block-work-item

name	block-work-item
description	Marks an Azure DevOps work item as Blocked and links it to its predecessor blocker. Use when a work item cannot proceed until another work item is completed.
disable-model-invocation	true

Block Work Item

Mark an Azure DevOps work item as Blocked and record the blocking dependency by linking it to its predecessor (the blocker).

Input

The user specifies two work items:

Input	Description
blocked ID	The work item that cannot proceed.
blocker ID	The work item that must be completed first (the predecessor).

The user may phrase this as "block 12345 on 12346", "12345 is blocked by 12346", or similar. Infer which is which from context. If ambiguous, ask.

Steps

1. Resolve both work items

Fetch both work items in parallel using get_work_item (with expand: "relations" on the blocked item so existing links are visible).

If either ID does not exist, inform the user and stop.

2. Validate

• If the blocked work item is already in the Blocked state and already has a predecessor link to the blocker, inform the user that the relationship already exists and stop.
• If a predecessor link to the blocker already exists but the state is not Blocked, proceed with only the state change (step 3).
• If the state is already Blocked but no predecessor link exists, proceed with only the link (step 4).

3. Transition to Blocked

Call update_work_item with:

• workItemId: the blocked work item's ID
• state: "Blocked"

Skip this step if the work item is already in the Blocked state.

4. Link as predecessor

Call manage_work_item_links with:

• workItemId: the blocked work item's ID
• action: "add"
• workItemLink: { "targetId": <blocker ID>, "linkType": "predecessor" }

Skip this step if the predecessor link already exists.

5. Confirm

Print:

• Blocked work item: ID, title, new state.
• Blocker (predecessor): ID, title.
• A direct link to the blocked work item in Azure DevOps.

6. Evolve

Follow the continuous-improvement skill.