index > Team Foundation Server - General > Mass Transitions

Mass Transitions

In our current workflow tool (i.e. Serena's TeamTrack) we have a concept of "Mass Transitions" where you can take a number of requests (e.g. 1000) and do a mass update to the work item states (or any other fields) instead of laboriously updating each work item. For example we have "Enhancement" work items that queue up in a "Code Complete" state. Once the build is deployed to QC (i.e. Test) we run the "Mass Transition" to update all work item states to "Deployed To QC." We can handle hundreds up updates with a simple "Mass Transition" and a cup of coffee.

Does Team Foundation have a similar concept?

Mac Noland

Mac

mcdonaldn

This is another bulk edit for TFS, and it can be done by exporting items to excel and changing the states. Also, we have actions feature in work item type definition which makes such operation easy from a script, and using one loop transistions can be done for different work item types with differing states and transistion rules.

http://blogs.msdn.com/narend

Naren Datha - MSFT

Two options here. Create a small utility or plug-in to do so using the objectr model or the preferred and much easier method for mass maintenance: Do it from excel.

If I need to mass maintenance a set of work items open up excel, attach to the TFS and the Team Project of interest and run a query to get the workitems and fields of interest. Then I change the field value of the first item and do the little right corner drag to apply it to all the items in the spreadsheet and then publish it back to TFS. Voila. mass update.

Principal Consultant, Magenic -- http://blogs.manicprogrammer.com/michaelruminer

Michael Ruminer

Thanks Micheal! Yep just gave the little Excel trick a try and it worked fine. Still not as easy as TeamTracks Mass Transtion report you can simply click on to run, but I think this workable.

Mac

mcdonaldn

Just out of professional curiosity how exactly does that work??? Drop me a note offline if you'd like. I'm always curious about other software and mechanism they employ to accomplish given tasks.

michaelr is my email at Magenic.com

Principal Consultant, Magenic -- http://blogs.manicprogrammer.com/michaelruminer

Michael Ruminer

We were not using TeamTrack but the PVCS Tracker application (before the Merant/Serena merger). Bulk transactions were executed as follows:
- run a query
- select all items you want to update
- select the field (only one per transaction) you want update
- select a new value for the field
- click OK
You had following options (rights protected)
- override dependent and transition field rules (great for breaking built-in rules, eg: when dropping a bunch of items that are no longer of interest without having to specify all 'normally' required fields
- disable notifications (users are not notified of the changes made)
This was a great feature we are now missing in VSTS.
The only thing we could not do, was adding a note for bulk updates.

paso

yep that is pretty much how TeamTrack works as well.

Create a mass transition "report"
Run report and select the requests (i.e. work items) you want to update.
Put in the value of the field you want to update. E.g. State = "Deployed To Test"
Run the report and you're done.

We also use it to update the "Business Description" when the technical writers want to update a number of requets (i.e. work items) with the same Business Description.

Works pretty slick.

Mac

mcdonaldn

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