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Create Work Item from Template Action Fails to Execute

Troubleshooting


Problem

In IBM Engineering Workflow Management (EWM), the Create Work Item from Template action does not display the expected dialog box. Consequently, users cannot select a work item template, preventing them from creating work items based on predefined templates.

Symptom

  • When a user clicks on the Create Work Item from Template action, no dialog box appears and no further action is triggered.
  • The issue occurs consistently and is reproducible for all users.
  • In a HAR file (see How To Generate a HAR File), the following request returns errorCode 400: 
    https://your-server/ccm/service/com.ibm.team.workitem.common.internal.rest.IQueryRestService/workItemTemplates2
?projectAreaItemId=<projectArea_UUID>
    Response: 
    {\"errorClass\":\"java.lang.IllegalArgumentException\",\"errorMessage\":\"Illegal work item template format.\",
\"errorCode\":400}

 

Cause

The issue occurs because the attached template files referenced by the work item template are missing. As a result, the system cannot process the template format, leading to the error response and failure to display the Create Work Item from Template dialog box.

Diagnosing The Problem

Steps to Diagnose the Problem:

  1. Open the Project in Eclipse Client

    • Launch the Eclipse client and open the affected project.

  2. Check the Process Configuration Source

    • Navigate to the Process Configuration Source tab.
    • Search for the section with the ID com.ibm.team.workitem.configuration.templates: 
      <configuration-data id= "com.ibm.team.workitem.configuration.templates" xmlns= "http://com.ibm.team.workitem/templates"> 
     <template content="processattachment:/workitemtemplates/ibm.safe45.program_increment.xml" description="Creates work items for a typical SAFe Program Increment." identifier="ibm.safe45.program_increment" name="Program Increment"/> 
     <template content="processattachment:/workitemtemplates/ibm.safe45.program_initiation.xml" description="Creates work items for initiating a SAFe Program." identifier="ibm.safe45.program_initiation" name="Program Initiation"/> 
     <template content="processattachment:/workitemtemplates/ibm.safe45.team_innovation_planning.xml" description="Creates work items for a SAFe team Innovation and Planning iteration." identifier="ibm.safe45.team_innovation_planning" name="Team Innovation and Planning"/> 
     <template content="processattachment:/workitemtemplates/ibm.safe45.team_iteration.xml" description="Creates work items for a SAFe team iteration." identifier="ibm.safe45.team_iteration" name="Team Iteration"/> 
     <template content="processattachment:/workitemtemplates/com.ibm.team.workitem.template1.xml" description="test" identifier="com.ibm.team.workitem.template1" name="test"/> 
</configuration-data>
      The 'content' values contain attachments referenced by the templates.

  3. Identify Template Attachments

    • Note that each content value in the <template> element contains a path to an attachment referenced by the template.
    • Record the content value for each template listed.

  4. Verify Attachment Files

    • Go to the Links tab of the project.
    • Search for files whose paths match the content values noted in step 3.
    • Confirm whether the referenced files exist. Missing files will indicate the cause of the problem.

Resolving The Problem

Steps to Resolve the Problem:

  1. Open the Project in the Eclipse Client

    • Launch the Eclipse client and open the affected project.

  2. Navigate to the Work Items > Templates section

    • On the Process Configuration tab, go to Project Configuration → Configuration Data → Work Items → Templates.

  3. Identify Templates with Missing Attachments

    • Identify any templates that reference attachments which are missing using the steps in the 'Diagnosing The Problem' section.

  4. Remove Invalid Templates

    • Delete any templates that reference missing or non-existent attachment files.

  5. Save Changes

    • Save the updated process configuration.

  6. Verify Resolution

    • Test the Create Work Item from Template action to ensure the dialog box appears and templates load correctly.

Document Location

Worldwide

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Product Synonym

EWM;ccm;ELM

Document Information

Modified date:
20 October 2025

UID

ibm17247673

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