Workitem state and reason

Question

I can only select Active and Closed as state and Issue Resolved as reason when editing a workitem in VS2010. I have consulted the TFS Power Tools work item field explorer and it shows me a bunch of possible values for System.Reason and System.State.

Does the process template affect the options (I'm using the default MSF agile template), am I blind or is something wrong here?

Best reagards

Answer 1

It sounds like you have a work item of type "Issue". The process template defines both work item types, possible states for each work item type as well as state change transition rules. While there are many possible values for System.Reason and System.State, the "issue" work item type is very limited.

The "issue" type can only be in states "active" or "closed". When moving from "active" to "closed", the only possible reason is "issue resolved". When moving back from "closed" to "active", the only possible reason is "reactivated."

More information about the "issue" work item type is available on MSDN.

As you note, the "issue" work item type is fraught with limitations. It's often more useful to use a bug or a task work item type to define work that needs to be done in your sprint.

Answer 2

In the agile for msf template which you are using, the default workflow for issues is as you mentioned: from active to closed.

If you wish to change it, you may modify the issue's work item type definition. You may use the tfs power tools to do so with a graphic interface, or edit the xml and upload it with the command line.

Other templates and other work item types have different workflows.