Blocking a Task

Any time an issue outside of the teams control prevents progress, you should Block the Task .

Important: When a Task is blocked, the Story is also Blocked.

Tip: If you are in the Task Editor, you can click the Blocked icon

in the left pane to block a Task.

Watch how to do it: Block a Task.

In the TEAM ROOM, make sure that the Blocked column is visible. See Viewing Columns in Grids.
Hover over the Block icon in the Blocked column for the Task you want to block.
Click the icon when it enables . The Provide Blocking Reason dialog box opens.
Enter a reason in the field and click OK. This automatically creates a Discussion Topic in the Story and notifies the Story Owner, all team members with Tasks in the Story, and anyone else called out with the @ functionality. For more information, see Discussions.
The following also happens when a Task is Blocked:
- The Title is modified to include the text Story Blocked.
- The icon in the Blocked column changes to .
- The Story row will display .
- The Task row is highlighted.
- The boxes in the Status column turn red, depending on the Status.
- When you hover over the Blocked icon, the Task that is blocking the Story will display.
Here is what it will look like after it is blocked:
When you unblock the Task, a reply is added to the original Discussion Topic, also informing team members.

The Health and Progress pane of the TEAM ROOM will also display a blocked Story.

Tip: Click on the blocked icon to filter the TEAM ROOM to only see the blocked Task.