Acceptance tests

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I assume that by acceptance tests, you are referring to the Test Case work item type. This type is not configured to appear in Urban Turtle by default as it doesn't use a parent-child link type.

However, it is possible to configure Urban Turtle to use a different query mode which would allow you to display this work item type. Please note that this mode is restricted to a two-level hierarchy, meaning you can see parent and child items, but not children of children. The default query mode does not impose a depth limit.

We have a working configuration file which displays Test Case work items with MSF Agile 5.0. We plan to write a blog post describing how to create it in the near future, but I would be happy to make it available to you should you wish to look at it.

Thank you for your response. I probably should have said in my previous post that we are using the template "Scrum for team systems" in TFS.

The link between the PBI and the Acceptance test is of type "Tested by" - would displaying that have the same affect as you described i.e. children og children not being displayed??

Any examples and/or text on how to do configuration file changes would be appreciated. Thanks.

The Scrum for Team System configuration file already specifies the direct-link query mode. This was required in order to show the different custom links used in this template. I believe it would be possible to create a custom configuration file to show the Acceptance Test work item types.

Here are some blog posts describing how to create a custom mapping file:

• Configuring Urban Turtle for customized process templates


• Enabling the real-time burndown with MSF Agile 5.0


• Recycle bin feature in a MSF Agile project


• Approval feature with MSF Agile 5.0

Thank you - I will look at the blog posts.

After opening our data in UT we found some really strange stuff in it including a Bug - implemented by a PBI - implemented by a Bug. This fantastic (and completly useless) Bug-PBI-Bug configuration is displayed beautifully in the planning board but I was just wondering if this wouldn't be considered a "child of a child" configuration?? And as I understand your response that shouldn't be displayed in a direct-link query?? or am I missing something??

You are right, I can confirm that such a scenario will be displayed as expected in Urban Turtle. It is I who has missed something, not you! :)

Given this, it could be possible to add the Acceptance Test work item type to the configuration file, and the links between this type, the Product Backlog Item and the Bug, enabling the complete Product Backlog Item -> Tested By -> Acceptance Test -> Failed By -> Bug scenario. It would be very interesting to try this out.

I must confess that Scrum for Team System support is still being tweaked. It has some interesting challenges for us!

I could probably try to create an updated configuration file that would include the Acceptance test and the correct link configuration to test this new scenario. I could get back to you tomorrow.

That's great - seeing the acceptance tests would be awesome. And if you can send me a config file I would really appreciate it. Thank you!!

Here's the updated configuration file. Any feedback would be more than welcome. We might include this change in the next release if all goes well.

One thing to note, you will not be able to add a Bug to the Acceptance Test through Urban Turtle. This is due to the fact that the Direct Links query mode prevents adding children to children. I believe this to be an artificial limitation that we could remove in the next release. I am experimenting with this possibility. You can however add a Bug to an Acceptance Test by editing the latter through the Work Item Editor. Simply click on the Id of the work item to access it. Select the Failed By tab and add a new linked work item to create a Bug. It will then be displayed under the Acceptance Test as expected.

Thank you so much for this Louis. I will let you know how this goes.
I am more than willing to test any new things in the SfTS configurations - don't hesitate to contact me.

We've added the config file and it works like a charm. The AT's are displayed in a lovely orange color. Thank you so much - our testers are very happy with this and as we know when the testers are happy the developers are happy :)

One more question: What is the "Warning Zone"?? I have some stories that have the status Descoped and they get a red Warning Zone box around the SBTs. There is also a Warning Zone around some bugs in Other Work Items. Do you have a blog entry regarding this functionality?

The Warning Zone is used to display work items that cannot be shown in any of the columns. The task board uses the state of the work items to determine in which column they should appear. In some cases, it also checks whether or not a work item is assigned to someone to determine where to display it. This configuration is done through the xml configuration that can be customized by the user. When a work item is in a state that is not configured to appear in one of the columns, we display it in a special section called the Warning Zone to prevent confusion. Before the introduction of this special zone, work items were simply not shown on the task board and this was very confusing to users.

That makes sense - thanks for the info.