Create a Work Item

You can use Team Foundation work items to track the different types of work that the project team must complete. You can track and display in reports different types of data for each type of work item, such as a task, an issue, or a bug. You cannot change a work item from one type to another after you initiate the process of creating that item. For more information about each work item type or field in version 5.0 of the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) process templates, see Work Items and Workflow (Agile) or Work Items and Workflow (CMMI).

You can create work items by using any one of four client programs. For more information, see Working with Team Foundation Clients. For information about supported Web browsers, see Managing Work Using Team Web Access.

In this topic

• Creating a Work Item by Using Team Web Access

• Creating a Work Item by Using Team Explorer

• Creating a Work Item by Using an Office Excel Work Item List

• Creating a Work Item by Using an Office Project Plan

Required Permissions

To perform these procedures, you must be a member of the Contributors group or have your View work items in this node, and Edit work items in this node permissions set to Allow. For more information, see Team Foundation Server Permissions.

Creating a Work Item by Using Team Web Access

To create a work item in Team Web Access

1. In the quick launch area of the Team Web Access navigation pane, click the New Work Item arrow, and then click an item on the All Work Item Types menu, such as Bug, Task, User Story or Requirement.

2. Type appropriate information for each field in the New Work Item form.

   Each required field has a shaded background.

   Note

   A caution icon appears on any tab that contains a value that violates a validation rule. You must correct the information before you can save changes.

3. Click Save & Close.

Creating a Work Item by Using Team Explorer

To create a work item in Team Explorer

1. On the Team menu, point to Add Work Item, and then in the list, click the work item type that you want.

   Note

   As you use Team Foundation, it automatically adds your most-recently-used work item type to the top of the Team menu for easy access.

2. Type information in all required fields and optionally in additional fields.

   Each required field has a shaded background.

3. On the File menu, click Save All to save the work item.

Creating a Work Item by Using a Microsoft Excel Work Item List

To create a work item by using an existing Microsoft Excel work item list

1. Open or create a work item list in Microsoft Excel.

   Note

   If you will use a work item list only to add new work items and you do not have to review existing ones, you can create an input list, which lets you skip the step to download work items from the work item database. For information, see the procedure about how to create an input list in Create, Open, and Modify Work Items Using Office Excel.

2. (Optional) If you have reopened a work item list, on the Team tab, in the Work Items group, click Refresh.

   This step helps make sure that the work item list has the most current information.

3. Add a row to the work item list for the new work item.

4. (Optional) To show additional Team Foundation fields in the work item list, follow these steps:

   1. On the Team tab, in the Work Items group, click Choose Columns.

   2. In the Choose Columns dialog box, click other column names, and then click > (Add).

      You can also click Add Required to show the columns for all work item fields that the work item type requires.

5. Add information to the fields as appropriate.

   Important

   You must type or select a value for Work Item Type before you can publish a new work item.

6. On the Team tab, in the Work Items group, click Publish.

Creating a Work Item by Using a Microsoft Project Plan

To create a work item by using a Microsoft Project plan

1. Open or create a project plan in Microsoft Project.

2. (Optional) If you reopen a work item list, on the Team menu, click Refresh.

   This step helps make sure that the Microsoft Project plan has the most current information.

3. In the Microsoft Project plan, perform one of the following steps to create the new work item:

   • If the new work item is part of an existing sequence, or if it is a summary task or subtask, select the row where the new work item should be, click the Insert menu, and then click New Task.

   • If the new work item is not connected to any other work item, select the first blank row in the Microsoft Project plan.

4. On the View menu, click Team Foundation Task Sheet.

   The Team Foundation Task Sheet view shows all fields that are exchanged between Microsoft Project and Team Foundation.

5. In the new work item, add information to the required fields, and to the additional fields as appropriate.

   Important

   You must enter a value in the Work Item Type field before you can publish the new work items.

6. If you do not want a work item to be published to the work item database, in the Publish and Refresh column, click No.

   For more information, see Publish or Refresh Work Items in Office Project.

7. On the Team menu, click Publish Changes.

   The system adds to the work item database the work items that you specified.

   If a publishing error occurs, see Working in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project Connected to Team Foundation Server.

8. (Optional) Save the Microsoft Project plan.

   Important

   An Microsoft Project plan stores information that Team Foundation does not. You should save your Microsoft Project plan to preserve the information that Team Foundation does not store. For more information about how Microsoft Project and Team Foundation manage scheduling data, see Quick Tips and Operational Differences when Tracking Tasks Using Microsoft Project and Team Foundation.

See Also

Tasks

Creating and Working with Work Item Templates

Modify Many Work Items at a Time

Concepts

Working with Team Foundation Clients

Other Resources

Work Items and Workflow (Agile)

Managing Work Using Team Web Access

Creating, Copying, and Updating Work Items