OGIT - Gantt
IntroThis Azure DevOps extension is a powerful tool that visualizes your project's query results in the form of a Gantt or Timeline diagram, providing a comprehensive overview of your project timeline. The intuitive interface allows for easy understanding of project phases, task durations, and dependencies, all in one glance. The extension seamlessly integrates with your existing Azure DevOps environment, extracting data to illustrate project progression and potential bottlenecks.
With version 1.1, you now have the ability to create dependencies directly within the Gantt/Timeline diagram by connecting two items. This feature enhances your project management capabilities by allowing you to visually establish and adjust task dependencies in a more intuitive and direct manner.
Please be aware that the current version of this Azure DevOps extension may not deliver optimal performance in some scenarios. You may experience slower load times or delays when generating Gantt/Timeline diagrams, especially with larger data sets or complex queries. We are actively working on enhancements and optimizations to provide a smoother and faster user experience in future updates. DataThe Azure DevOps extension utilizes a range of data fields from your Azure environment to generate a detailed Gantt/Timeline diagram. Here's a breakdown of how it uses each field: Duration: The extension uses either the 'OriginalEstimate' or 'RemainingWork' fields to determine the duration of each task. This is then displayed in the Gantt/Timeline diagram relative to a standard 7.5-hour working day. End Date: The 'EndDate' is determined using a number of fields, in the following order of precedence: 'ClosedDate', 'TargetDate', 'DueDate', 'FinishDate', 'FinishDate of IterationPath', or calculated based on 'Start + Duration / 7.5h'. Start Date: The 'StartDate' is determined using either the 'StartDate' field, the 'StartDate of IterationPath', or the current date if no other data is available. Progress: The extension calculates the progress of each task using several methods. If a 'ClosedDate' is available, progress is set at 100%. Otherwise, it calculates progress as 'OriginalEstimate - RemainingWork / OriginalEstimate' or 'OriginalEstimate / CompletedWork'. If none of these calculations can be made, progress is set to 0. Relations: The extension uses the 'Parent/Child' and 'Predecessor/Successor' relations to determine dependencies between tasks and represent them accurately in the Gantt/Timeline diagram. Task Color: The color of each task in the diagram is determined by the 'workItemType color' field, allowing for easy differentiation between different types of work items.
Row Color: Certain special tags can be used to highlight rows in the Gantt chart, making it easier to identify critical tasks and items requiring special attention. For instance, tagging a task with 'Blocker', 'Blocked', 'Delayed' or 'Critical' will color the row red, indicating an urgent issue (see row 1 in the picture above). On the other hand, tags like 'Highlight', 'Update', 'Important', 'Attention', 'Warning' or 'Discuss' will color the row yellow, signaling that these items need attention or further discussion (see row 3 in the picture above). Milestone: If a task is tagged with 'Milestone', it will be displayed as a diamond shape in the Gantt chart, making it easy to identify key project milestones (see row 2 in the picture above). The milestone is drawn at the start date of the task, any duration or end date will be ignored. By leveraging these Azure fields, the extension provides a comprehensive and visually intuitive representation of your project's timeline, tasks, and dependencies. Please note that the extension's functionality is dependent on the availability and accuracy of these fields in your Azure data. SortingThe plugin provides different methods to sort the displayed tasks: HierarchicalThis type of sorting separates tasks into two groups: top-level tasks (those without parent tasks) and child tasks (those with parent tasks). Top-level tasks are sorted by their start and end dates. Child tasks are then placed immediately after their respective parent tasks in the sorted list, also ordered by their start and end date. Assigned ToThis type of sorting organizes tasks based on the name of the person they are assigned to. Tasks are sorted alphabetically by the assigned person's name. If two tasks are assigned to the same person, they are further sorted by their start and end dates. IDThis type of sorting organizes tasks based on their ID. Tasks are sorted by their ID in ascending order. NameThis type of sorting organizes tasks based on their name. Tasks are sorted alphabetically by their name. If two tasks have the same name, they are further sorted by their start and end dates. Start DateThis type of sorting organizes tasks based on their start date. Tasks are sorted by their start date in ascending order. If two tasks have the same start date, they are further sorted by their end date in ascending order. Current limitationsThis Azure DevOps extension is designed to work specifically with saved Azure DevOps data queries. This means that you first need to create and save a query in Azure DevOps that captures the data you want to visualize in the Gantt/Timeline diagram. Once you have a saved query, the extension will use the data from this query to generate the diagram. This includes all tasks, their durations, and their dependencies, as defined in your saved query. Please note that the extension cannot generate diagrams from unsaved or temporary queries, and it does not have the ability to create or modify queries itself. This approach allows for a high degree of customization, as you can create and save different queries to generate diagrams for different aspects of your project. However, it's important to ensure that your saved queries are up-to-date and accurately reflect the current state of your project, as the extension will visualize the data exactly as it is in the saved query. In addition to working solely with saved Azure DevOps data queries, another limitation of this extension is that it operates on a fixed working day of 7.5 hours. This means that the extension calculates all task durations, project timelines, and dependencies based on this standard working day. For instance, if a task is estimated to take 15 hours, the Gantt/Timeline diagram will display this task as spanning across two working days in the project timeline. This is something important to consider when interpreting the visualized data, especially if your team works with flexible hours or operates outside the conventional 7.5-hour working day. Data PrivacyThis Azure DevOps extension is designed with a strong commitment to safeguarding your data. It only uses the data fields within your Azure environment to generate the Gantt/Timeline diagram and does not store, transmit, or use any additional data. All data processing occurs within your local Azure DevOps environment, and at no point does the extension transfer data to external servers or third parties. The extension does not store any data separately from your Azure DevOps environment, and all data used by the extension is immediately discarded after the generation of the diagram. Please rest assured that your data remains under your control and is only used to provide the functionality of the extension. ChangelogHere is a simplified changelog of the major plugin versions:
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