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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.
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 data 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.
A data 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 data model is displayed: column layout, widths, formatters, views, sorting, and expansion paths. Both are YAML files stored in the project SVN.For details on each, see the Data Model Reference and Sheet Configuration Reference.
Powersheet maps data model entity types to Polarion work item types via the polarionType property. Relationships between entity types are stored using Polarion link roles, with direct and back navigation directions defined in the data 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.
diagram
Data 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 data model definition used by multiple projects. Note that while the data 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 data 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.
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 hierarchy UserNeed > SystemRequirement > DesignRequirement > Hazard > RiskControl to demonstrate traceability across these domains. For industry-specific models, see the Example Models Reference.
Begin with the simplest possible configuration and extend incrementally. Create a data 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.
Start with a single entity type, a handful of columns, and one source definition. Add relationships, expansion paths, column groups, and formatters one at a time. Test after each addition.
Master-downstream is the hierarchical display pattern where master items (such as UserNeed) 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.
Review mode is a toggle in the sheet toolbar that filters the view to show only modified, added, or removed rows. It lets users focus on changes they have made before saving, reducing the risk of unintended modifications. Review mode displays counts of changed items and works alongside the standard save validation.
Check the Troubleshooting Guides for step-by-step error resolution, or browse the Troubleshooting FAQ for quick answers. For configuration-specific questions, see the Configuration FAQ and Sheet Configuration FAQ. If your issue is not covered in the documentation, submit a support ticket through the Nextedy support portal.
Last modified on June 30, 2026