Can I import a work item and have it use a template?
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.
Accepted answer
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.
One other answer
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?
Comments
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.