Assignments and Workflow (Agile)
You use status and assignment fields to track the progress of user stories, tasks, bugs, and other types of work items. Most work items move from the active state to the closed state, and test cases move from the design state to the closed state. As each work item moves from one state to another, the item might also be reassigned to various members of the team. For example, a tester might create a bug that is assigned to another team member during triage. When the other team member resolves the bug, it is reassigned to the tester who created it.
Status and assignment fields support many team queries and reports.
In this topic
Tracking Fields that Appear on Work Item Forms
Additional Fields that Support Query and Reporting
The Assigned To and State fields are tracked for each type of work item that is provided with the process template for Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) for Agile Software Development - v5.0. The Reason field is tracked for all types of work items except for test cases and shared steps.
Tracking Fields that Appear on Work Item Forms
The following table describes the fields that track assignments and workflow progress. For information about data types and default field attributes, see Working with Work Item Fields.
Field name |
Description |
Reference name |
Data type |
Default value of the reportable type attribute |
Default value of the index attribute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assigned To |
The name of the team member who currently owns the work item. |
System.AssignedTo |
String |
Dimension |
True |
Reason |
The reason why the work item is in the current state. Values are specific to both the state and the type of work item. The field is not tracked for Test Cases or Shared Steps. |
System.Reason |
String |
Dimension |
True |
Resolved Reason |
The reason why the user story or bug was resolved. For example, the user story is code complete or the bug is fixed. This field is read-only. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ResolvedReason |
String |
Dimension |
False |
State |
The current state of the work item. The valid values for state are specific to each type of work item. For more information about workflow transitions for each type of work item, see one of the following topics: |
System.State |
String |
Dimension |
True |
Additional Fields that Support Query and Reporting
Additional fields are populated with information as a work item progresses from one state to another. These fields do not appear on the work item form, but they are tracked for each type of work item as the following table indicates. You can use these fields to filter queries and create reports.
Field Name |
User Story |
Task |
Issue |
Test Case |
Shared Step |
Bug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Activated By |
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Activated Date |
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Closed By |
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Closed Date |
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Created By |
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Created Date |
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Resolved By |
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Resolved Date |
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Resolved Reason |
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State Change Date |
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The fields that track information for each workflow state record the most recent time when a work item made the transition to an active, resolved, closed, or other state. The following table describes each of these fields.
Field name |
Description |
Reference name |
Data type |
Default value of the reportable type attribute |
Default value of the index attribute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Activated By |
Name of the team member who activated or reactivated the work item. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ActivatedBy |
String |
Dimension |
False |
Activated Date |
Date and time when the work item was activated or reactivated. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ActivatedDate |
DateTime |
Dimension |
False |
Closed By |
Name of the team member who closed the work item. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ClosedBy |
String |
Dimension |
False |
Closed Date |
Date and time when a work item was closed. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ClosedDate |
DateTime |
Dimension |
False |
Created By |
Name of the team member who created the work item. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.CreatedBy |
String |
Dimension |
False |
Created Date |
Date and time when a work item was created. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.CreatedDate |
DateTime |
Dimension |
False |
Resolved By |
Name of the team member who resolved the bug or user story. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ResolvedBy |
String |
Dimension |
False |
Resolved Date |
Date and time when the bug or user story was resolved. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.ResolvedDate |
DateTime |
Dimension |
False |
State Change Date |
Date and time when the value of the State field changed. |
Microsoft.VSTS.Common.StateChangeDate |
DateTime |
None |
False |
See Also
Concepts
Planning, Ranking, and Priorities
Using System Fields and Fields Defined by the MSF Process Templates
Finding Bugs, Tasks, and Other Work Items
Other Resources
Work Items and Workflow (Agile)