State options are different on stories within the same project

Question

Azure Devops:
The process for this project I am working on includes a 'Removed' state in the project settings. In some, but not all, user stories, the Removed state is not showing in the state dropdown list.
Why would the drop down list not be the same for all stories, and how can I make the removed state available for all stories?

Answer 1

The above was not helpful. It an AI summary of the documentation available online, which I had already consulted and as such I would consider to be very poor support. I realised where I was having problems was changing the status of work items hat had been wrongly set to Closed to Removed. When the items were Closed, there was no Removed state shown. If I changed to state to New first, the Removed state became available in the dop down and I could Remove the items from there.

Answer 2

The state dropdown is driven by the workflow of the specific work item type and how its states are mapped to categories, not just by the project-level process having a “Removed” state.

Key points from Azure DevOps behavior:

1. States are per work item type (WIT)
   Each WIT (User Story, Bug, Task, etc.) has its own set of workflow states. Even within the same project and process, different WITs can have different states. The fact that the process includes a Removed state does not guarantee that every WIT uses it.
2. Category mapping controls backlog/board visibility
   The Removed state is mapped to the Removed category, which hides items from backlogs and boards:
   • “Use the Removed state to remove a work item from the backlog.”
   • “Assign this category to the Removed state to hide items from backlog and board experiences.”
   If a particular WIT does not have a state mapped to the Removed category, that state will not appear in its dropdown.
3. Only one Completed-category state and fixed categories
   State categories are fixed (Proposed, In Progress, Resolved, Completed, Removed), and each WIT’s states are mapped to them. There are constraints such as:
   • “Only one state can exist in the Completed state category.”
   • “Completed: … You can't modify or add states to this category.”
   Similarly, Removed is a special category used to hide items from backlogs/boards.
4. Why some User Stories show Removed and others do not
   Within a project using an inherited process, it is possible that:
   • The User Story WIT in the process has a Removed state defined and mapped to the Removed category, but
   • Some work items are of a different WIT (e.g., custom requirement type) that does not have Removed in its workflow, or
   • The process was customized so that only certain WITs include the Removed state.
   The dropdown is always based on the WIT’s configured states for that process.
5. How to make Removed available for all stories
   To ensure all User Stories in the project can use Removed:
   1. Go to Organization settings → Process and open the inherited process used by the project.
   2. Select the User Story work item type.
   3. Open the States page for User Story.
   4. Confirm that a Removed state exists and is mapped to the Removed category. If not:
      • Add a state named Removed and assign it to the Removed category.
   5. Save the process changes.
   Once the Removed state is defined for the User Story WIT in the process, all User Stories using that process will show Removed in the state dropdown.

If some items still do not show Removed, verify that they are truly of type User Story and not another WIT whose workflow does not include Removed.

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References:

• Customize the workflow (Inheritance process)
• About workflow states in backlogs and boards
• Customize a project using an inherited process