Work Item Fields (Agile)

You use work item fields to track data for a work item type, to define the filter criteria for queries, and to generate reports. Work item types that are defined for the process template for MSF for Agile Software Development v5.0 share many work item fields.

Not all fields that are tracked in the database for tracking work items appear on any work item form. You can review the information in this topic to learn more about the work item fields that are used to track information, the restrictions for specific fields, and the fields that are reported and indexed. If you want to customize a work item type, you can review the information for each data field that is already defined for that type.

Also, you can learn more about the toolbar controls that appear on the links and attachment tabs on the work item forms.

Common Tasks

Tasks	Related content
Identify additional fields that you can use to track workflow changes. You use status and assignment fields to track the progress of work items from the active to the closed state. In addition to the fields that appear on the work item form, you can use 10 more fields to track status changes.	Assignments and Workflow (Agile)
Work with tree path reference fields. You use the area and iteration classification fields to categorize work items into product areas and iteration or sprint cycles.	Areas and Iterations
Define rank, priority, and other planning fields. You use planning, ranking, and priority fields to plan what work should be completed first.	Planning, Ranking, and Priorities
Work with task scheduling fields. You use the task scheduling fields to track estimated, completed, and remaining work for a task. In addition to the fields that you can track on the task work item form, you can use three additional fields that support integration with Office Project.	Effort, Schedules, and Tracking Hours (Agile)
Use description and history fields. You use the title and ID fields to uniquely identify work items within a list. You use the description and history fields to provide additional information that others need to implement the work item and to track changes that are made to the work item. In addition to the fields that you can track on the task work item form, you can use six additional fields to filter queries and create reports.	Titles, IDs, Descriptions, and History (Agile)
Understand restrictions around linking work items. You use links to create relationships between user stories, tasks, test cases, and other work items. Most links are restricted as to the types of links that you can create and types of work items that can you can link.	Linking Work Items (Agile)
Define fields that track build numbers and test cases. You use build and test data fields to track information that helps the team resolve bugs or implement tests. In addition to the fields that appear on the work item form, you can use five additional fields to filter queries and create reports.	Build and Test Integration
Attach files. You can attach an e-mail thread, a document, an image, a log file, or another type of file to a work item. In addition, you can use the AttachedFileCount field to filter queries and create reports.	Attachments

Related Topics

Tasks	Related content
Learn about the data types and field attributes that you can specify. You can define fields to store specific types of data, such as text, numbers, or HTML content. You can set additional attributes that are based on how you want to use the field for reporting or query purposes.	Working with Work Item Fields
Add, remove, or customize how you use a work item field to track data. You use work item fields to track data for a work item type, to define the filter criteria for queries, and to generate reports. For any data element that you want to track, you must add a FIELD element to the definition file for the appropriate type of work item.	Defining Work Item Fields
Customize objects for tracking work items. You can customize fields, workflow, and forms that your team uses to track progress. You can customize all objects for tracking work items by modifying an XML file and importing it to the server that hosts the team project collection.	Customizing Project Tracking Data, Forms, Workflow, and Other Objects
Specify fields to perform specific actions. Team Foundation manages system fields, which you can use to track all types of work items. You add all other fields to a team project collection through the work item type definitions. For best results, you should use fields that already exist if they meet your needs.	Using System Fields and Fields Defined by the MSF Process Templates

See Also

Concepts

Artifacts (Agile)

Other Resources

Work Items and Workflow (Agile)

MSF for Agile Software Development v5.0