Should You Use One Project to Rule Them All in Azure DevOps?

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Should You Use One Project to Rule Them All in Azure DevOps?

Explores when to use a single Azure DevOps project versus multiple projects, detailing impacts on flow, visibility, governance, and team collaboration at scale.

https://nkdagility.com/resources/k-kqjqSgdGx

[S2023P]

While consolidating into a single Azure DevOps project offers clear benefits—centralized governance, simplified reporting, and unified visibility—it’s important to recognize the hidden complexities and strategic blind spots that may arise. Here are some key considerations that often go unaddressed:

1. Migration Complexity

• Moving multiple teams into one project isn’t trivial. It involves migrating work items, repositories, pipelines, test plans, and historical data.
• Without a clear migration strategy, teams risk losing context, traceability, and velocity.

2. Cross-Team Dependencies

• A single project doesn’t automatically solve coordination challenges. Dependencies between teams can become harder to track.
• There’s a need for shared planning tools, cross-team boards, and clear ownership of interdependent work.

3. Backlog Scalability

• A unified backlog can grow exponentially. Without proper hygiene, it becomes noisy and unmanageable.
• Practices like backlog archiving, tagging by strategic themes, and regular pruning are essential.

4. Metadata and Classification

• With many teams in one space, classification becomes critical. Custom fields, tags, and work item types must be carefully designed.
• Poor metadata governance leads to confusion and reporting inconsistencies.

5. Evolving Roles: PO and Portfolio Management

• Product Owners now operate in a shared environment. Their scope expands, and so does the need for coordination.
• Portfolio Managers must track initiatives across multiple teams, often requiring custom dashboards and planning cadences.

6. Historical Reporting Challenges

• Analytics Views and Power BI are powerful, but historical accuracy can suffer after migrations or structural changes.
• Teams should plan for versioning, snapshotting, and data lineage to preserve reporting integrity.

🚧 Before You Consolidate: Strategic Considerations for a Unified Azure DevOps Project

Consolidating into one Azure DevOps project can unlock flow, visibility, and governance—but only if you plan deliberately. Here’s what to think through before you make the leap:

1. Migration Planning

• Migrating work items, repos, pipelines, and test plans isn’t just technical—it’s strategic.
• You must preserve historical data, relationships, and traceability. Losing revision history or comments can break audit trails and team trust B.
• Use purpose-built migration tools, not ad hoc scripts. Plan for delta syncs and downtime.

2. Process Template Alignment

• Different teams may use different work item types, workflows, and backlog levels.
• Before merging, map and standardize process templates to avoid broken workflows and orphaned items B.
• Consider creating a hybrid process that supports both delivery and portfolio views.

3. Dependency Mapping

• Pipelines reference repos, builds trigger releases, dashboards track test runs.
• Break those links during migration, and you break delivery.
• Identify all dependencies and plan how they’ll reconnect post-consolidation.

4. Security and Access Control

• Consolidation doesn’t mean compromising security.
• Use Area Path–based permissions, repo-level access, and environment-level controls.
• Integrate with Microsoft Entra ID groups for scalable, maintainable access management.

5. Governance and Ownership

• Who owns shared backlogs? Who resolves priority conflicts?
• Define governance roles and escalation paths before merging.
• Consider creating a “Platform Team” or “Delivery Enablement Team” to manage shared assets and standards.

6. Reporting Continuity

• Consolidation simplifies reporting—but only if historical data is preserved.
• Plan for how dashboards, analytics views, and Power BI reports will transition.
• Snapshot key metrics before migration to maintain continuity.

7. Cultural Readiness

• One project requires shared norms, not just shared tooling.
• Are teams ready to collaborate across boundaries? Are leaders aligned on cadence and priorities?
• Run workshops or retrospectives to align expectations and build trust.

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🧠 Final Thought

Consolidation is not just a technical refactor—it’s an organizational redesign.
Done well, it creates a single source of truth. Done poorly, it creates a single point of confusion.

So before you consolidate, ask:

• Are we ready to align our processes?
• Are we prepared to manage shared governance?
• Do we have the tools and mindset to preserve what matters?

Because clarity doesn’t come from merging projects.
It comes from designing systems that reflect how you deliver value.