Rally - State Changed Date field functionality in Rally Defects

Products

• Rally SaaS

Issue/Introduction

Users often request a field in Defects that automatically tracks the date a state changes, similar to the State Changed Date found in Portfolio Items (Features, Initiatives). Standard Rally objects like Defects do not share the exact same built-in fields as Portfolio Items.

Symptoms:

• Unable to find a field named State Changed Date for Defects.
• Custom date fields do not automatically update when the State field is modified.
• Need to track the duration or timestamp of state transitions for reporting.

Environment

Rally SAAS

Cause

The State Changed Date field is a system-calculated field exclusive to Portfolio Items. Standard objects (Defects, User Stories) use different tracking mechanisms. Additionally, Rally custom fields do not currently support native "auto-update" or "auto-calculation" logic based on other field changes

Resolution

To track state change dates for Defects, use one of the following methods:

Option 1: Use the Native "FlowStateChangedDate" Field Standard Rally objects include a built-in field called FlowStateChangedDate. This field automatically updates with a timestamp whenever the Flow State of the defect changes.

Option 2: Use the native "Last Updated Date" field. Standard Rally objects include a built-in field called LastUpdatedDate, which automatically records a timestamp whenever an update occurs on a defect.

Option 3: Manual Update

• Create a custom field of type Date.
• Instruct users to manually update this field when changing the defect state.

Option 4: Automated Update via API or Webhooks Use the Rally Web Services API (WSAPI) or Webhooks to create an external script. The script can listen for any changes and programmatically update a custom date field.

Option 5: Revision History View the exact date and time of any state change by checking the Revision History tab on the specific Defect.