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Can I import a work item and have it use a template?


Alexander Reyes (196) | asked May 03 '21, 3:47 p.m.

 I have a large list (500+) of Epic type work items I want to import into RTC. For each of these Epics, I'd like to instantiate a template. Is there a way to import work items and have them instantiate a template? This would save me the trouble of having to manually create 500 work items from a template.

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Ralph Schoon (63.1k33646) | answered May 04 '21, 2:20 a.m.
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 Alexander,


for all I know, Work item templates can only be applied manually. The import capabilities (CSV, MSProject) do not allow to select an option to apply a work item template for all I know and can see. 


So you would have to think about some other kind of automation. One possible way I could see would be to use the work item command line and enhance the import capabilities to use a template or to automatically create child items.

Alexander Reyes selected this answer as the correct answer

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Alexander Reyes commented May 04 '21, 10:20 a.m.

Thanks for your prompt response and patience, Ralph. I appreciate it! 

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Ralph Schoon (63.1k33646) | answered May 03 '21, 4:42 p.m.
FORUM ADMINISTRATOR / FORUM MODERATOR / JAZZ DEVELOPER
edited May 04 '21, 2:03 a.m.
To make it effective, the most likely answer is no.

What does instantiate a template mean? What does it meant to create 500 work items from a template? What distinguishes a template from other ways of importing that would make a difference in the case here?

I am sorry, but this question does not mean anything or makes any sense to me. There are no features in EWM/RTC that are relatable to the question as far as I am concerned and aware of.

Import of work items could mean involving CSV import. In this case there is no relationship to anything called a template.
There are other means of automation such as WCL. None of the ones I can think of are in any way, shape or form related to work item templates. Maybe you can provide additional details?

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Alexander Reyes commented May 03 '21, 5:48 p.m.

Thanks for your reply. Allow me to elaborate.


By "instantiate" I simply mean create work items from a template. In my case, I don't want to use the "Create from template..." option in the Work Items drop down.

Instead I want to have the CSV import (or some other method) use a template that exists in the project. In my case, the template is used to create an Epic with many children Stories and Tasks. I don't want to have to use the template 500+ times to create the structure/dependency desired.

From your response, it sounds like this isn't possible. I was trying to reduce the overhead associated with manually creating these work items. Please let me know if my question is still unclear.


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