Configuring Azure DevOps Notifications

Configuring Azure DevOps Notifications

Azure DevOps provides various types of notifications to ensure teams stay informed about changes in work items, code, builds, releases, and more. Notifications can be tailored to individual users, teams, projects, or applied globally across your organization.

1. Types of Notifications

Azure DevOps offers four types of notifications:

1. Personal Notifications: Specific to individual users. These are set up by users and will notify them about changes related to their own activities.

2. Team Notifications: Used to notify a group of users within a specific team about relevant changes.

3. Project Notifications: Applicable across the entire project to notify a broader audience within the project.

4. Global Notifications: Apply across all projects within an Azure DevOps organization.

2. Notification for Item Changes

Notifications can be configured for a variety of events related to:

1. Work Items: Changes in status, assignments, or updates.

2. Code Reviews: Notify about review status, approvals, or changes.

3. Pull Requests: Notify when a pull request is created, updated, or merged.

4. Source Control: Changes to files in TFVC or Git repositories.

5. Builds: Notify on build success, failure, or warnings.

6. Release: Notify about deployment status, successes, or failures.

3. Steps to Configure Notifications

Step 1: Navigating to Notifications

• Go to Azure DevOps Project Settings.

• Select Notifications from the settings menu.

Step 2: Selecting a Notification Type

Choose the type of notification depending on what type of changes you want to track (e.g., Work Items, Code Changes, Builds, Releases).

Step 3: Creating a Notification

• Select Event:

  • Choose the type of event, e.g., Work Item Updated, Pull Request Completed, or Build Completed.

• Choose Notification Type:

  • Personal Notifications: Triggered for individual users.

  • Team Notifications: Triggered for a specific team.

  • Project Notifications: Triggered for the entire project.

  • Global Notifications: Applied across all projects in the organization.

• Set Notification Method:

  • Email

  • Slack

  • Microsoft Teams

  • Webhook

• Configure Notification Content:

  • Use dynamic content such as $(WorkItem.Title), $(Build.Id), or $(PullRequest.Id) for specific details in notifications.

Example – Work Item Change Notification (Personal)

xxxxxxxxxx
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- email:
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    to: 'user@example.com'
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    subject: 'Work Item Updated: $(WorkItem.Title)'
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    body: 'The work item $(WorkItem.Id) has been updated.'

Example – Build Failure Notification (Project)

1. Select the Build Completed event.

2. Choose Project Notification.

3. Set the notification method as Email or Slack.

xxxxxxxxxx
4
1
- email:
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    to: 'team@example.com'
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    subject: 'Build Failure Alert: $(Build.DefinitionName) $(Build.BuildId)'
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    body: 'The build failed. Check build details: $(Build.DefinitionName) $(Build.BuildId).'

4. Managing Global Notifications

Managing global notifications allows you to standardize and apply notifications across all projects in your organization.

Steps to Manage Global Notifications:

1. Navigate to Organization Settings: Go to Organization Settings > Notifications.

2. Create Global Notification:

   • Select the desired notification type (e.g., Build, Release, Work Items).

   • Define the event and notification method (e.g., Email, Slack, Webhook).

3. Apply to Projects: Choose specific projects or apply the notification organization-wide.

Example – Global Build Notifications

Set up a global notification to notify all teams via email when a build fails across all projects.

xxxxxxxxxx
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1
- email:
2
    to: 'organization@example.com'
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    subject: 'Global Build Failure: $(Build.DefinitionName) $(Build.BuildId)'
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    body: 'The build has failed across all projects: $(Build.DefinitionName) $(Build.BuildId).'

Benefits of Configuring Notifications

1. Real-time Alerts: Get instant updates on important changes, ensuring faster response times.

2. Customizable: Tailor notifications to suit different audiences within projects, teams, or the organization.

3. Automation: Minimize manual oversight by automating notifications for critical events.