Spotlight #1 - Linking work items

Spotlight #1 - Linking work items



Hello everyone, 
  
We are excited to launch our spotlight series. Well, before we get into the topic, I wish to give a short brief on the focus line of this series. 

Spotlight     

Spotlight carries a monthly update on a specific feature in Zoho Sprints. I will walk you through an in-depth analysis of a particular feature with an use case. At the end of each session, you can comment your queries or suggestions. 

We recently launched a feature and I hope you would have seen a new section under 
Settings ---> Manage Work Items ---> Link Work Items

Today, we will be discussing on Work Item Linking.  
 
Prerequisites
  • Ensure whether you are either on the premium or enterprise plan to access this feature. 
  • Only the team owner and admin can create link types. 
Working with default link types
 
Link defines a connection between two relevant work items. Relevance can be related to different types and we call them the Link Types. Zoho Sprints comes up with six default link types.
 
A link type is composed of Link Name and Back Link Name. 
  • A link name is the direct linking that you define between two work items. 
  • A back link name is the reverse linking that is set for two work items.  
Case 1:  Let us take a simple scenario where there are four work items in the backlog. The user wants to create a link between the work items. 
  • Item A:  Create the task form 
  • Item B:  Character limit exceeds for the task name
  • Item C:  Generate task reports
  • Item D:   Resource utilization chart 
User sets the following link types for the above work items:
  • Depends on: Use the "depends on" link type when either of the work item depends on the other. Here, Item C depends on Item A. Only after the user creates a task form they can view the task report.   
  • Has bug: Use the "has bug" link type only for linking bugs. Item B is a bug of Item A. While testing the task form the user finds that the predefined character value exceeds the allowed limit. 
  • Impacts: Use the "impacts" link type when either of the items affects or influences the other. In the above case, Item A impacts Item D. For example, based on the load of the user you can create and assign tasks to them. The resource utilization chart looks balanced if the tasks are assigned equally.  
You can assign similar link types to the relevant work items in your project.
 

 
Working with custom link types
 
If the default link types are not what you are looking for, to link work items, you can create your own link types. Learn more on how to create custom link types. 
 
Case 2:  Becky has used up all the default link types and now she has a different use case. There are three prioritized work items that blocks a work item.
  • Item A: Process invoice to workers
  • Item B:  Time logs of the workers are missing in the back end 
  • Item C: Hours logged via mobile are not saved
Becky cannot process the invoice for her workers as there's a problem in the timesheet module. This blocks her from generating invoice. 

She can create a new link type. Here the Link name is ' Blocks'  and the Back Link Name is ' Is blocked by'. While linking Item A , you can select the back link as 'Is blocked by' and choose Item B and Item C . Since these two items blocks the invoice process. 

Did you know?
  •  We don't restrict users to reopen or close the dependent items before reopening or closing the main work item. You can individually modify the status of the items linked to the 'Depends on' link type.  

  •  You can delink the work items anytime and link them back.
  •  We support linking of work items across projects and sprints. 
Do you have work items that can be interlinked? Use the default link types or create new link types as per your business requirements. If you have any queries or suggestions comment below. 
 
Watch this space for the next spotlight. 
 
Happy sprinting!
Monica. R 

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