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Assign Teams and Owners

Assign owners to portfolio items individually or in bulk to clarify accountability and responsibility for strategic work.

Permission requirement: Assigning owners to portfolio items requires modify permissions on those items. Bulk assignment requires modify permissions on all selected items.

Who Assigns Teams and Owners​

Ownership assignment supports accountability at multiple levels:

  • Portfolio Managers assign owners to high-level portfolio items to establish accountability for strategic initiatives and ensure clear ownership.
  • Product Owners assign themselves or team leads as owners of features and capabilities to coordinate delivery across teams.
  • Program Managers perform bulk owner assignments when organizing work for program increments or redistributing ownership.
  • Scrum Masters may update owner assignments when team composition changes or work is redistributed.

Assign a Team to a Portfolio Item​

Teams are inherited from the child backlog items assigned to the portfolio item. Digital.ai Agility does not currently support directly assigning a team to a portfolio item at the portfolio level.

As a workaround, you can add the Team column to the grid to view which teams are assigned to child items.

Any change to team assignment needs to come from the child backlog item level, not the portfolio item level.

Assign Owners to Multiple Portfolio Items​

Use bulk assignment to quickly assign an owner to multiple portfolio items in the Portfolio Tree.

To assign owners to multiple portfolio items:

  1. Click the hamburger menu.
  2. Click Portfolio > Portfolio Tree.
  3. Click the Move to Project drop-down list.
  4. Click Assign to Owners.
  5. Select the work items to which you want to assign owners.
  6. Place your cursor in the Owners lookup field.
  7. Select a name from the list. If the member's name is not displayed, type three characters in their name to see a list of matching names.
  8. Click Assign.

Agility assigns the selected multiple work items to the selected user.

Note: The same procedure applies for assigning owners to multiple items on the Request page and Issue page.

Unassign Owners from Multiple Portfolio Items​

Use bulk unassignment to quickly remove an owner from multiple portfolio items in the Portfolio Tree.

To unassign owners from multiple portfolio items:

  1. Click the hamburger menu.
  2. Click Portfolio > Portfolio Tree.
  3. Click the Move to Project drop-down list.
  4. Click Unassign Owners.
  5. Select the work items from which you want to unassign owners.
  6. Place your cursor in the Owners lookup field.
  7. Select a name from the list. If the member's name is not displayed, type three characters in their name to see a list of matching names.
  8. Click Unassign.

Agility unassigns the multiple work items for the selected user.

note

The same procedure applies for unassigning owners from multiple items on the Request page, Member Planning page, and Issue page.

Troubleshooting​

Why can't I directly assign a team to a portfolio item?​

Digital.ai Agility does not support direct team assignment at the portfolio level. Teams are automatically inherited from child backlog items. To associate a portfolio item with a team, assign the child stories, defects, or tasks to that team. The Team field on portfolio items reflects the teams working on child items, not a direct assignment.

Why don't I see the "Assign to Owners" option?​

Bulk owner assignment requires modify permissions on all selected portfolio items. If the option is missing or disabled, verify you have appropriate permissions. Also confirm you've selected at least one portfolio item using the checkboxes—bulk actions require item selection. If you still don't see the option, check that you're viewing the Portfolio Tree, not a different view.

Can I assign multiple owners to a single portfolio item?​

Yes, portfolio items support multiple owners. In the owner lookup field, select additional owners one at a time—each selection adds to the owner list. Multiple owners provide shared accountability and allow different stakeholders to track progress. All assigned owners receive notifications and can track the portfolio item in their personal views.

Why does the owner assignment fail with "Permission denied"?​

Owner assignment requires modify permissions on the portfolio item. Verify you have the correct role and permissions for the planning level containing the portfolio item. You must also have permission to assign work to team members. If bulk assigning, all selected items must allow modification—if even one item lacks permissions, the bulk operation may fail.