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This page explains why two separate products are needed, how they interact, and how their integration creates a unified automotive safety platform.

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Why Two Products?

Risksheet and PowerSheet solve fundamentally different problems, which is why they remain distinct products rather than a single unified tool:
ProductPurposePrimary Use Case
RisksheetRisk analysis workflowsHARA, FMEA, HAZID — structured risk assessment with severity/occurrence/detection ratings
PowerSheetTraceability navigationRequirements Traceability Matrix (RTM), verification coverage, system structure navigation
Think of them as specialized instruments in an orchestra: Risksheet handles the analytical work (failure mode analysis, risk rating), while PowerSheet handles the relational work (tracing requirements to tests, expanding linked work items). Both read and write the same Polarion work items, but each provides optimized UIs for different workflows.
Risk analysis requires calculation-heavy grids with formulas, conditional formatting, and workflow progression views. Traceability requires relationship expansion with recursive link following and multi-level hierarchies. Combining both UIs into one tool would create cognitive overload and configuration complexity. Keeping them separate allows each tool to excel at its specialized task.

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Integration Architecture

The integration works through three shared layers that both products consume: diagram

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Layer 1: Polarion Data Model

Both products operate on the same work item types and link roles. A failureMode work item created in Risksheet DFMEA is immediately visible in PowerSheet if you navigate its assesses link from a characteristic. Similarly, a testCase created in Polarion’s native UI appears in PowerSheet verification sheets and in any Risksheet view that includes test coverage. This shared data layer means:
  • No data synchronization — changes are instant because both tools read/write the same database
  • No vendor lock-in — you can query, report, or bulk-edit work items using Polarion APIs
  • Single workflow — work item state transitions (draft → inReview → approved) apply regardless of which tool modified the item

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Layer 2: Configuration Files

Each product stores its configuration in the Polarion project repository:
  • Risksheet: .polarion/modules/<DocumentId>/attachments/risksheet.json — defines columns, formulas, views, and cell rendering for risk analysis documents
  • PowerSheet: .polarion/nextedy/sheet-configurations/<SheetName>.yaml — defines entity types, relationship paths, column expansion, and formatters for traceability sheets
These configurations are version-controlled alongside your Polarion project, enabling:
  • Configuration history tracking via Polarion’s SVN backend
  • Backup/restore of configurations with the project
  • Environment promotion (dev → test → prod) by copying project structures

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Layer 3: Dashboard Integration

Velocity macros in .polarion/pages/ create unified dashboards that combine data from both products: 
## FMEA Coverage Dashboard
#set($fmeas = $trackerService.queryWorkItems("type:failureMode"))
#nxRiskMatrix($fmeas "fmSeverity" "fmOccurrence" "actionPriority")

## Verification Coverage (PowerSheet data)
#nxLinkCoverage($sysReqs "testCase" "verifies" "back")
The nxRiskMatrix macro visualizes Risksheet risk assessment data, while nxLinkCoverage analyzes PowerSheet traceability relationships. Both macros query the same Polarion work items, creating a unified view that spans both products.

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How Data Flows Between Products

Consider a typical ISO 26262 workflow:
  1. HARA in Risksheet: Safety engineer identifies a hazard, assesses severity/exposure/controllability, derives ASIL classification
  2. Risksheet creates: hazard work item with custom fields (haraSeverity, haraAsil) and links to safetyGoal work item
  3. Requirements in Polarion: System engineer creates sysReq work item, links to safetyGoal via implements role
  4. PowerSheet Whole RTM: Shows safetyGoal → sysReq relationship expansion, revealing which requirements implement each safety goal
  5. DFMEA in Risksheet: FMEA engineer creates failureMode linked to characteristic, assesses failure severity/occurrence/detection
  6. PowerSheet Component RTM: Shows characteristic → failureMode relationship, revealing which characteristics have risk analysis coverage
  7. Verification in PowerSheet: V&V engineer creates testCase, links via verifies to sysReq
  8. Dashboard in Velocity: Program manager views ASIL distribution (Risksheet data) and verification coverage (PowerSheet data) in one dashboard
At each step, no manual data transfer occurs. The integration happens because both products:
  • Use Polarion’s Transaction API to read/write work items
  • Follow the same RTM model (.polarion/nextedy/models/*.yaml) for link role semantics
  • Respect Polarion workflow states (draft → approved) regardless of which tool last modified the item

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Common Integration Misconceptions

Myth: “Risksheet and PowerSheet are separate databases that need synchronization”
Reality: Both are UI layers over Polarion’s single database. Changes are instant. Myth: “You need to export from Risksheet and import to PowerSheet”
Reality: Work items created in Risksheet appear immediately in PowerSheet (and vice versa) because they share the same work item storage. Myth: “Risksheet JSON and PowerSheet YAML must be kept in sync manually”
Reality: The configurations are independent. Risksheet JSON defines grid behavior (columns, formulas), PowerSheet YAML defines relationship navigation (expansions, formatters). They don’t reference each other. Myth: “Dashboards are part of Risksheet or PowerSheet”
Reality: Dashboards are Velocity templates that query Polarion data. They use macros from the Nextedy Solutions library to visualize data from both products, but the dashboards themselves are configuration-agnostic.

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When to Use Which Product

Use Risksheet when:
  • Conducting structured risk assessments (HARA, FMEA, HAZID)
  • Calculating risk metrics (ASIL, RPN, Action Priority)
  • Applying formulas across columns (pre-mitigation vs post-mitigation ratings)
  • Following progressive workflow views (initial assessment → controls → re-assessment)
Use PowerSheet when:
  • Navigating traceability relationships (requirements → tests)
  • Expanding multi-level hierarchies (customer req → system req → design req)
  • Checking coverage (how many requirements lack tests?)
  • Viewing system structure (system element → functions → characteristics)
Use Velocity dashboards when:
  • Creating executive summaries combining both products’ data
  • Building role-specific views (Safety Engineer, V&V Engineer)
  • Generating compliance reports (ISO 26262 HARA Report, Standards Compliance Overview)
  • Visualizing cross-product metrics (ASIL distribution + verification coverage)

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Integration Points in TestAuto2

TestAuto2 leverages this integration in specific ways:
Integration PointRisksheet ContributionPowerSheet ContributionResult
HARA → Safety GoalsCreates hazard and safetyGoal with ASIL ratingsShows hazard → safetyGoal expansion in Whole RTMTraceable ASIL classification to safety requirements
FMEA → Risk ControlsCreates failureMode with severity/occurrence/detectionShows characteristic → failureMode → riskControl expansionFailure mode coverage across system decomposition
Requirements → Tests(not involved)Shows sysReq → testCase via verifies backlinksVerification coverage metrics
System Structure Navigator(not involved)Shows systemElement hierarchy with allocated functionsSystem architecture visualization
Safety Readiness ScorecardProvides ASIL/AP risk metricsProvides traceability coverage percentagesCombined compliance scorecard
Each integration point demonstrates how the two products complement rather than duplicate functionality.

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Extending the Integration

When customizing TestAuto2, respect the product boundaries:
  • Add Risksheet columns to introduce new calculated fields (custom RPN formula, weighted risk scores)
  • Add PowerSheet entity types to trace new work item types (e.g., cybersecurityRequirement)
  • Add Velocity macros to create new dashboard visualizations combining both products
For step-by-step configuration guidance, see: For detailed configuration references, see: