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What are the main differences between the Implementation tab and the All Link tab in TFS 2010? I ask, because we have a need for Requirement work items to have an Affects/Affected By (or maybe Predecessor/Successor) link type with Task work items...instead of the parent/child link type you are limited to in the Implementation tab. Essentially, we want the ability for a given task to be able to have links to multiple Requirements.

As extensible and free-form as TFS 2010 is...I still hesitate a bit to go this route without knowing what kind of possible negative impact this approach could have when it comes to future reporting needs or something else.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Clay
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The implementation tab is constrained to only Task work items that are children of the Requirement. The All Links tab shows every link associated with the Requirement (including Tasks). The FORM section of the WIT definition defines the layout... and the links controls. You can adjust these tabs (or add new ones) there.

As for this particular change, I would tread carefully. Having tasks with "multiple parents" can lead to a lot of confusion and over-engineering. I've seen many teams try this approach only to abandon it in favor of a simple parent/child relationship.

What is the main reason for wanting tasks to be tied to multiple requirements?

aaronbjork
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  • Thank you, this supports what my understanding was. Our main reason for wanting tasks to be tied to multiple (functional) requirements is to avoid having (what would seem to be) many more tasks created than would seem necessary. We think that much granularity in task creation could be more burdensome/tedious than helpful. – Clay Apr 11 '11 at 16:33
  • Thanks, I've elaborated a bit more here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5650328/are-we-using-tfs-2010-incorrectly – Clay Apr 13 '11 at 13:49
  • There are constraints enforced in TFS 2010 that prevent you from linking to multiple parents with the error message, "TF201066: You cannot add a Child link to work item xxxx because a work item can have only one Parent link." ;) – Rami A. Oct 22 '11 at 01:20