Common Workflows

This skill documents the most efficient patterns for common tasks.

Azure DevOps Workflows

Finding Tickets by Topic

Pattern: Use Search-WorkItems with specific text and filters

# Find stories about "eb sign report"
Search-WorkItems -SearchText "eb sign report" -WorkItemType "User Story" -Top 20

# Get the most recent one
$items = Search-WorkItems -SearchText "eb sign report" -WorkItemType "User Story" -Top 20
$latest = $items | Sort-Object ChangedDate -Descending | Select-Object -First 1

Common pitfall: Searching for multiple terms at once can cause timeouts. Keep searches specific.

Getting Ticket Details

Pattern: Use Get-WorkItem once you have the ID

# Get full details including acceptance criteria
$item = Get-WorkItem -Ids 5015
Write-Output $item.WebUrl
Write-Output $item.AcceptanceCriteria

Searching with Date Sorting

Pattern: Search first, then sort by date in PowerShell (not in Azure DevOps query)

# CORRECT - Sort after getting results
$items = Search-WorkItems -SearchText "committee" -WorkItemType "User Story" -Top 20
$sorted = $items | Sort-Object ChangedDate -Descending

# INCORRECT - Don't try to sort in the search parameters
# Search-WorkItems doesn't have -SortBy parameter

Database Workflows

Committee Queries

Important: Committees are in the Legislature (M2-QA) database, NOT Eva QA

# CORRECT - Use M2-QA for committees
Invoke-EvaSql -Environment M2-QA -Query "SELECT TOP 5 CommitteeID, CommitteeName FROM Committee ORDER BY CommitteeID DESC"

# INCORRECT - Eva QA doesn't have a Committee table
# Invoke-EvaSql -Environment QA -Query "SELECT * FROM Committee"

Note: Committee table doesn't have CreatedDate. Use CommitteeID as proxy for creation order (higher ID = more recent).

Session Queries

Important: Sessions are in the Eva QA database, NOT M2-QA

# CORRECT - Use QA for sessions
Invoke-EvaSql -Environment QA -Query "SELECT TOP 5 * FROM sessions ORDER BY SessionID DESC"

# INCORRECT - M2-QA doesn't have sessions
# Invoke-EvaSql -Environment M2-QA -Query "SELECT * FROM sessions"

Finding Table Names

Pattern: Use INFORMATION_SCHEMA when uncertain

# Find tables with "Committee" in the name
Invoke-EvaSql -Environment M2-QA -Query "SELECT TABLE_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_NAME LIKE '%Committee%'"

# Find columns in a specific table
Invoke-EvaSql -Environment M2-QA -Query "SELECT COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'Committee'"

Quick Reference

Efficiency Tips

1. Always load env vars first - Saves authentication errors
2. Check which database - Eva vs M2-QA before querying
3. Use TOP N - Limit results to avoid timeouts
4. Sort in PowerShell - Don't rely on Azure DevOps query sorting
5. Get IDs first - Then use Get-WorkItem for full details