Problem Categories
1. Links Not Appearing in PowerSheet
Symptoms: PowerSheet shows empty cells where linked items should appear, or expansion paths don’t display child rows.
Solution:
-
Verify link role names match RTM model — Open
.polarion/nextedy/models/rtm-model.yaml and check exact link role names:
- name: refines
source: desReq
target: sysReq
refines, not refinedBy or refinesRequirement.
-
Check expansion path syntax — Ensure PowerSheet expansion path matches RTM relationship direction:
# Correct: traverse FROM desReq TO sysReq via 'refines' role
expansion:
- relationship: refines
entity: sysReq
# Wrong: using backlink role not defined in RTM model
expansion:
- relationship: refinedBy # RTM only defines 'refines'
entity: sysReq
-
Validate entity type names — Entity names in PowerSheet YAML are case-sensitive and must match work item type IDs exactly:
entity: verificationTestCase # ✓ Correct
entity: VerificationTestCase # ✗ Wrong case
entity: testCase # ✗ Wrong type ID
From support ticket #1847: PowerSheet showed empty test case columns because YAML used verifies relationship from requirement → test case, but RTM model only defined the reverse direction (verifies from test case → requirement). Fix: use correct relationship direction or add bidirectional role to RTM model.
2. Traceability Coverage Shows 0% Despite Links Existing
Symptoms: Dashboard coverage bars show 0% or “0/31” even though Work Items Tracker shows links present.
Solution:
-
Check link role filter in coverage macro — Open the space dashboard page (e.g.,
.polarion/pages/spaces/Requirements/1 - Requirements/page.xml) and verify nxLinkCoverage parameters:
#nxLinkCoverage("sysReq" "testCase" "verifies" "back")
## ↑ target ↑ role ↑ direction
"back" — counts sysReq items WITH backlinks FROM testCase via ‘verifies’"direct" — counts sysReq items WITH outgoing links TO testCase via ‘verifies’
-
Test the gap query manually — Copy the Lucene query from
nxLinkCoverage call and run in Work Items Tracker:
type:sysReq AND NOT backlinkedWorkItems:verifies=TA*
-
Verify link role exists in Polarion — Navigate to Administration → Work Items → Link Roles and confirm the role ID matches exactly (case-sensitive).
The =TA* suffix in gap queries filters links to work items starting with project prefix “TA”. If your project uses a different prefix (e.g., “AEB”), coverage will show 0%. Update dashboard queries to match your project prefix.
3. Links Break After Copying/Moving Work Items
Symptoms: Links disappear or show “Invalid link” after copying a document or moving work items between modules.
Solution:
-
Re-establish module-scoped links — If work items were copied to a different module, link references may point to old module context. Delete broken links and recreate:
- Open work item in form view
- Navigate to Links tab
- Remove invalid link entries (show as red/strikethrough)
- Add new links using work item picker
-
Avoid cross-project links — TestAuto2 RTM model expects links within the same Polarion project. If you copied work items from another project, links won’t resolve. Use Import/Export instead of copy/paste for cross-project migration.
-
Check for duplicate work item IDs — After module copy, duplicate IDs may exist. Run query:
If multiple results appear, Polarion can’t resolve links unambiguously. Reassign IDs to copied items.
4. Calculated Column Shows “Cannot read property” Error
Symptoms: PowerSheet calculated columns display JavaScript error instead of computed value.
Solution:
-
Add null checks for link traversal — Custom renderers and calculated columns must handle missing links:
// Wrong: assumes link always exists
$linkedItem.customFields.get("severity")
// Correct: check for null
#if($linkedItem && $linkedItem.customFields.get("severity"))
$linkedItem.customFields.get("severity").id
#else
"N/A"
#end
-
Verify link cardinality — If RTM model allows
cardinality: "*" (many), renderer must iterate collection:
#foreach($control in $failureMode.getLinkedWorkItems("mitigatedBy"))
$control.id
#end
-
Check for circular references — If PowerSheet freezes or shows recursion errors, RTM expansion path may create a loop (e.g., sysReq → desReq → sysReq). Review RTM model for cycles.
Diagnostic Decision Tree
Link issue detected
│
├─ PowerSheet shows empty cells?
│ ├─ YES → Check expansion path direction (step 1.2)
│ │ Check entity/role spelling (step 1.1, 1.3)
│ │
│ └─ NO → Continue
│
├─ Dashboard coverage = 0% but Tracker shows links?
│ ├─ YES → Check nxLinkCoverage direction parameter (step 2.1)
│ │ Test gap query manually (step 2.2)
│ │ Verify project prefix filter (tip box)
│ │
│ └─ NO → Continue
│
├─ Links disappeared after copy/move?
│ ├─ YES → Check for duplicate IDs (step 3.3)
│ │ Re-establish links manually (step 3.1)
│ │
│ └─ NO → Continue
│
└─ JavaScript errors in calculated columns?
└─ YES → Add null checks (step 4.1)
Check cardinality handling (step 4.2)
Review for circular references (step 4.3)
Common Link Role Pairs
| Source Type | Target Type | Link Role | Direction |
|---|
desReq | sysReq | refines | Direct |
sysReq | customerRequirement | refines | Direct |
testCase | sysReq | verifies | Direct |
validationTestCase | customerRequirement | validates | Direct |
failureMode | riskControl | mitigatedBy | Direct |
characteristic | failureMode | hasFailureMode | Direct |
safetyGoal | hazard | mitigates | Direct |
TestAuto2 uses active voice for link role names (e.g., refines, verifies, mitigates). Avoid passive forms (refinedBy, verifiedBy) unless explicitly defined in your RTM model. Check .polarion/nextedy/models/rtm-model.yaml for canonical role names.
Verification Step
After fixing link configuration:
- Reload PowerSheet — Hard refresh browser (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R)
- Check expansion — Linked items should appear as child rows in PowerSheet hierarchy
- Verify dashboard metrics — Coverage bars should update to reflect actual link counts
- Test gap query — Run the Lucene query from dashboard in Work Items Tracker; result count should match “uncovered” number
You should now see:
- PowerSheet expansion showing linked work items in sub-rows
- Dashboard coverage percentages matching actual traceability state
- No “Invalid link” or “Cannot read property” errors in calculated columns
See Also
