FTS Invalid Fields on Stories and Tasks

[Marina]

Good day all,

I'm getting the following TFS sync error on some stories:

Work item has invalid fields.  (FieldName='Effort' | Value='1' | Status='InvalidNotOldValue') 

I thought in the bidirectional syncing if TeamPulse found a discrepancy that it would ask which source to keep and which to update.  However, the only option provided is "Ignore Change".  How do I resolve this?

Also the following TFS sync error on some tasks:

Work item has invalid fields.  (FieldName='Remaining Work' | Value='[null]' | Status='InvalidEmpty')  

We are not using the Remaining Work field in TeamPulse yet.  How do we get this to sync with TFS if is empty in TeamPulse?  I tried setting the field to 0 (zero) on one of the tasks but I get the same error back.

Thanks. 

[Elena Hristova]

Hi Edmund,

 I am sorry for your inconvenience. The errors you are getting are caused from some tfs restrictions that TeamPulse does not check for. For example in the Work Item Definition of Product Backlog Item for the Scrum tfs template the following restriction is put by default:

<STATE value="Done">
  <FIELDS>
    <FIELD refname="Microsoft.VSTS.Common.BusinessValue">
      <READONLY />
    </FIELD>
    <FIELD refname="Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.Effort">
      <READONLY />
    </FIELD>
  </FIELDS>
</STATE>

So, if you have a Done story in TeamPulse and you have then changed its estimate, the first error you got will appear in TeamPulse after syncing.

Similarly, in the Scrum tfs template there is the following restriction on transition from Done to In Progress statuses for the Task Work Item Type, which could cause your second error to show.

<TRANSITION from="Done" to="In Progress">
  <REASONS>
    <DEFAULTREASON value="Additional work found" />
  </REASONS>
  <FIELDS>
    <FIELD refname="Microsoft.VSTS.Scheduling.RemainingWork">
      <REQUIRED />
    </FIELD>
  </FIELDS>
</TRANSITION>

To make these error do away you can do the following:

1. Export the Work Item Type definitions for your tfs project
   To do this open Visual Studio Tools Tab  -> Process editor - > Work Item Types -> Export WIT -> Choose your tfs project and save xmls for user story and bug types (check attached screenshot)

2. Modify them to remove the unwanted restrictions
3. Import the definitions again

If you have any problems performing these operations or any other concerns please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Greetings,
Elena Peneva
the Telerik team