Integrate Lucid Cards with Azure DevOps Cloud

Authenticate Azure DevOps within Lucidspark

To link the Lucid Cards for Azure DevOps app to your Azure DevOps account, follow these steps:

1. Open a Lucidspark board.
2. Click the More tools icon from the Primary Toolbar on the left-side of the canvas.
3. Select the Azure DevOps icon from the menu that appears.
4. Select Import work item or + New work item.
5. In the Authorize Azure DevOps pop-up, click Authorize.
6. A new browser tab will open, which provides the next steps from Microsoft to authorize the app according to your Microsoft account configuration. Specifically, you may be asked to do one or more of the following:
   • Log into your Azure DevOps account.
   • Select which Azure DevOps account you want to link to the app. Only one can be selected.
   • Read through the list of permissions the app requires and if you agree, click Accept.
   • You may be told that you need admin approval. If this is the case, see the note below for next steps.

Manage Azure DevOps connection in Lucidspark

You can manage the Lucid Cards for Azure DevOps connection to your Azure DevOps account directly from Lucidspark. To unlink or relink, follow these steps:

1. Open a Lucidspark board.
2. Select the Azure DevOps icon from the Primary Toolbar on the left-side of the canvas.
3. Click Settings in the top-right corner.
4. On the pop-up that appears, click the three-dot menu to the far-right under “Data source”.
5. Click Unlink or Link.

For admins: Ensure your Azure DevOps instance is accessible by Lucid’s servers

Ensure that you have public facing DNS and allow requests from the static IPs listed below.

Import work items into Lucidspark

1. Create and save a work item in Azure DevOps.
2. Open your Lucidspark board.
3. Select the Azure DevOps icon from the Primary Toolbar on the left-hand side of the canvas.
   • If you don’t see it, click the More tools icon and then select the Azure DevOps icon from the menu that appears.
4. Click Import.
5. Choose which work items to import.
6. Select Import work items.
   

Import work items using Azure DevOps Quick Import

Lucidspark’s Dynamic Tables, Timelines, and Frames allow you to plan collaboratively and manage work visually, while reducing time spent refining Azure DevOps backlogs and plans. With Work Item Query Language (WIQL) query sync, you can import Azure DevOps work items directly into a Dynamic Table or Timeline.

To use Azure DevOps Quick Import, follow these steps:

1. Select a Dynamic Table, Timeline, or Frame on the canvas.
2. Click Import work from the options at the top of the Dynamic Table, Timeline or Frame.
   • Depending on the size of your Dynamic Table, Timeline, or Frame, this may appear as the Import work icon.
3. Select Azure DevOps.
4. Type in a WIQL query and press “Enter” on your keyboard, or use the filter dropdowns to build a query.
   • For example, “Priority = Critical AND Status = New” locates Azure DevOps work items that are both new and critical.
5. Click Sync to add issues matching the query to the selected Dynamic Table or Timeline.
   • If you want to remove any Azure DevOps work items already in the Dynamic Table or Timeline that don’t match the query, check the box in the bottom-left corner of the panel before clicking Sync.
     

Lucidspark can import up to 200 issues matching the query. Any items on the selected Dynamic Table, Timeline, or Frame that aren’t Azure DevOps work items remain unaffected by changes made using WIQL query sync.

Import parent cards

Visualize the total progress of linked child work items imported from Azure DevOps with parent cards. You can manage child items directly from the parent card to import work, estimate effort, or assign story points in real-time. Check out our Use parent cards to visualize progress in Lucidspark article for more information.

Manage sync settings 

Users can determine how data is synced between Azure DevOps and Lucid: manually, automatically one-way from Azure DevOps to Lucid, or automatically both ways.

To change how your data is synced, follow these steps:

1. Select the Azure DevOps icon from the Primary Toolbar to the left of the canvas.
2. Click Settings in the top-right corner of the panel that appears.
3. Under “Sync settings”, click Two-way sync, Pull changes, or Manual sync.
   • This button is different depending on what sync setting is currently selected.
4. At the bottom of the panel that appears, click Manage sync settings.
5. Select a sync option:
   • Two-way sync: Lucid and Azure DevOps are automatically synced to each other. Changes in one update the data in the other.
   • Pull changes: Lucid updates automatically with changes made in Azure DevOps, but changes in Lucid don’t affect items in Azure DevOps.
   • Manual sync: Lucid and Azure DevOps only update when you manually sync the data.
6. Click Save.

If you have two-way sync enabled, you can temporarily pause the connection between Azure DevOps and Lucid by clicking the Pause syncing icon under “Sync settings”. Click the Resume syncing icon when you want Lucid and Azure DevOps to resume their connection.

Recommended features

Here are more ways to get the most out of Lucid Cards in Azure DevOps:

• Gather and Sort to organize brainstorming sessions then distill the best ideas to convert into Azure DevOps work items.
• Use Dependency mapping to visualize links between Azure work items.
• Leverage Timelines to organize Azure DevOps work items.
• Organize Azure DevOps work items into Dynamic Tables.

FAQ

What templates does Lucid have available for cards? 
We currently have templates for big room planning, user story mapping, backlog prioritization, retrospectives, roadmapping, and more. You can copy and paste any template from Lucidchart directly into Lucidspark.

Does Lucid support custom fields for Azure DevOps Cards? 
In addition to supporting the import of a standard set of fields, we also offer a variety of custom fields as well.

Are Azure DevOps cards in Lucid bi-directionally synced? 
Yes. By default, changes made in Lucidspark will be reflected in Azure DevOps Cloud and vice versa. If your account has the Agile Accelerator, you have the option to manage the sync settings if you prefer for it to function in a different manner. For instructions, refer to the Manage sync settings section above.

Can I copy cards between Lucid documents? 
Yes, the card will copy, but the data will not. If you need the data included, we recommend re-importing the cards on a new document. To request this functionality, share your thoughts with our Product team in the Lucid community.

Why am I not seeing all of my Azure DevOps instances from my Microsoft account in Lucid?
Lucid can only connect to public instances that allow third-party access. If you are a Microsoft admin, you can change this setting for an instance to make it visible in Lucid by following these steps:

1. Go to dev.azure.com.
2. Select Organization Settings from the bottom-left of the page.
3. Click Policies in the left-hand menu.
4. Ensure that the "Third-party application access via OAuth" setting is toggled on.

Can I import Azure DevOps data from multiple instances onto the same board? 
No, Lucidspark only supports data from one Azure DevOps instance per document. If you would like to request this functionality, share your thoughts with our Product team in the Lucid community.

Why don’t I see Azure DevOps Quick Import as an option when I select a Frame?
The import process doesn’t work with Frames that are locked or have assisted layout enabled. Ensure your Frame is not locked in place and that assisted layout is turned off.

Once items have been imported, you can turn on assisted layout to help organize them.

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