Isolate Orphaned Work Items with One Click

Isolate Orphaned Work Items with One Click

In complex traceability networks, it's easy for some work items to fall through the cracks — especially those that aren’t linked to any other item. These “orphaned work items” can silently disrupt compliance, cause delays, or lead to missed requirements.

That’s why Links Explorer includes a dedicated toggle in the Tree View to quickly surface or hide these standalone items.

Select option to “Show Orphan Work Items”
Orphan work items in tree view

🔍 What Are Orphaned Work Items?

Orphaned work items are those that have no upstream or downstream links. They may represent:

  • A forgotten requirement or test

  • A task created in error

  • An item waiting for stakeholder alignment

Identifying them early improves data quality and avoids incomplete traceability chains.

⚙️ How to Use the Toggle

In Tree View, you’ll find a button in the filters bar labeled

  • Show Orphan Issues – Displays all work items with no links

  • Hide Orphan Issues – Hides them to focus only on linked structures

Toggling this allows you to either:

  • Audit your system for completeness

  • Focus only on items with dependencies