Azure DevOps Integration
Push ideas to Azure DevOps work items
Overview
The IdeaLift Azure DevOps integration lets you push approved ideas directly to Azure Boards as work items. Keep your product backlog in sync between IdeaLift's feedback pipeline and your engineering team's sprint boards, with bidirectional status updates.
Requirements
- •IdeaLift Pro plan or higher
- •Azure DevOps organization with at least one project
- •Permission to create work items and configure service hooks in Azure DevOps
Connecting Azure DevOps
1Open Integrations
In IdeaLift, go to Dashboard → Integrations and find the Azure DevOps card.
2Authorize with Microsoft
Click Connect and sign in with your Microsoft account. Grant IdeaLift permission to read and write work items in your Azure DevOps organization.
3Select Organization and Project
Choose which Azure DevOps organization and project to use as the default destination for work items. You can override this per idea when pushing.
4Configure Field Mapping
Optionally customize how IdeaLift fields map to Azure DevOps work item fields. The defaults work for most teams, but you can adjust the mapping to fit your process.
Pushing Ideas as Work Items
Once connected, you can push any idea to Azure DevOps in a few clicks:
- 1.Open an idea in IdeaLift and click Push to Azure DevOps
- 2.Select the work item type: User Story, Bug, Feature, or Task
- 3.Choose the target project (defaults to your configured project)
- 4.Optionally assign to an area path, iteration, or team member
- 5.Click Create Work Item — the idea links to the new work item
Tip: You can also bulk-push multiple ideas at once from the Ideas table. Select ideas using the checkboxes and use the "Push to Azure DevOps" bulk action.
Field Mapping
IdeaLift maps idea fields to Azure DevOps work item fields. Here are the default mappings:
| IdeaLift Field | Azure DevOps Field | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title | System.Title | Direct mapping |
| Description | System.Description | HTML formatted |
| Category | Work Item Type | Feature → Feature, Bug → Bug |
| Priority | Microsoft.VSTS.Common.Priority | 1–4 scale |
| Tags | System.Tags | Comma-separated |
You can customize these mappings in Dashboard → Integrations → Azure DevOps → Field Mapping.
Status Sync
IdeaLift keeps idea status in sync with Azure DevOps work item state using service hooks. When either side changes, the other updates automatically.
Default Status Mapping
| Azure DevOps State | IdeaLift Status |
|---|---|
| New | Planned |
| Active / Committed | In Progress |
| Resolved | In Progress |
| Closed / Done | Shipped |
Note: Status mapping is customizable. If your team uses a custom process template with different states, you can map them in the integration settings.
Troubleshooting
OAuth connection fails
Ensure you are signing in with a Microsoft account that has access to your Azure DevOps organization. If your org uses Azure AD, you may need admin consent for the IdeaLift app.
Work item creation fails
Check that your Azure DevOps account has permission to create work items in the target project. Also verify that required custom fields (if any) are included in the field mapping.
Status not syncing
Bidirectional status sync requires a service hook in Azure DevOps. IdeaLift creates this automatically during setup. If it was deleted, go to Project Settings → Service Hooks in Azure DevOps and verify the IdeaLift webhook exists.
Wrong project or organization
You can change the default project and organization at any time in Dashboard → Integrations → Azure DevOps. Existing linked work items are not affected by this change.
Related Documentation
- Jira Integration — Alternative issue tracker integration
- GitHub Integration — Push ideas to GitHub Issues
- Linear Integration — Push ideas to Linear Issues
Need Help?
Having trouble with the Azure DevOps integration?