Merge pull request #8283 from MicrosoftDocs/users/chcomley/refresh-plan-index

Refresh stale index.md boards/plans/index

Author: JamesJBarnett

docs/boards/plans/index.md

@@ -1,56 +1,165 @@
 ---
-title: Use Agile tools to use portfolios, dashboards, and delivery plans in Azure Boards
+title: Scale Agile practices with Azure Boards
 titleSuffix: Azure Boards
-description: Learn how to scale Agile tools using portfolios, dashboards, and delivery plans in Azure Boards and Azure DevOps.
+description: Overview of Azure Boards scaling capabilities including portfolios, delivery plans, and dashboards for scaling Agile practices across teams.
 ms.service: azure-devops-boards
 ms.author: chcomley
 author: chcomley
 ms.topic: overview
 monikerRange: '<= azure-devops'
-ms.date: 04/01/2022
+ms.date: 09/03/2025
 ---
 
-# Plan for Agile at scale 
+# Scale Agile practices across teams
 
 [!INCLUDE [version-lt-eq-azure-devops](../../includes/version-lt-eq-azure-devops.md)]
 
-As your organization grows, you want your tools to scale to support your growing business needs. Azure Boards tools scale primarily by supporting the addition of teams. Each team provides configurable tools that allow teams to focus on their set of work. 
+As organizations grow, Azure Boards provides scalable tools to extend Agile practices across multiple teams and projects. The platform's team-based architecture enables both team autonomy and organizational visibility, supporting everything from small startups to large organizations.
 
-> [!div class="mx-imgBorder"]  
-> ![Agile tools and teams](../../organizations/settings/media/agile-tools/agile-tools-team-assets-post-2018.png)
+## Core scaling approach
 
- For guidance on adding teams, see [About teams and Agile tools](../../organizations/settings/about-teams-and-settings.md).
+Azure Boards scales through a flexible team model where each team operates independently while contributing to larger organizational goals. This approach provides:
+
+- **Team autonomy** with dedicated backlogs, boards, and sprint planning
+- **Organizational visibility** through portfolio rollups and cross-team reporting
+- **Flexible hierarchies** that adapt to your organizational structure
+- **Coordinated delivery** across multiple teams and projects
+
+Each team gets their own configurable set of Agile tools while maintaining connections to the broader organizational context. For guidance on team setup, see [About teams and Agile tools](../../organizations/settings/about-teams-and-settings.md).
 
 ## Video: Agile at Scale 
 
 > [!VIDEO https://learn-video.azurefd.net/vod/player?id=40ca5566-4875-4611-ba66-3ec22fa0c343]
 
-## Portfolio management
+## Scaling capabilities
+
+### Portfolio management
+
+Portfolio management in Azure Boards enables executives and program managers to gain visibility across multiple teams and projects. Key capabilities include:
 
-Enterprise project managers often have a portfolio of projects that they manage. These projects are typically developed by several teams. By creating a hierarchy of teams, portfolio managers can gain insight into the tools being developed by their teams. 
+- **Multi-level work hierarchies** from epics down to tasks across teams
+- **Cross-team progress tracking** with rollup reporting
+- **Resource allocation visibility** and capacity planning
+- **Dependency management** between teams and projects
+- **Leadership dashboards** with high-level metrics and KPIs
+
+Portfolio views help leaders understand delivery progress, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions about resource allocation and priorities.
 
 For more information, see [Manage portfolios](portfolio-management.md).
 
+### Delivery plans
+
+Delivery Plans provide timeline-based coordination for multi-team environments. These interactive calendar views show:
 
-## Delivery plans 
+- **Cross-team feature delivery** across multiple sprints
+- **Timeline visualization** of planned work and milestones
+- **Dependency relationships** between teams and work items
+- **Capacity planning** and resource allocation insights
+- **Release coordination** for complex, multi-team deliveries
 
-Delivery plans provide visibility into features under development by several teams across several sprints. With Delivery Plans, portfolio managers can review the schedule of stories or features their teams plan to deliver. Delivery Plans show the scheduled work items by sprint (iteration path) of selected teams against a calendar view.
+Delivery Plans help program managers coordinate releases, identify scheduling conflicts, and ensure aligned execution across development teams.
 
 For more information, see [Review delivery plans](review-team-plans.md).
 
-## Team dashboards
+### Multi-team dashboards
+
+Azure Boards provides flexible dashboard capabilities for both operational and strategic reporting:
+
+- **Team dashboards** for sprint tracking and daily operations
+- **Program dashboards** aggregating metrics across multiple teams
+- **Leadership dashboards** with strategic KPIs and health indicators
+- **Custom widgets** for organization-specific metrics
+- **Real-time data** reflecting current project status
+
+You can tailor dashboards to different audiences, from developers tracking sprint progress to leaders monitoring overall portfolio health.
+
+For more information, see [Add and manage dashboards](../../report/dashboards/dashboards.md?toc=/azure/devops/boards/plans/toc.json).
+
+## When to use scaling features
+
+### Portfolio management
+Use portfolio management when you need:
+- Visibility across multiple teams or projects
+- Leadership reporting on delivery progress
+- Cross-team dependency tracking
+- Resource allocation planning at scale
+
+### Delivery plans
+Use delivery plans when you need:
+- Coordinated releases across multiple teams
+- Timeline visualization of feature delivery
+- Dependency management between teams
+- Capacity planning across sprints and teams
+
+### Multi-team dashboards
+Use multi-team dashboards when you need:
+- Stakeholder reporting at various organizational levels
+- Real-time visibility into project health
+- Custom metrics specific to your organization
+- Automated reporting to reduce manual overhead
+
+## Scaling considerations
+
+When implementing Azure Boards at scale, consider these organizational, technical, and cultural factors that affect success.
+
+### Organizational factors
+- **Team structure**: How teams are organized and their relationships
+- **Communication patterns**: How information flows between teams
+- **Decision-making processes**: Who makes what decisions and when
+- **Reporting needs**: What visibility different stakeholders require
+
+For comprehensive guidance on scaling organizational practices, see [Practices that scale](practices-that-scale.md).
+
+### Technical factors
+- **Work item hierarchies**: How work is broken down and organized
+- **Area path strategy**: How to organize work by feature or team boundaries
+- **Iteration alignment**: Whether teams share sprint schedules or operate independently
+- **Integration needs**: How Azure Boards connects with other development tools
+
+To understand cross-team coordination approaches, see [Visibility across teams](visibility-across-teams.md).
+
+### Cultural factors
+- **Agile maturity**: How comfortable teams are with Agile practices
+- **Collaboration patterns**: How teams work together and share information
+- **Change management**: How the organization adapts to new processes and tools
+- **Continuous improvement**: How teams and the organization learn and evolve
+
+Learn more about fostering the right mindset in [Agile culture and scale](agile-culture.md). For broader organizational change, see [Agile culture](/devops/plan/adopting-agile).
+
+## Benefits of scaling with Azure Boards
+
+### For development teams
+- Maintain autonomy while contributing to organizational goals
+- Focus on their specific work without losing broader context
+- Collaborate effectively with other teams when needed
+- Access tools that adapt to their preferred working style
+
+### For program managers
+- Gain visibility across multiple teams without micromanaging
+- Coordinate complex deliveries involving multiple teams
+- Identify and resolve cross-team dependencies
+- Plan and track progress toward larger organizational objectives
+
+### For leadership
+- Understand delivery progress and organizational health
+- Make informed decisions about priorities and resource allocation
+- Track progress toward strategic objectives
+- Maintain visibility without detailed operational involvement
+
+## Getting started with scaling features
+
+Azure Boards scaling capabilities build upon foundational team practices. Organizations typically evolve their usage as they grow:
 
-Each team can construct several dashboards to track and monitor their progress. Also, portfolio managers can create dashboards to monitor progress across several teams. 
+1. **Start with individual teams** using basic backlogs and boards
+2. **Add cross-team visibility** as coordination needs emerge
+3. **Implement portfolio management** for leadership reporting
+4. **Scale delivery planning** for complex, multi-team releases
 
-For more information, see [Add and manage dashboards](../../report/dashboards/dashboards.md?toc=/azure/devops/boards/plans/toc.json). 
+The platform grows with your organization, supporting both simple team workflows and complex organizational scenarios.
 
+Whether you're just beginning to scale or looking to optimize existing practices, these resources provide deeper insights into expanding team structures and optimizing dynamics:
 
+- **Expand team structures**: Learn strategies to [scale Agile to large teams](/devops/plan/scaling-agile) effectively
+- **Optimize team dynamics**: Discover approaches for [creating productive teams](/devops/plan/building-productive-teams) at scale
 
-## Related content
- 
-- [Visibility across teams](visibility-across-teams.md)   
-- [Agile culture and scale](agile-culture.md)   
-- [Practices that scale](practices-that-scale.md)
-- [Agile culture](/devops/plan/adopting-agile)  
-- [Scale Agile to large teams](/devops/plan/scaling-agile)  
-- [Creating productive teams](/devops/plan/building-productive-teams)    
+These resources complement Azure Boards capabilities by addressing the people and process aspects of scaling Agile practices successfully.