Rally - Is there a way to purge or delete projects in Rally?

Products

• Rally SaaS

Issue/Introduction

Is there a way to purge projects that have been closed for 5 years or longer?  If yes, what is the process?

Environment

Rally SAAS

Resolution

Rally does not have an automated, built-in feature to "purge" (i.e., permanently and irretrievably delete all underlying data) projects based on a time criterion like "closed for 5 years or longer."

The standard way Rally handles old projects is by setting their State to Closed. This archives them, removing them from most active views and searches, but the data remains in the system for historical reporting and auditing purposes.

If you truly need to permanently delete projects, this is a more involved and potentially risky process:

Understanding "Purge" vs. "Delete" in Rally Context:

• Closing a Project: This is the standard archival method. The project and its data (stories, defects, tasks, etc.) still exist but are typically hidden from default views. This is reversible.
• Deleting a Project: This is a permanent action that removes the project and its associated artifacts from Rally. This is typically done by a Subscription Administrator. There is no "recycle bin" for deleted projects in the UI.

In summary: There is no feature to "purge projects closed for 5 years" in Rally. The closest you can get is manually or programmatically (via API) identifying and then deleting these projects, a task that requires Subscription Administrator privileges, careful planning, and carries significant risk of permanent data loss.