Missing Artifacts in Rally - Where Did They Go?

Losing a user story, defect, test case, or other type of Rally work items can be frustrating. With the exception of a permanent deletion by another user, it is unlikely that the missing item is gone forever. Below is a list of the most common reasons why you may not be able to find an artifact, and what to do to check or resolve each.

Search first

When you can no longer find a work item, the first thing to do is search for it. The search field in the upper-right corner of any Rally page will scan the entire workspace for the artifact.

If possible, it's best to search for the full Formatted ID of the missing artifact, e.g. "US123." If search can locate the ID, you will be redirected to the details page of the work item.

Work item deleted

A common cause for missing items is another member of your team deleting the artifact, and not communicating. If you cannot find your item via search, check the Recycle Bin next. The link for the Recycle Bin is at the bottom-right corner of any Rally page.

Default sorting will show the most recently deleted items at the top of the page. You can select the columns at the top to sort by other criteria, such as Name, Type, and Deleted By. Select the gear icon to the left of a work item to restore it.

User stories - parent story deleted

A user story can be deleted inadvertently, if it has a parent. When you delete a parent story, all child stories within are also deleted.

When a group of parent and child stories is deleted, only the top-most story will display in the Recycle Bin page. To restore any children inside, take the following steps:

1. Restore the parent user story from the Recycle Bin
2. Navigate back to the story in its original project
3. Edit the child user story that was missing
4. Click the red X icon that appears next to the Parent field.
5. Save the changes; the child story is now independent
6. Delete the parent story once more, if necessary

Revision histories

If the missing work item was associated to another item in Rally — a user story, defect, iteration, release, etc — you can check the other item's revision history to gain insight as to where the missing artifact went.

For an iteration or release, a work item will be removed from these timeboxes if you delete the item or move it to another project. When deleting, the revision history will look like this:

When a work item is moved to another project, the revision will read the same, but will not include the "Moved to Recycle Bin" text.

If the missing item was attached to another artifact, you may see a revision like this:

Permissions changed

If you have permission to a project that contains your stories, and an admin then removes your permissions, you will no longer be able to see those work items. They will seem to disappear, especially if linked objects remain in projects you do have access to.

The easiest way to check for a permission change is to navigate to the Setup>Profile page. Next, select the Revisions link. A revision will look like this:

You may also check with your Subscription Administrator to see if your access rights have been removed or modified.