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Use the Owners Lookup Field

The Owners lookup field (also called Owners List or Owner List) displays in various places to assign work items to owners or filter backlog items in grids. Use this field to search team members by name, view their availability, and assign single or multiple owners to work items.

Permission requirement: To assign work items, you need at least Team Member role. To assign items to others, ensure those members are assigned to the same project with appropriate roles.

Add a member to the Owners List​

The Owners field is automatically populated based on your relationship to members. You cannot add names by selecting checkboxes or modifying list values. Instead, add members by:

  • Assigning them to the work item's project.
  • Changing their project role (if already assigned to the project).
  • Adding them to a TeamRoom™ or PlanningRoom™ (they must also be assigned to the project).

After this is done, they will appear the next time you use the Owners list.

The Owners list only displays members who have access to the project, so the names may be different on different work items.

Assign a story to a member​

Use one of these methods to assign a story:

  • Type to search: Type the first few letters of a member's name to look up members not listed. Select from the list of matching names. The more characters you type, the more refined the results.
  • Select from list: Choose a name from the list of members shown (based on your relationship to them).

The list displays the member's name along with their avatar photo and email address. This is helpful when several people have the same name.

Select multiple owners​

To assign work items to multiple owners:

  1. Select the first name and press Enter.
  2. Repeat until you have added all owners.

You cannot select multiple owners in filter fields.

Remove an owner​

Click the x next to the member's name to remove them.

  • Removing an owner from a work item unassigns it and removes it from the member's work queue
  • Removing all owners from a work item changes the status to "unassigned" and returns it to the backlog
  • Removing an owner from a filter field restores the data to the default view

Common Use Cases​

First-time assignment discovery​

A new Product Owner tries to assign a story to a team member by opening the story details and clicking the Owners field. They type the team member's name but it does not appear in the list. After consulting documentation, they learn the member must first be assigned to the project by an administrator. They contact the admin, who assigns the team member to the project with the Team Member role. Five minutes later, the Product Owner refreshes the Owners field and the team member's name appears, allowing successful assignment.

Multi-owner collaboration​

A complex story requires both backend and frontend development work. The Product Owner opens the story and clicks the Owners field. They type "john" and select John Smith (Backend Developer) from the list, press Enter, then type "sarah" and select Sarah Johnson (Frontend Developer), and press Enter again. Both developers now see the story in their My Work page and receive notifications about updates, enabling coordinated collaboration on the cross-functional feature.

Mid-iteration reassignment​

A story owner goes on unexpected medical leave mid-iteration. The Scrum Master opens the story details, locates the Owners field showing the absent team member, and clicks the X next to their name to remove them. The story returns to the unassigned backlog. The Scrum Master then types a new team member's name in the Owners field and selects them from the list. The story immediately appears in the new owner's work queue, allowing iteration work to continue without disruption.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Why cannot I find a team member's name in the Owners list?

The team member must first be assigned to the project before they appear in the Owners list. Contact your administrator to assign the member to the project with an appropriate role (typically Team Member or Project Lead). After assignment, refresh the Owners field and the member's name will appear.

Can I assign a story to someone not on my team?

You can only assign stories to members who are assigned to the project. If someone from another team needs access, an administrator must first assign them to your project. Cross-team assignments require proper project membership and permissions.

What happens if I remove all owners from a work item?

The work item becomes unassigned and returns to the project backlog. It no longer appears in any member's My Work page or work queue. The item remains in the backlog until someone assigns a new owner. Use this approach to "park" work items that are not currently being worked on.

Can I bulk-assign multiple items to one owner?

Yes, use grid bulk actions. In any grid (Product Backlog, Iteration Backlog, etc.), select multiple items by checking the boxes in the leftmost column, then use the bulk action menu to assign all selected items to a single owner simultaneously. This is much faster than assigning items individually.

What is the difference between Owner and Assigned To?

In most contexts within Agility, Owner and Assigned To refer to the same concept: the person responsible for completing the work item. The terminology may vary slightly across different pages and reports, but both indicate work item ownership and responsibility.