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TestAuto2 uses specific link roles to establish traceability relationships:
Link RoleDirectionExample
refinesDownstream → UpstreamDesign Requirement refines System Requirement
verifiesTest → RequirementTest Case verifies System Requirement
validatesTest → NeedValidation Test validates Customer Requirement
mitigatesControl → RiskRisk Control mitigates Failure Mode
assessesRisk → ElementFailure Mode assesses Characteristic
causesDownstream → UpstreamPFMEA Cause causes SFMEA Failure Mode

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Method 1: Direct Linking from Work Item Form

  1. Open the source work item (e.g., a Design Requirement)
  2. Navigate to the Linked Work Items section in the form
  3. Click ➕ Add Link
  4. Select the link role from dropdown (e.g., “refines”)
  5. Search for or select the target work item
  6. Save the work item
You can add multiple links of the same role in one operation by selecting multiple target items before saving.

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Method 2: PowerSheet Inline Linking

PowerSheet configurations provide dedicated traceability columns with inline pickers:
  1. Open the relevant PowerSheet (e.g., Component RTM for Design Requirements)
  2. Locate the upstream traceability column (e.g., “Subsystem Requirements” column)
  3. Click the empty cell in the link column
  4. Select work items from the filtered dropdown picker
  5. The link is created immediately (no explicit save needed)
Traceability Flow Visualization:

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Method 3: Risksheet Task Linking

For FMEA-to-Risk Control traceability:
  1. Open the FMEA risksheet document
  2. Expand to the Failure Mode or Cause level
  3. In the “Risk Controls” column, click
  4. Create a new Risk Control or link to existing
  5. The mitigates relationship is established automatically
Polarion link roles are bidirectional by definition. When you create a refines link from Design Req → System Req, Polarion automatically creates the backlink. However, coverage macros may query forward or backward links depending on analysis direction.
Scenario: Link Design Requirements to their parent System Requirements
  1. Navigate to Design Space → Component RTM PowerSheet
  2. Locate your design requirement row
  3. In the System Requirements column group:
    • Click the cell under the relevant subsystem column
    • Select the parent system requirement from the picker
  4. Verify the link appears in the cell with work item ID
Expected Traceability: Scenario: Link Test Cases to Requirements they verify
  1. Open System Verification Sheet PowerSheet
  2. Locate the system requirement row
  3. In the Test Cases column:
    • Click ➕ to open the entity factory inline creator
    • Create a new verification test case, OR
    • Select existing test cases from the picker
  4. The verifies link is created automatically
Alternatively, from the Test Case work item form:
  1. Open the Test Case
  2. In Linked Work Items, add a verifies link
  3. Select the requirement(s) being verified
After establishing verification links, check the Requirements Space Dashboard to see updated coverage percentages. Gaps are identified by queries like: type:sysReq AND NOT backlinkedWorkItems:verifies=TA*

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SC/CC Requirements → Characteristics → Failure Modes

This three-hop chain is critical for ISO 26262 compliance:
  1. Link Requirement → Characteristic:
    • Open the Characteristic work item
    • Add refines link to the Design Requirement
  2. Link Characteristic → Failure Mode:
    • Open the DFMEA risksheet for the component
    • In the Failure Mode row, set the Characteristic field
    • This creates the assesses relationship
  3. Verify Chain:
    • Navigate to Design Space Dashboard
    • Check “SC/CC Design Reqs → Failure Modes” coverage bar
    • Gap query: (classification:SC OR classification:CC) AND NOT linkedWorkItems.characteristic.backlinkedWorkItems.assesses.failureMode:*

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Upstream SFMEA → DFMEA Linking

Link Design FMEA causes to System FMEA failure modes:
  1. Open the Component DFMEA risksheet
  2. Expand to the Cause level (Level 3)
  3. In the Upstream Risks column:
    • Click the cell to open the multi-item picker
    • Search for the System FMEA failure mode
    • Select and save
  4. The causes link is established (Cause → Failure Mode)
Traceability Visualization:

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Establishing Risk Control Traceability

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Risk Control → Requirement → Test Case Chain

This chain demonstrates risk mitigation verification:
  1. Create Risk Control from FMEA:
    • In the FMEA risksheet, click in the Risk Controls column
    • Create the risk control work item (automatically creates mitigates link)
  2. Link Risk Control → Requirement:
    • Open the Risk Control work item form
    • Add linkedWorkItems link to the implementing requirement(s)
  3. Link Requirement → Test Case:
    • Follow verification linking steps above
  4. Verify Chain in FMEA:
    • Return to the FMEA risksheet
    • The “Verification Traceability” column (server-rendered) will show the complete chain:
      • Risk Control ID
      • → Linked Requirements
      • → → Linked Test Cases
If the Verification Traceability column shows “No requirements linked” or “No test cases linked,” the chain is incomplete. Use the FMEA Coverage Report to identify gaps: type:riskControl AND NOT linkedWorkItems:*

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Verifying Traceability

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Space Dashboard Coverage Bars

Each space dashboard (Requirements, Design, Risks, Testing) displays coverage bars:
  • Green percentage: Items with complete traceability
  • Red gap count: Items missing required links
  • Click the gap count to open a query showing uncovered items

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Requirements Traceability Report

  1. Navigate to Documentation Space → Requirements Traceability Report
  2. Review the V-model matrix showing all traceability chains
  3. Identify red cells (coverage < 80%) requiring attention

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Safety Readiness Scorecard

  1. Open Home Dashboard → Standards Compliance
  2. Click Safety Readiness Scorecard
  3. Review “Traceability %” column for each standard part
  4. Drill down to gap queries by clicking percentage values

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Verification Checklist

You should now see:
  • Requirements with upstream refines links visible in PowerSheet columns
  • Test Cases with verifies links visible in Verification Sheet
  • Failure Modes with assesses links to Characteristics
  • Risk Controls with mitigates links to Failure Modes
  • Updated coverage percentages on Space Dashboards (> 80% for compliant chains)
  • Green coverage bars with minimal gap counts

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Common Issues

Using wrong link roles breaks coverage calculations. Always use refines for requirement decomposition, not related to or custom roles. The RTM model validates against specific role enumerations.
Avoid creating circular traceability (e.g., A refines B, B refines A). The PowerSheet expansion algorithm may fail with “Max depth exceeded” errors.

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See Also