Having a frustrating issue with sprint planning in ado-2024. When we pull requirements from the backlog into sprint planning, they lose all their parent epic tags. This breaks our entire reporting structure since we track progress by epic tags.
The tag inheritance rules in our custom process template seem correct, and tags are visible on requirements before sprint assignment. But the moment we drag them into a sprint, the epic tags disappear. Here’s what we see:
Before sprint: Tags=[Epic-Authentication, Priority-High, Q3-Release]
After sprint: Tags=[Priority-High, Q3-Release]
Our sprint planning process depends on maintaining these epic relationships for cross-team coordination. The reporting impact is significant - we can’t track epic completion rates across sprints anymore. Anyone dealt with tag inheritance issues in sprint planning workflows?
The reporting impact you mentioned is a known issue with custom process templates in ado-2024. Epic tags need special handling because they’re treated as relationship indicators rather than simple metadata. When sprint planning runs, it re-evaluates all tag relationships based on the current work item hierarchy. If your epics aren’t directly linked to the requirements through parent-child relationships, the tags won’t be preserved. Consider using proper work item links instead of relying solely on tags for epic tracking.
Have you checked the sprint planning view settings? There’s a configuration option that controls which tags are preserved during sprint assignment. Go to Board Settings > Card Fields and verify that epic tags are included in the preserved fields list. If they’re not there, the sprint planning process won’t carry them forward even if inheritance is enabled in the process template.
I can help you resolve this completely. Here’s what’s happening and how to fix it:
Tag Inheritance Rules Problem:
Ado-2024 changed how tag inheritance works during sprint planning. The system now distinguishes between “metadata tags” (like Priority, Release) and “relationship tags” (like Epic identifiers). Relationship tags require explicit preservation rules in your custom process template.
Sprint Planning Process Behavior:
When requirements move into sprint planning, the system applies a tag filtering algorithm that only preserves tags matching specific categories. Epic tags are being filtered out because they’re not in the preserved category list. This is the root cause of your tag loss.
Custom Process Template Fix:
Update your process template to include epic tags in the protected inheritance category:
<TagInheritance>
<PreservedCategories>
<Category name="Epic" pattern="Epic-*" />
<Category name="Priority" pattern="Priority-*" />
</PreservedCategories>
</TagInheritance>
Reporting Impact Solution:
To restore your reporting capabilities while the fix propagates, create a custom query that links requirements to epics through parent work item relationships instead of tags. This provides more reliable traceability:
- Go to Queries > New Query
- Add clause: Work Item Type = Requirement
- Add linked clause: Parent = Epic
- Save as “Requirements by Epic”
Complete Resolution Steps:
-
Update Process Template: Navigate to Organization Settings > Process > [Your Custom Process] > Edit > Work Item Types > Requirement. Add tag inheritance rules that explicitly include epic tag patterns in the preserved categories.
-
Configure Sprint Board Settings: Go to your team’s Board Settings > Card Fields > Additional Fields. Add “Tags” to the visible fields list and enable “Show all tags” option. This ensures epic tags remain visible even if temporarily lost.
-
Bulk Tag Restoration: For requirements already in sprints that lost epic tags, export to CSV, add the epic tags back in bulk, and re-import. The updated process template will prevent future loss.
-
Enable Tag Audit: In Project Settings > Work Item Tracking > General, enable tag change auditing. This lets you track when tags are modified during sprint operations.
-
Update Reporting Queries: Modify your epic progress reports to use both tags AND parent work item links. This dual approach ensures reporting continuity even if tag inheritance has issues.
After implementing these changes, epic tags will be preserved during sprint planning operations. The reporting impact will be eliminated, and you’ll have reliable epic tracking across sprints. Test with a single requirement first to verify tag preservation before bulk sprint assignments.
This is likely related to your custom process template configuration. In ado-2024, sprint planning has specific tag inheritance rules that differ from regular backlog operations. Check if your process template has tag preservation rules defined for the sprint assignment action. The default behavior only preserves system tags, not custom epic tags.
I’ve encountered similar behavior. The sprint planning process in Azure DevOps treats tag assignment differently than other work item operations. When items move between backlogs and sprints, tags marked as “inherited” in the process template can get stripped if they don’t have explicit preservation rules. You need to configure tag categories in your process definition.
We solved this exact problem last quarter. The issue is that sprint planning in ado-2024 has a two-phase tag update process. First it assigns sprint-related tags, then it re-evaluates inherited tags. If your custom process template doesn’t explicitly mark epic tags as “always inherit”, they get dropped in the second phase. You need to update the tag inheritance policy in your process definition to include epic tags in the protected category.