Overview
| Property | Value |
|---|
| PowerSheet Name | Use Steps Sheet |
| Source Entity | ProcessStep |
| Primary Link Role | userNeeds |
| Target Entity | UserNeed |
| Color Theme | Dark Green |
| Document Scope | Current document only |
| Expansion Depth | 1 level (ProcessStep → UserNeed) |
| Use Case | Validate process steps trace back to user requirements |
Architecture
The Use Steps Sheet implements a two-section Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) view:
Each Process Step row expands to show all linked User Needs in sub-rows, creating a denormalized view where one process step may appear multiple times—once for each linked user need.
Column Groups
Process Steps Column Group
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|
| Name | Process Steps | Primary entity section |
| Color | Dark Green | Semantic: process/operations domain |
| Header Style | darkgreen | Polarion color token |
| Collapse Target | title | When minimized, shows only Process Step title |
| ID Column | objectId | Work item identifier, ascending sort |
| Title Column | title | Ascending sort, bold formatting, 300px width, hasFocus: true |
| Description Column | description | Multi-line text, read-only |
The hasFocus: true property on the Process Step title column designates it as the keyboard entry point. When users open the sheet, focus lands on the Process Step title column, enabling rapid scanning and selection of process steps.
User Needs Column Group
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|
| Name | User Needs | Expanded entity section via RTM |
| Color | Dark Green | Matching theme indicates requirement domain |
| Header Style | darkgreen | Consistent with Process Steps group |
| Collapse Target | userNeeds.title | Dotted path syntax for nested entity field |
| ID Column | userNeeds.objectId | User need work item ID |
| Title Column | userNeeds.title | Bold formatting, hasFocus: true |
The dotted path notation (userNeeds.title, userNeeds.objectId) indicates RTM expansion: traverse the userNeeds link role from ProcessStep to reach the title or objectId field of the linked UserNeed entity. Each linked user need creates a separate sub-row under its parent process step.
Configuration Properties
Source Query
| Property | Value | Description |
|---|
| entityType | ProcessStep | Queries all ProcessStep work items in current document |
| orderBy | title asc | Default sort: alphabetical by process step title |
| documentFilters | currentDocument() | Scopes results to the currently open Polarion document |
Expansion Configuration
| Property | Value | Description |
|---|
| Link Role | userNeeds | Relationship name in RTM model connecting ProcessStep → UserNeed |
| Target Path | userNeeds.userNeed | Nested object path for traversing the expansion |
| Cardinality | One-to-Many | One process step typically links to multiple user needs |
| Multi-Item Rendering | Stacked rows | Each linked user need creates a separate grid row |
Sorting and Organization
| Aspect | Configuration |
|---|
| Primary Sort | Process Step title (ascending alphabetical) |
| Secondary Organization | User need title within each process step group |
| Grouped By | Process step parent entity |
| Collapse Behavior | Processes step group collapses to title; user need group collapses to nested title field |
Column Styling
| Column | Formatter | Effect | Applies To |
|---|
| Process Step Title | boldTitle | Bold white text on green background | All rows |
| Process Step Description | readOnly | Grey background, no edit capability | All rows |
| User Need Title | boldTitle | Bold white text on green background | Expanded user need rows |
| User Need ID | Standard | Default text styling | Expanded user need rows |
Cell Background Colors
Process Steps section: Dark green (#00695c) headers, teal row backgrounds
User Needs section: Dark green (#00695c) headers, light green row backgrounds
Read-only fields: Grey overlay indicating non-editable state
Focused column: Enhanced contrast for keyboard navigation visibility
The boldTitle formatter depends on the pymdownx.emoji extension being enabled in mkdocs.yml. If this extension is missing, title formatting may not render correctly in Polarion pages.
Work Item Type Requirements
ProcessStep Entity
The ProcessStep entity must be defined in the RTM model with:
- objectId field — work item identifier
- title field — descriptive name (sort key)
- description field — detailed text
- userNeeds link role — outbound relationship to UserNeed entities
UserNeed Entity
The UserNeed entity must be defined in the RTM model with:
- objectId field — work item identifier
- title field — user need title
- Can be linked from ProcessStep via
userNeeds link role
Both entity types must be present in .polarion/nextedy/models/rtm-domain-model.yaml for this PowerSheet to function.
Link Role Configuration
The RTM model must define the userNeeds link role:
linkRoles:
userNeeds:
source: ProcessStep
target: UserNeed
direction: outbound
cardinality: one-to-many
displayName: "User Needs"
description: "Process step is justified by these user needs"
Validation Workflow
This sheet supports traceability validation — ensuring all process steps are justified by user requirements:
- Open the Use Steps Sheet in a Polarion document containing ProcessStep work items
- Scan each process step to verify it has at least one linked user need in the expanded section
- Identify orphaned process steps — those with no linked user needs (empty expansion)
- Add missing links by clicking the expand action on a process step and selecting corresponding user needs
- Track coverage using the sheet’s ability to filter and sort by process step status
Process steps with no linked user needs appear in the sheet with an empty User Needs section. This visual gap makes orphaned items immediately obvious during traceability reviews.
Integration with Other Sheets
| Related Sheet | Purpose | Link |
|---|
| Process Steps | View process steps with system elements | Process Steps Sheet |
| Whole RTM | System-wide traceability view | Whole RTM PowerSheet |
| System Verification | Link test cases to verified entities | System Verification Sheet |
Example Workflow
Scenario: Validating that all process steps in an AEB Sensor Unit manufacturing process trace back to customer or user needs.
- Open Process Flow - AEB Sensor Unit document
- Open the Use Steps Sheet PowerSheet
- Sheet displays 10 process steps (Calibrate Sensors, Install Housing, Test Functionality, etc.)
- Expand each process step to see linked user needs
- Find “Package Unit” process step with no user needs linked → gap identified
- Add link to “UN-0051: Complete assembly for shipment” user need
- Re-sort or refresh to verify coverage is now 100%
| Factor | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|
| Large process step sets (>100) | Slow expansion/scroll | Filter by document; use collapse to reduce visible rows |
| Many user needs per step | Wide grid, long sub-row lists | Use collapseTo minimize; focus on key columns |
| Real-time RTM queries | Initial load delay | Sheet caches results; refresh manually after bulk linking |
See Also
