Baseline captures a frozen snapshot of any requirement set at any point in time — compare against any version, rollback if requirements drift, copy across projects and generate audit-ready reports all without leaving Azure DevOps
Without a formal snapshot at each milestone teams lose track of what was approved, cannot prove what changed and cannot recover from unauthorized updates.
When a certification authority asks what the requirements were at PDR, your team searches through ADO revision histories and old Word exports to reconstruct something that should have been captured automatically in seconds.
Work items get updated after a formal review closes. Nobody flags it. By the time the next audit arrives the current state looks nothing like what was approved — and there is no baseline to prove what was agreed.
Prime contractors paste requirements into supplier documents manually. There is no link back to the source. When the source requirement changes the supplier never knows. Traceability between projects breaks the moment someone opens a new Word file.
No manual documentation, no version naming conventions, no spreadsheet version history. Baseline captures the snapshot automatically inside Azure DevOps.
Source work items from a saved ADO query, by ID or title search, or by created date. Select individual items or the full set. Enter a name, add an optional description and click Create. The baseline opens immediately with every selected item frozen at its current revision.
Once the baseline opens, add or remove work items as needed. Use Set Version on any individual item to pin it to a specific historical revision. Use As of Date to set all items simultaneously to the revision they held on a specific date. Once everything is configured click Save to finalize the baseline.
After saving, use the Compare tab to measure differences against the current ADO state, another baseline or any saved query. Generate a Smart Report or Difference Report in Word or PDF. Copy the baseline to another project or reuse requirements from another project. If requirements drift from the approved state use Rollback to restore them instantly.
Source work items from a saved ADO query, by ID or title search, or by filtering on the work item created date. Mix and match items from different sources in a single baseline. Add or remove work items at any time after the baseline is created.
Click Set Version on any work item to see all available revisions and pin it to a specific historical version. Use As of Date on the full baseline to automatically set every included work item to the revision it held on that exact date — reconstructing requirements as they existed at any past milestone.
Generate a comparison against the current ADO version, any existing baseline, or any saved query. The summary shows total items, changed and unchanged counts. Each changed work item highlights added content in green and removed content in red at the field level.
Generate a Summary Report for a high-level overview of what changed or a Detailed Report for field-level changes across every work item. Both export as Word or PDF and include baseline name, created by, created date, total counts and a full change table.
Copy any baseline to a different ADO collection or project with configurable prefix, postfix, tags and parent ID. Link copied work items back to their source for ongoing traceability. The destination project receives a new baseline with a Source Baseline Details tab showing exactly where the requirements originated.
Select any baseline from any source project and pull its work items into your current project as a new baseline. Link reused items back to their originals. The Details tab shows the Source Baseline and any Target Baselines created downstream — complete traceability in both directions.
If a requirement has drifted from its approved state select it in the baseline and click Rollback. The work item is restored to the exact revision captured in the baseline. Rollback writes a new ADO revision — the change is permanent and fully traceable, not a silent reset.
Right-click any selection in the ADO Backlog to create a baseline without navigating to the Baseline module. Click Baseline from within any Smart Doc or Review Management. When creating from a review choose to baseline the latest revision, approved items only, or all items at their existing revision.
Baseline does not just freeze requirements — it records where they came from, what changed and who authorized any update.
Once a baseline is created it holds its captured revisions permanently. Any subsequent change made to a work item in Azure DevOps creates a new ADO revision — the baseline remains unchanged, always pointing to the exact revision it captured. No silent drift. No retroactive modification.
The Details tab of every copied or reused baseline shows the Source Baseline — name, created by and created date. If further baselines are created from it they appear as Target Baselines. Any team member can trace a requirement forward and backward across every project it has flowed through.
The As of Date feature sets every work item in the baseline to the revision it held on the selected date. This reconstructs the exact requirement state at any past milestone — conference, audit, review or release — without requiring anyone to have manually saved a snapshot at that time.
The Detailed Difference Report is a formatted Word or PDF document showing every field that changed in every work item between any two baseline states. It includes the baseline name, creator, creation date and a full change table — accepted as formal change evidence by certification authorities.
When Copy Baseline or Reuse is configured with Link with Source Work Item every copied work item carries a traceable ADO link back to its origin. If the source requirement changes the linked copy reflects the relationship — giving prime contractors and suppliers a live traceability chain across project boundaries.
Baseline is used to produce configuration baseline evidence for DO-178C SRR/PDR/CDR, IEC 62304 DHF, ISO 26262 HARA, EN 50128 safety lifecycle phases, FDA 21 CFR Part 820 design controls, GAMP 5 IQ/OQ/PQ phases and FedRAMP Annual Assessment packages.
From business analysts freezing sprint scope to configuration managers managing program baselines — every role has a specific workflow built into the Baseline module.
After completing a requirements elicitation cycle create a baseline from the agreed requirement set. Use As of Date to pin all work items to the date stakeholder sign-off was received. Generate a Difference Report before the next review cycle to show stakeholders exactly what changed since the last approved baseline.
Before sprint planning, create Baseline for set of backlog work items directly in ADO. This freezes the sprint scope commitment. After the sprint, compare the baseline to the current backlog to see which items changed, were added or were removed during execution.
Create baselines at each formal design review milestone — SRR, PDR, CDR — by sourcing system requirement work items from a saved ADO query. Use Set Version to pin items to their review-date revision. Generate a Difference Report between PDR and CDR baselines as formal scope change evidence for the customer or certification authority.
Create a baseline of HARA work items at each ASIL classification review milestone. Use As of Date to confirm the snapshot reflects the state at the review date. Generate a Smart Report as the formal HARA baseline document for the Safety Case. Use Compare to show what changed in safety requirements between design phases.
Create baselines of compliance control work items before each audit cycle. Use the Difference Report to show auditors exactly which controls changed since the last assessment baseline, what the previous content was and what it became. Generate a formatted Word report as the formal change evidence for the audit file.
Create a baseline of test requirement work items before test execution begins. After testing compare the baseline to the current state to identify any test requirements that changed during the test cycle. Generate a Smart Report from the baseline as the Test Readiness Baseline document included in the test completion package.
At project kickoff create a baseline of all agreed scope work items sourced from the project query. Use this baseline as the contractual scope reference throughout delivery. At each milestone generate a Difference Report comparing current work items to the kickoff baseline — giving stakeholders a data-driven view of scope change.
Before any regulatory submission create a baseline of design input requirements, verification records and design outputs from a Smart Doc. Generate a Smart Report as the formatted traceability document included in the 510(k) or Technical File. After submission freeze the baseline and use it as the reference for any FDA Additional Information requests.
Manage formal configuration baselines — Functional Baseline, Allocated Baseline, Product Baseline — using the Baseline module folder structure. At each configuration baseline event create baselines from the relevant Smart Docs or ADO queries. Use Copy Baseline to distribute allocated requirement subsets to supplier ADO projects with source links maintained.
Create baselines of URS, Functional Specification and Test Protocol work items at each CSV phase completion — IQ, OQ, PQ. Use As of Date to pin each baseline to the phase acceptance date. Generate Smart Reports from each phase baseline as the formal validated documentation included in the GAMP 5 validation lifecycle evidence package.
Create a baseline of Software Verification Plan and test case work items before the formal test readiness review. After the review closes use the Review Management Baseline option to create a baseline from the approved review items directly. Use Set Version to ensure the baseline reflects the review-approved revision of each test requirement.
Use Copy Baseline to push an approved set of program-level requirements from the master ADO project to each delivery team's project, with a prefix identifying the program name. Each delivery team sees the requirements as a named baseline with a Source Baseline Details tab confirming their origin. Use Reuse to pull specialized requirements from a supplier project back into the program project.
Every use case below is tied to a real compliance milestone, a specific Baseline capability and the exact workflow that produces the required evidence inside Azure DevOps.
An AS9100D quality audit requires evidence of what the quality management requirements looked like at a specific audit date. Use "As of Date" to reconstruct the entire baseline to the exact revision state on that date — no manual version reconstruction needed. Generate a Smart Report as the formal quality requirements snapshot submitted to the certification auditor.
Risk control measure work items are updated during design reviews. Use Set Version to pin each risk control requirement to the specific revision formally reviewed and accepted by the risk management team. The baseline holds only the accepted revision of each risk control — not the current ADO state — providing the immutable risk management file reference for ISO 14971 compliance.
A Tier-1 automotive supplier needs to share approved process audit requirements with a Tier-2 supplier's ADO project. Use Reuse Work Items to pull the approved VDA 6.3 process requirement set from the Tier-1 project into the Tier-2 project. The Tier-2 baseline's Details tab shows the Source Baseline confirming the origin — no manual copying and no traceability loss.
A train operator project needs the same EN 50657 rolling stock application requirements as the original OEM project. Use Copy Baseline to push the approved requirement set to the operator's ADO project with a project-specific prefix applied to all titles. The operator baseline's Details tab shows the Source Baseline — making the requirement origin immediately clear to the operator's engineering team.
A quality risk assessment document is modified after the formal QRM review closes — the risk severity classifications are changed without going through change control. Use Rollback to restore the affected work items to the exact revision captured in the post-review baseline. The rollback writes new ADO revisions providing a tamper-evident correction record for the ICH Q9 change control file.
At each annual BCBS 239 assessment compare the current risk data aggregation requirements against the approved baseline using a saved ADO query as the comparison target. The Compare tab shows which requirements exist in the query but not in the baseline and vice versa — identifying any requirements added or removed outside the formal change control process.
Between annual NIST SP 800-171 self-assessments, CUI protection requirements are updated to address new vulnerabilities. Create a Detailed Difference Report comparing this year's baseline to last year's. The report shows every field that changed in every CUI requirement — submitted to the Contracting Officer as formal evidence of what changed in the protection requirement set between assessment cycles.
At each DO-254 hardware lifecycle review — PHAC, HRR, HCR — generate a Summary Difference Report comparing the current hardware requirements baseline to the prior review baseline. The Summary Report provides a high-level change count — total items, changed and unchanged — submitted as formal DO-254 hardware design assurance evidence to the DER without requiring a field-level detailed review.
Before integrating a new medical device into the hospital network, right-click the selected IEC 80001 risk management work items in the ADO backlog and create a baseline directly — without navigating to the Baseline module. The baseline opens immediately with all selected integration requirement work items frozen at their current revision, ready to be used as the IEC 80001 risk management baseline for the integration project.
A regional transmission operator creates a NERC CIP baseline and uses Copy Baseline to push it to three subsidiary utility projects. Each subsidiary baseline's Details tab shows the Source Baseline — confirming the requirements came from the RTO's approved set. The RTO's baseline Details tab shows all three subsidiaries in the Target Baselines section — providing complete cross-utility traceability in both directions.
After completing the Software Requirements Specification in Smart Docs, click the Baseline option from the Smart Doc toolbar to create a baseline without navigating away. The baseline opens pre-loaded with all Smart Doc work items. This captures the formally agreed requirement set at project initiation as the ISO/IEC 29110 software lifecycle baseline — the reference point for all downstream design and test activities.
After a formal review of the DECT conformance requirements closes in Review Management, create a baseline from the review using Existing Revisions of Approved Items Only. Only requirements that received formal sign-off are included in the baseline — requirements that were rejected or not actioned are excluded. The baseline becomes the approved ETSI conformance requirement set for the upcoming certification test cycle.
The baseline captures who created it, what work items it includes and at which revision — with an immutable timestamp. The Difference Report and Smart Report are generated in one click. Auditors receive formatted evidence showing the approved state and what changed since — without anyone compiling it manually.
Create SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR and FAI baselines inside ADO without a separate configuration management system. Copy baselines to supplier projects with traceable source links. Generate Difference Reports between phases. Every formal configuration baseline event is captured natively in the platform your team already uses.
Copy Baseline and Reuse Work Items share approved requirements between projects with configurable prefixes, tags and source links. Supplier teams know exactly where their requirements came from. Prime contractor teams can trace a downstream work item back to its source baseline in one click.
Compare any two baselines and generate a Detailed Difference Report showing every field that changed between milestones. Program directors and steering committees get an objective, data-backed view of what changed in the requirement set — not a verbal summary from someone's memory.
Baseline is part of MR NextGen — built natively inside Azure DevOps. Create immutable snapshots from your Backlog, Smart Docs or Review Management, compare versions at any milestone, copy requirements across projects and generate audit-ready reports all in one place.
Baseline connects to every other MR NextGen module — create baselines from them and push evidence back into Document Management.
Create living requirements documents inside Azure DevOps by inserting work items from your ADO backlog. Launch a baseline directly from any Smart Doc to freeze the documented requirement set at any milestone.
Explore Smart Docs →Build intersection and horizontal traceability matrices from live ADO work items. Use a saved query as the baseline source or compare a baseline against a traceability query to measure coverage at a specific point in time.
Explore Traceability →Collect formal approvals on any requirement set inside Azure DevOps. After a review closes create a baseline directly from the approved work items — with the option to baseline approved items only.
Explore Review Management →Save Baseline Smart Reports and Difference Reports directly to the Document Management library in one click. Every baseline evidence document is versioned, organized and accessible to the whole team without downloading.
Explore Document Management →Group work items into formal version packages by release or milestone. Use Baseline to freeze the requirement set behind any version package as the immutable reference for that delivery.
Explore VPM →The only AI requirements assistant built natively inside Azure DevOps. Generate and refine requirements in Smart Docs with Copilot, then create a baseline from the Smart Doc to freeze the AI-assisted requirement set for formal review.
Explore Copilot4DevOps →
End-to-end requirements management in Azure DevOps.
AI-powered assistance for DevOps workflows.
Autonomous AI agents for DevOps execution.
Real-time data sync across tools and systems.
