Add Work Items to Releases
Stories and defects can be added directly to releases in the Release Planning board. Work items can also be associated with releases from the core asset details pages in Agility, where the Release field appears as a dropdown showing "Value Stream Name, Release Name" format.
Who Adds Work Items to Releases
Product Owners assign stories and defects to releases based on priority and business value, determining which work items will be delivered in upcoming release increments.
Scrum Masters help teams add work items to releases during sprint planning and backlog refinement, ensuring release commitments align with team capacity.
Team Members add defects and technical debt items to releases as they're identified, ensuring quality and maintenance work is planned into release timelines.
Release Managers coordinate work item assignments across multiple teams, balancing release scope and managing dependencies between teams.
Permission requirement: Adding work items to releases requires edit permissions on the work items. You must have access to both the planning level and the team associated with the work item.
Add Stories to a Release
A story (also called a backlog item) represents a requirement, feature, or unit of business value that can be estimated and tested.
Procedure
- Log in to Agility and click the hamburger menu > Release Planning.
- In the Value Stream List page, click a Value Stream.
- In the Release Planning Board, click Add Story under the Release.
- In the Asset detail drawer, enter the title and select values for the following:
- Planning Level*
- Title*
- Team
- Status
- Iteration
Release Field: When adding stories from the Release Planning Board, the Release field is auto-populated with the current release. You can manually select a different release from the dropdown, which displays releases in "Value Stream Name - Release Name" format (e.g., "Agility - Earth"). Fields marked with * are mandatory.
-
Enter values for other fields and click Save.
-
The Add Story page loads additional fields:
- Planning Level: Select a planning level from the dropdown
- Status: Select a status from the dropdown
- Iteration: Select an iteration from the dropdown
- Owners: Type name to search and assign owner to the story
- Estimate (pts): Specify estimate points for the story
- Team: Select a team from the dropdown
- Portfolio Item: Select a portfolio item from the dropdown
- Tags: Enter necessary tags for the story
- Description: Enter a brief description about the story
-
Click Show More to view additional fields.
-
In Link section, click +Add to add a link to the story.
-
In Downstream Dependencies, click + Add to add downstream dependencies to the story.
-
In Upstream Dependencies, click + Add to add upstream dependencies to the story.
-
Click Save.
Add Defects to a Release
Defects are generally entered and planned in the Product Planning area. In Release Planning, you can add defects inline and associate them with the release.
Procedure
- Log in to Agility and click the hamburger menu > Release Planning.
- In the Value Stream List page, click a Value Stream.
- In the Release Planning Board, click Add Defect under the Release.
- In the Asset detail drawer, enter the title and select values for the following:
- Planning Level*
- Title*
- Team
- Status
- Iteration
Release Field: When adding defects from the Release Planning Board, the Release field is auto-populated with the current release. You can manually select a different release from the dropdown, which displays releases in "Value Stream Name - Release Name" format (e.g., "Deploy - Beta"). Fields marked with * are mandatory.
-
Enter values for other fields and click Save.
-
The Asset detail drawer loads additional fields:
- Planning Level: Select a planning level from the dropdown
- Status: Select a status from the dropdown
- Sprint: Select a sprint from the dropdown
- Owners: Type name to search and assign owner to the defect
- Estimate (pts): Specify estimate points for the defect
- Team: Select a team from the dropdown
- Portfolio Item: Select a portfolio item from the dropdown
- Tags: Enter necessary tags for the defect
- Description: Enter a brief description about the defect
-
Click Show More to view additional fields.
-
In Link section, click +Add to add a link to the defect.
-
In Downstream Dependencies, click + Add to add downstream dependencies to the defect.
-
In Upstream Dependencies, click + Add to add upstream dependencies to the defect.
-
Click Save.
Visual Elements in Asset Detail Drawer
| Visual Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Details Tab | Default tab where you enter and view basic information about the work item, including metadata, links, and dependencies. |
| Info, Link, Upstream Dependencies and Downstream Dependencies Icons | Provide quick access to Information section, Link section, Upstream Dependencies and Downstream Dependencies. |
| Child Items Tab | View and manage child items associated with the work item. Click any child item name or number to navigate directly to that item in the asset detail drawer. |
| Attachments Tab | Upload and manage file attachments. Supports drag-and-drop or file selection with a 4MB maximum file size limit. |
| OKRs Tab | Associate key results with the work item. View and manage OKR relationships to track how work contributes to strategic objectives. |
| Comments Tab | View and add comments for team collaboration. Includes AI-powered conversation summarization using the Sage icon at the root of conversation threads. |
| Activity Tab | Displays a chronological timeline of all changes, status transitions, and field modifications made to the work item. View who made each change and when, with infinite scroll for extensive change history. For more information, see View Work Item Activity History. |
| Sage Tab | Access AI Assistant for Agile Artifacts with Quick Actions for title optimization, description enhancement, and acceptance criteria development. Create child assets using natural language. For more information, see Getting Started with Sage. |
Troubleshooting
Why is the Release field auto-populated when I add a story?
When adding stories from the Release Planning Board using the Add Story button under a release, the Release field is automatically populated with that release. You can change this by selecting a different release from the dropdown if needed.
Why can't I assign a work item to a release?
Verify you have edit permissions on the work item and that you have access to both the planning level and the team associated with the item. Closed releases don't accept new work item assignments.
Why don't I see some releases in the Release dropdown?
The Release dropdown shows releases in "Value Stream Name - Release Name" format (e.g., "Agility - Earth"). If you don't see expected releases, verify they exist in the value stream and are not closed. Contact your release manager or administrator.
Can I add portfolio items to releases from this page?
No. This page focuses on adding stories and defects (backlog items) to releases. Portfolio items (Epics, Features) are assigned to releases from the Portfolio Level Release Planning view. See Portfolio Level Release Planning for details.