Extra sprint backlog columns in Visual Studio Online

Question

I have two project setup, both using the Scrum template. In one of them the sprint backlog board shows swim lanes/columns as I would expect:

• To Do
• In Progress
• Done

In my other project (the one that matters, of course), it looks as if the columns from the Backlog Items have been merged with those of the Sprint Backlog items and displays with all of these columns:

• To Do
• New
• Approved
• In Progress
• Committed
• Done

The extra columns appear to be read-only in the board view and do nothing but make the board cumbersome to use. Have I changed a setting somewhere that affects this?

Answer 1

You probably have one team (or project) configured to have bugs on the backlog as requirements, and another team/project configured to have bugs on the backlog as tasks.

Bugs have a different set of states, so if you treat bugs as tasks, the board will show two sets of states: One for bugs, one for tasks.

This can be configured by going to your team's settings (click on the "gear" icon on the top right in VSO, then Overview tab, then choosing the team and looking at the settings).

Answer 2

Daniel's answer pointed me in the right direction, but it still wasn't clear exactly what steps to go through to fix the issue. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to set the number of columns on your sprint board based on how your team works with bugs.

Note that this is a modification from my original answer. The way to fix this has become dramatically easier after the latest update to VSO.

1. Click the gear to edit settings on the sprint board:

2. Click Working with bugs under the general heading in the left column.

3. The option you select here determines how many columns appear on your sprint board.