pause/Complete directly on the work item form
- Live timer display (HH:MM:SS) counting elapsed time
- Automatic field sync — updates Completed Work and Remaining Work on the work item
- Multiple timer prevention — only one active timer per user across all work items
- Manual time entry for logging effort retroactively
Time History & Audit Trail
- Full history table with date, start/end times, duration, activity type, and comments
- Edit and delete entries (permission-controlled)
- Complete audit trail for transparency and fraud prevention
Admin Settings (12 Configurable Rules)
- Mandatory comment and activity type enforcement
- Maximum entry duration limits
- Blocked days (holidays, weekends)
- Customizable activity types
- User edit/delete permissions
- Check-in intervals and session limits
- Timesheet approval workflow
Hub Pages
- Timesheet Hub — Weekly/monthly timesheet view with Excel export
- Team Time Overview — Manager dashboard for team effort visibility
- Admin Settings — Centralized configuration for all tracking rules
- Time Per Team Member
- Activity Type Breakdown
- Estimated vs Actual Effort
- Top Time-Consuming Tasks
- Team Productivity Trend
- Time Per Sprint
Smart Validations
- Task must be assigned before starting timer
- Only assigned user or admin can control the timer
- Overlap detection for time entries
- Configurable max entry duration
- Blocked days restriction
🔧 Configuration
After installing, go to Boards → Time Tracking Settings in your project to configure:
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Mandatory Comment |
Off |
Require comment when pausing/completing |
| Mandatory Activity Type |
Off |
Require activity type selection |
| Allow Manual Entry |
On |
Let users add entries manually |
| Allow User Edit/Delete |
Off |
Let assigned users edit/delete their entries |
| Max Entry Duration |
12h |
Cap for a single time entry |
| Timesheet Approval |
Off |
Require manager approval for timesheets |
📋 Supported Work Item Types
Currently supports Task work items. The tracking section appears automatically on the work item form.
🔒 Permissions
- Assigned users can start/pause/complete timers on their tasks
- Project admins can control timers on any task
- Edit/Delete of time entries is admin-only by default (configurable)
📦 Activity Types (Default)
Coding, Testing, Code Review, Meeting, Documentation, Bug Fix, Deployment, Research, Design, Other
Custom activity types can be added in Admin Settings.
Support
For issues and feature requests, please contact the publisher.
