The problem
Your support team uses Zendesk. Your engineering team plans work in Azure Boards using sprints (iterations), area paths to keep work scoped to the right team, and multiple work-item types (Bug, Feature, User Story, Task). When a customer ticket needs engineering attention, the typical flow:
- Support agent escalates somehow.
- An engineer creates a work item in Azure Boards, probably in the wrong area path because they're rushing.
- An engineer (or no one) sets the iteration path. New work items default to a backlog iteration that gets ignored.
- An engineer (or no one) picks the right work item type. Default is whatever the project default is.
Half your customer-driven work ends up in the wrong area path or stuck in an unscheduled iteration. Sprint planning misses the customer signal. Engineering thinks they're caught up; support is wondering why nothing's moving.
What Git-Zen does
- Iteration path filter. Configure which iteration path new work items should land in. Want them in the current sprint? Future sprint? A dedicated backlog iteration? Configurable in Git-Zen settings.
- Area path defaults. Set per-team area path defaults so customer-success-driven items go to the customer-facing team's backlog, while bug-report-driven items go to engineering's.
- Work-item type selection. Pick the right work-item type at creation — Bug, Feature, User Story, Task, or your custom types.
- Custom field mapping. Map Zendesk custom fields directly into Azure Boards custom fields so the engineer sees the right context inline.
- Two-way sync after creation. When the work item is updated in Azure Boards (assigned, moved iterations, marked Done), the Zendesk ticket gets the update. Closed work item with a ticket attached → ticket gets the resolution context automatically.
How to set it up
Open Git-Zen settings in Zendesk
From any Zendesk ticket, open the Git-Zen sidebar and click the gear icon → Settings.
Configure iteration path filter
In the Iteration Path Filter section, choose the iteration path where new work items should land — current sprint, next sprint, or a dedicated triage iteration.
Configure area paths and work-item types
In the Custom Work Item Fields and Work Item Types sections, set the default area path and work-item type for new items. Optionally configure per-Zendesk-role overrides.
Done. Next ticket your team escalates to engineering will create an Azure Boards work item with the right sprint, area path, and work-item type from the start — no engineer triage required.
Try Git-Zen for Azure DevOps free
14-day free trial — no credit card required. Install from the Zendesk Marketplace.
Install Git-Zen for Azure DevOpsRelated
Git-Zen for Azure DevOps overview → · Iteration path filter docs → · Zendesk + GitHub Projects V2 → · Zendesk + GitLab Merge Requests →