Using the Related Document Workflow precondition
Configured Related Document Workflow preconditions are checked each time you save a work item.
A typical scenario for using this feature is to have the development team’s work items linked to documents that participate in a workflow. In Microsoft SharePoint this implies configuring the document library to allow workflows; in Lotus Quickr it implies configuring document types to use an approval process.
To link a document to a work item, first open the work item’s Links tab. Then, drag one or more documents from the Documents view to the work item’s Links area. Make sure that the configured document workflow precondition is associated with the document library from where you are attaching the documents; the precondition will not execute for documents from non-configured libraries. When you drop the documents in the Links area, a menu prompts you to select the link type; select Add as Related Document.
Rational Team Concert users will not be able to transition the work item to a specific state (typically, Fixed) if the document is not approved. The document approval is typically handled by a project stakeholder, who is now connected to the development process. The approvers use their familiar collaboration tools, and do not need to be Rational Team Concert users.
You can see the current workflow or approval state of a document from the tooltip when hovering the mouse cursor over a document, or from the properties window.
If the linked document is not approved, the precondition is not met, and the save operation fails. Details are provided in the Team Advisor view, indicating the problem and suggesting a solution. Click the link in the Solutions section to open a Web page that allows you to fix the error.
For example, if you added a link from a work item to a document that is waiting for approval, and you enabled the Document Approval Workflow when resolving work items as Fixed, an attempt to change your work item status to Resolved As Fixed will result in the following error:
To fix the error, click the Ensure workflow completion in the related document solution link to approve the document directly on the Document Site.
In case the document precondition fails to verify the workflow or approval status of a related document, the work item resolution process is not blocked, but passes with a warning to alert you of the potential problem. Cases where the document precondition fails with a warning are when the:
A typical scenario for using this feature is to have the development team’s work items linked to documents that participate in a workflow. In Microsoft SharePoint this implies configuring the document library to allow workflows; in Lotus Quickr it implies configuring document types to use an approval process.
To link a document to a work item, first open the work item’s Links tab. Then, drag one or more documents from the Documents view to the work item’s Links area. Make sure that the configured document workflow precondition is associated with the document library from where you are attaching the documents; the precondition will not execute for documents from non-configured libraries. When you drop the documents in the Links area, a menu prompts you to select the link type; select Add as Related Document.
Rational Team Concert users will not be able to transition the work item to a specific state (typically, Fixed) if the document is not approved. The document approval is typically handled by a project stakeholder, who is now connected to the development process. The approvers use their familiar collaboration tools, and do not need to be Rational Team Concert users.
You can see the current workflow or approval state of a document from the tooltip when hovering the mouse cursor over a document, or from the properties window.
If the linked document is not approved, the precondition is not met, and the save operation fails. Details are provided in the Team Advisor view, indicating the problem and suggesting a solution. Click the link in the Solutions section to open a Web page that allows you to fix the error.
For example, if you added a link from a work item to a document that is waiting for approval, and you enabled the Document Approval Workflow when resolving work items as Fixed, an attempt to change your work item status to Resolved As Fixed will result in the following error:
To fix the error, click the Ensure workflow completion in the related document solution link to approve the document directly on the Document Site.
In case the document precondition fails to verify the workflow or approval status of a related document, the work item resolution process is not blocked, but passes with a warning to alert you of the potential problem. Cases where the document precondition fails with a warning are when the:
- Document does not participate in a configured Document workflow.
- Jazz Team Server fails to connect to the document server.
- Document server authentication fails due to invalid credentials stored on the Jazz Team Server.
- Document has been deleted.
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