Remove the display of some default work item types that are created with a new RTC project.
In configuring new projects for various clients I'd like to remove some of the default work item types
from being displayed to a user in the Work Item > Create Work Item drop down menu on the Web
version of RTC. Many users find this confusing and depending on the system, I would like them to only
see work item types that are relevant to that project or user. For example, in a Defect tracking system, there is
no need to have Epics, Stories, Retrospectives etc displayed when an end user wants to add a defect to the system.
What is the best way to safely remove these or hide these from the user in the drop down menu?
I realize in the Eclipse Client I could simply choose to Remove the Work Item type from the project.
But is the recommended way to go about this? What happens if a project matures and I would
like to add some of the deleted work item types back to the system?
Any help would be really appreciated.
Thanks.
Accepted answer
You can create a custom template to be used when a new project is created. In the custom template, you can add or remove any work item types that you would like to include in new projects.
https://jazz.net/library/article/565
http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/clmhelp/v4r0m1/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.jazz.platform.doc%2Ftopics%2Ft_create_process_template.html
For existing projects, you may want to ensure there is no existing work items of the type that you want to delete. Once confirm, you can safely delete the work item type from the project's template. Otherwise, you may want to convert those work items to another type before proceeding with the deletion.
You can always add more work item type to an existing project moving forward. Same for the process template (for new projects).
2 other answers
In a similar instance I was able to comment the work item types I wanted disable/remove from users selection in the "Process Configuration Source". This simply removed it from selection in the create work item menus.
This example will remove a work item called "Work Item" from the work item creation selection menus.
<data>
<configuration-data xmlns="http://com.ibm.team.workitem/workitemTypes" final="false" id="com.ibm.team.workitem.configuration.workItemTypes">
<!--
<type category="com.rtn.team.workitem.MyWorkflow" icon="processattachment:/workitemtype/MyWI.gif" id="com.rtn.team.workitem.MyWorkflow" name="Work Item">
<alias name="Work Item"/>
<alias name="WI"/>
<alias name="wi"/>
</type>
-->
...
...
...
</data>
Note: Pre-existing work items of this type will also not have access to a proper work item definition and will be rendered read-only due to the project configuration. This may be more useful in template development vs. resolving issues of accessibility presented in production systems.