You define areas and iterations for a team project to provide structure and to support grouping of work items into areas and iterations. You can use these areas and iterations to filter many reports.
A team project initially has no organizational structure. You build the structure of product areas by creating nodes that represent components and features. You build the structure of the project lifecycle by creating nodes that represent a hierarchy of events, such as sprints, iterations, beta deliverables, and other key milestones.
The process template from which you create the team project determines the default number and names of areas and iterations. For example, the Microsoft Solution Framework (MSF) process templates specify no area nodes and only three iteration nodes, which are labeled Iteration 1, Iteration 2, and Iteration 3.
As the needs of the project change, you can add or modify the project structure and iterations for your team project.
You can use any one of the Team Foundation client programs to customize the project structure or project iterations.
In this topic
Required Permissions
To perform these procedures, you must be a member of the Project Administrators group or have the Create and order child nodes, Delete this node, and Edit this node permissions set to Allow. For more information, see Team Foundation Server Permissions.
Restrictions on Area and Iteration Paths
The Area and Iteration fields are paths that are made up of multiple node items that are separated by backslash (\) characters. Nodes are defined by the project manager to reflect the project areas and project cycle. The following table describes the restrictions on nodes and paths.
Restriction type | Restriction |
|---|
Node length | |
Special characters for nodes | Must not contain Unicode control characters Must not contain any one of the following characters: \ / $ ? * : " & > < # % | , Must not contain characters prohibited by the local file system. For more information about Windows character restrictions, see the following topic on the Microsoft Web site: Naming a File.
|
Reserved names | Must not consist only of a period (.) or two periods (..) Must not be a system-reserved name such as PRN, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, COM10, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, LPT9, NUL, CON, or AUX For more information about reserved names, see the following topic on the Microsoft Web site: Naming a File.
|
Path length | |
Path hierarchy depth | |
Changing Project Structure or Iterations Using Team Web Access
To modify the team project structure or iterations using Team Web Access
In Team Web Access, in the Project list, click the project for which you want to modify areas or iterations.
Perform one of the following steps:
To modify areas, click Settings, point to Team Project, and then click Areas.
To modify iterations, click Settings, point to Team Project, and then click Iterations.
To add a new node, follow these steps:
Click the parent node.
On the toolbar, click the Add Child Node button.
In the Node name box, type a name for the new node.
Click OK.
To rename a node, follow these steps:
Click the node.
On the toolbar, click the Rename button.
In the Node name box, type a new name for the node.
Click OK.
To delete a node, follow these steps:
Click the node, and then on the toolbar, click the Delete button.
In the New reference path list, click the name of a node that you do not plan to delete.
Work items that currently reference the node that you are about to delete will from now on reference the node that you select in this list.
Click OK.
Changing Project Structure or Iterations Using Team Explorer, Office Excel, or Office Project
To modify the team project structure or iterations using Team Explorer, Office Excel, or Office Project
Connect to the team project by performing one of the following steps:
Perform one of the following steps:
In Team Explorer, on the Team menu, point to Team Project Settings, and then click Areas and Iterations.
In Office Excel, on the Team tab, in the Work Items group, click Edit Areas and Iterations.
In Office Project, on the Team menu, click Edit Areas and Iterations.
In the Areas and Iterations dialog box, perform one of the following steps:
To modify team project areas, click the Area tab.
To modify iterations, click the Iteration tab.
To add a new node, follow these steps:
Click the parent node.
Click the Add a child node toolbar button.
Type a name for the new node.
Press ENTER.
To rename a node, follow these steps:
Right-click the node.
Click Rename.
Type a new name for the node.
Press ENTER.
To delete a node, follow these steps:
Click the node that you want to delete.
Click the Delete node toolbar button.
In the Delete Nodes dialog box, in the Select the new path for the items to reference list, click the name of a node that you do not plan to delete.
Work items that reference the node that you are about to delete will instead reference the node that you specify.
Click OK.
To promote a node, demote a node, or move a node up or down in the list, click the node, and then click the appropriate toolbar button.
Click Close.
Concepts
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