What is Powersheet and what problems does it solve?
Nextedy POWERSHEET is a hierarchical sheet application for Polarion that provides configurable tabular views over complex work item hierarchies. It enables Excel-like editing and traceability directly inside Polarion, letting teams manage requirements traceability matrices, risk analyses, and structured data without leaving their ALM environment. For a full introduction, see Getting Started.Who is Powersheet designed for?
Powersheet serves systems engineers, requirements managers, quality engineers, and safety engineers who work with Polarion. Skill levels range from end users who view and edit data in sheets to administrators who configure domain models and sheet configurations. It is particularly useful for teams managing structured hierarchical data in regulated industries — from requirements traceability matrices (RTM) to risk management workflows.What is the difference between a domain model and a sheet configuration?
A domain model defines entity types, their properties, and the relationships between them — it maps Powersheet entity types to Polarion work item types and establishes navigable links via link roles. A sheet configuration defines how data from the domain model is displayed: column layout, widths, formatters, views, sorting, and expansion paths. Both are YAML files stored in the project SVN.| Aspect | Domain Model | Sheet Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Entity types and relationships | Column layout and display |
| Key sections | domainModelTypes, relationships | columns, sources, views |
| Scope | Shared across multiple sheets | Specific to one sheet view |
| Controls | Data structure and navigation paths | Visual presentation and behavior |
How does Powersheet connect to Polarion data?
Powersheet maps domain model entity types to Polarion work item types via thepolarionType property. Relationships between entity types are stored using Polarion link roles, with direct and back navigation directions defined in the domain model. When users load a sheet, Powersheet queries Polarion for work items matching the source configuration and displays them according to the column definitions. Save operations write changes back to Polarion work items through the server API.
Can I share domain models across projects?
Domain models can be defined at the global scope (accessible from_global) and referenced by sheet configurations in any project. This lets you maintain a single domain model definition used by multiple projects. Note that while the domain model definition itself can be shared globally, each sheet still queries data within a single Polarion project scope — cross-project querying is not supported.
Even when using a globally defined domain model, each sheet’s source configuration queries work items within the project where the sheet is embedded. Cross-project query scoping is not a supported feature.
What standards and processes does Powersheet support?
Powersheet supports ISO 15288 (systems engineering), Automotive SPICE, ISO 26262 (via RTM traceability), and general requirements management processes. The standard RTM example uses the entity hierarchyUserNeed > SystemRequirement > DesignRequirement > Hazard > RiskControl to demonstrate traceability across these domains. For industry-specific models, see the Example Models Reference.
How should I start configuring Powersheet?
Begin with the simplest possible configuration and extend incrementally. Create a domain model with one or two entity types and a basic sheet configuration with a few columns. Verify each step works before adding complexity — this avoids hard-to-diagnose errors that arise from multi-level hierarchies with many-to-many relationships on a first attempt. See Getting Started for a guided walkthrough.What are master-downstream relationships in sheets?
Master-downstream is the hierarchical display pattern where master items (such asUserNeed) expand to show their related downstream items (such as SystemRequirement). The sheet automatically merges cells for master-level columns to span all downstream rows, providing visual grouping. Users can add or remove items at both levels, and undo/redo is fully supported across all operations.