TFS Workitems always leave 'Closed By' blank

Question

We have a TFS workitem workflow where developers set workitems to be 'done'. It is largely our of the box with little custom configuration. This populates the 'Closed Date' but not 'Closed By'. The workflow continues as testers assign it to themselves and set the state to be 'Tested', but now I can no longer see on a report which developer closed the item.

How can I get a report of who did the work?

Answer 1

Given that you have a "Tested" state, it seems that the transitions have been customized. Ensure that all transitions to the "Closed" state have the correct rule on them to update the "Closed By" field. The Closed By definition on the transition should look something like this:

<STATE value="Closed">
  <FIELDS>
  ....
    <FIELD  refname="Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ClosedBy">
      <ALLOWEXISTINGVALUE  />
      <COPY from="currentuser" />
      <VALIDUSER  />
      <REQUIRED  />
    </FIELD>
  ....
  </FIELDS>
</STATE>

More information on customizing work item transitions can be found here and here.