How Stonewall PMO Gains Real-Time Visibility with Smartsheet + Azure DevOps Integration

About Stonewall

Stonewall Solutions is a software development and IT consulting firm specializing in custom application development, cloud solutions, and system integration across the public sector.  Mark F., VP of the PMO, oversees the project management function, managing both internal and client-facing initiatives.

The challenge: disconnected systems, manual overhead, limited client visibility

Stonewall adopted Azure DevOps to manage software development processes (user stories, bug tracking, releases). But when projects moved into support mode (especially with smaller clients without enterprise tooling), Stonewall switched to Smartsheet to provide a lightweight support portal and dashboarding.

The problem: the two systems weren’t connected. To update the Smartsheet view, someone had to manually run queries in Azure DevOps, export to Excel, and paste into Smartsheet. That made data stale, introduced errors, and consumed unnecessary time.

Because Stonewall didn’t want to give clients direct access to its DevOps environment, the Smartsheet side became a “lens” into DevOps - but that lens was manually maintained.

The solution: Unite’s Azure DevOps Connector for seamless Smartsheet integration

Mark evaluated Unite's integration capabilities and implemented it himself (he had the Smartsheet chops).

Key parts of his setup:

• The connector syncs Azure DevOps hourly and pushes base data into a “master sheet” in Smartsheet.

• He uses Smartsheet (via Pivot App, formulas, mapping tables) to build metrics and derived statuses - e.g. days open ranges, module breakdowns, priority mapping.

• Dashboards generated from those sheets power status meetings with the client, giving real-time visibility into which bugs are on Stonewall, which are client responsibility, aging, blockers, etc.

Because the connector preserves base data, Mark is free to add his own computed columns and logic in Smartsheet without disrupting the underlying sync.

Impact & benefits

While Stonewall can’t quantify exact hours saved, the qualitative impact is clear:

• Time freed - no more manual exports, copy/paste, or stale data maintenance

• Better PM discipline - the team now relies on live data, not batch updates

• Improved client trust - clients feel more informed and confident in status reports

• Meeting efficiency - Monday standups now focus on what matters, not “did you update your spreadsheet?”

• Scalability - the framework is reusable, and the team is already considering where else to leverage the connector

“My project manager told me, ‘You have no idea how much time this is going to save me....We literally review this [dashboard] every Monday.' Because it’s in real time, she doesn’t have to worry about keeping it manually. You might not have specific data or tags in Azure DevOps, but you can derive your own statuses based on any combination of data … which is really nice.” - Mark F. VP of the PMO

Technical nuance: deriving richer insights

A few interesting capabilities Mark built on top of integrated data:

• Creating range buckets (e.g. bugs opened within 3 days, 4-10 days, etc.) via formula logic in Smartsheet.

• Priority mapping: pulling in priority from DevOps, and applying a one-to-many mapping table to translate into client terminology.

• Custom sort order and formatting to highlight critical issues.

• Duplicate prevention logic.

• A change request query (bugs open ≤7 days) to flag new tickets.

• Regression tagging so clients can see when fixes introduce side effects.

These features layered on top of the connector’s syncing made the dashboard not only current, but meaningful.

Why this matters (and why others should care)

• If your dev team uses Azure DevOps, but leadership or clients expect a more user-friendly interface (or you can’t expose the raw DevOps view), Smartsheet + the connector gives you a bridge.

• The architecture separates raw data sync from reporting logic, giving flexibility for custom dashboards without breaking the integration.

• Even without heavy IT resources, a savvy PMO (or power user) can drive this implementation from day one.

• The setup is reusable: similar clients, support teams, or modules can adopt the same pattern.

Final thoughts & next steps

Stonewall’s use of the Smartsheet–Azure DevOps connector demonstrates how meaningful reporting can be not just a “nice to have,” but a differentiator in client transparency. By automating the manual bridge between Azure DevOps and Smartsheet, Stonewall reclaimed time, elevated trust, and built a template for visibility across projects.

If you’re running development in Azure DevOps and need a clean, client-facing view (without exposing your internal DevOps), integrating with Smartsheet via Unite is a proven path.

Contact us today to request your guided trial and explore how Unite can streamline your project workflows.