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Polarion License Editions

RISKSHEET is available for all Polarion license editions:
EditionTypeUse CasesRISKSHEET Support
Polarion PremiumCommercialLarge enterprises, regulated industries✅ Full support
Polarion StandardCommercialMid-market, general ALM✅ Full support
Polarion CommunityOpen SourceInternal R&D, non-commercial✅ Limited support
Polarion On-PremisesCommercialPrivate deployment, regulated✅ Full support
Polarion Cloud (SaaS)SaaSMulti-tenant, cloud-hosted✅ Full support

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Active User Licensing Model

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Understanding Active Users

Active User: A Polarion user designated to create, edit, or manage risk items in RISKSHEET Read-Only User: Polarion users who view RISKSHEET documents but cannot edit risk items

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Key Distinction

Active User count is NOT automatically calculated by RISKSHEET or determined by server roles. It is a business decision made by your organization based on:
  • How many engineers will actively create/edit risk items
  • Which teams own risk management responsibilities
  • Your organizational structure and project scope
Example: A 500-person company may have only 50 Active Users managing risks, while 450 read-only users view results.

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License Tiers by Active User Count

Active UsersLicense TypeApproximate Annual Cost*Cost Per UserRecommended For
1–10Starter8,000–8,000–15,000800–800–1,500Small teams, pilot projects
11–30Team18,000–18,000–35,000600–600–1,200Department-level deployment
31–60Enterprise40,000–40,000–70,000650–650–1,200Multi-team projects
61–100Unlimited70,000–70,000–100,000700–700–1,000Large programs
101+Unlimited90,000–90,000–150,000650–650–900Enterprise deployment
*Costs are illustrative and vary by region, Polarion edition, and Nextedy partnership tier.

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Cost Optimization Decision Matrix

Calculating Total Cost of Ownership

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Step 1: Count Planned Active Users             │
│ (Engineers who will edit risk items)           │
│ Count: ____ users                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Step 2: Check Tier Cost                        │
│ Tier cost for ____ users: $______              │
│ Per-user cost: $______ × ____ users            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Step 3: Compare With Unlimited Tier            │
│ Unlimited tier cost: ~$100,000/year            │
│ Break-even point: ~60–70 Active Users          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    ↓
         Decision: Tier vs Unlimited?
         If < 60 users → Choose tier
         If > 70 users → Choose unlimited

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Assigning Active User Roles in Polarion

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Manual Configuration (Administrator Task)

Active User roles are not automatic. Polarion administrators must manually assign them using group membership:

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Step 1: Identify Active Users

Determine which Polarion users should have Active User permissions:
  • Risk managers
  • System engineers
  • Project leads
  • Quality assurance engineers

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Step 2: Create Active User Group

Administration → Users & Groups → Groups ↓
  • Create New Group: “RISKSHEET_ActiveUsers”
  • Description: “Users licensed to create/edit risk items”

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Step 3: Assign Users to Group

Group: RISKSHEET_ActiveUsers ├─ user.john.smith@company.com ├─ user.jane.doe@company.com ├─ user.bob.wilson@company.com └─ … (additional Active Users)

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Step 4: Configure Project Permissions

Project Administration → Roles and Permissions
    ↓
    Assign group "RISKSHEET_ActiveUsers"
    Role: "Project Administrator" or custom role with:
        ✓ Create work items
        ✓ Edit work items
        ✓ Manage links
        ✓ Change status/workflow

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Step 5: Verify Configuration

  • Can the user create new risk items?
  • Can the user edit existing items?
  • Can the user change status?
  • Can the user link items?

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Read-Only Group Assignment

All other Polarion users receive read-only access: 
Administration → Users & Groups → Groups
    ↓
    Create: "RISKSHEET_ReadOnly" (optional)
    
    Assign role: "Viewer" or "Reader"
    Permissions:
        ✓ View work items (read-only)
        ✓ View documents
        ✓ Add comments (optional)
        ✗ Create items
        ✗ Edit items

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License Validation and Enforcement

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How License Validation Works

Check PointBehaviorActive UserRead-Only User
Document OpenSystem checks Active User count✓ Allowed✓ Allowed
Create Risk ItemVerify Active User license✓ Allowed✗ Blocked
Edit Risk ItemVerify Active User license✓ Allowed✗ Blocked
Change Workflow StatusVerify Active User license✓ Allowed✗ Blocked
Link ItemsVerify Active User license✓ Allowed✗ Blocked
View DocumentNo license check required✓ Allowed✓ Allowed
Export to PDF/ExcelNo license check required✓ Allowed✓ Allowed

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Exceeding License Count

If more users attempt Active User operations than licensed:
  1. During Grace Period: Operations allowed, warnings displayed
  2. After Grace Period: New operations blocked with error message
  3. Affected Operations:
    • Create work item: ✗ Blocked
    • Edit work item: ✗ Blocked
    • Change status: ✗ Blocked
    • Existing edits: ✓ Can still save
Resolution: Contact Nextedy sales to upgrade license tier

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License Tiers Comparison

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Feature Availability by License Tier

FeatureStarterTeamEnterpriseUnlimited
Basic FMEA workflows✓✓✓✓
HARA workflows✓✓✓✓
Multi-project linking✗✓✓✓
Approval-based reviews✗✓✓✓
Work-item-based reviews✗✓✓✓
Custom renderers✗✗✓✓
Velocity templates✗✗✓✓
Priority support✗✗✓✓
Custom development✗✗✓✓

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Active User Limits by Edition

Polarion EditionMax Active Users Per LicenseLicensable Per Project
PremiumUnlimitedUnlimited
StandardUnlimitedUnlimited
Community5 (community)Unlimited
On-PremisesUnlimitedUnlimited
Cloud (SaaS)UnlimitedUnlimited

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License Types and Regulated Industries

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Compliance Considerations

FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals)
  • Active User concept aligns with validation requirement: “Document who made changes”
  • RISKSHEET audit trail tracks Active User modifications
  • Read-only users cannot introduce unvalidated changes
  • License model supports segregation of duties
ISO 26262 (Automotive Functional Safety)
  • Active User roles enable traceability matrix management
  • Approval-based reviews (Enterprise tier+) support safety sign-offs
  • FMEA configuration supports ASIL level assignments
DO-178C (Aerospace Software)
  • Active User model supports configuration item management
  • Review workflows enable verification evidence capture
  • Traceability columns document requirement-to-test mapping

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Licensing Cost Analysis Example

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Scenario: Medical Device Company with 80 Engineers

Assumption: 80 total engineers, 60 need Active User access (design, test, quality, safety) Option 1: Tiered Licensing (61–100 users) 
Active Users: 60
Tier: Enterprise (61–100 users)
Annual Cost: ~$70,000
Cost per Active User: ~$1,167/year
Cost per Total Engineer: ~$875/year
Option 2: Unlimited Licensing 
Active Users: 60 (licensed as unlimited)
Annual Cost: ~$100,000
Cost per Active User: ~$1,667/year
Cost per Total Engineer: ~$1,250/year
Break-Even Analysis:
  • Enterprise tier: Most cost-effective for 60 Active Users
  • Breakeven point: ~65–70 Active Users
  • If growth expected beyond 70 users → Consider unlimited tier now

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Concurrent Users (Different from Active Users)

  • Concurrent Users: Number of users simultaneously logged into Polarion
  • Active Users: Number of users allowed to edit RISKSHEET items
These are independent counts. You can have 200 concurrent users but only 50 Active Users, or vice versa.

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Seat-Based Licensing

Some organizations use Polarion seat-based licensing (per-seat costs), which is separate from Active User licensing:
  • Seat licenses determine who can access Polarion at all
  • Active User licenses determine who can edit in RISKSHEET
  • A user can have a Polarion seat but no RISKSHEET Active User license (read-only access)

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License Troubleshooting

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Common License Issues

Issue: “License validation failed — Active User limit exceeded” Issue: “User group assignment not taking effect”
  • Cause: Polarion cache not refreshed after group changes
  • Resolution: Clear Polarion cache or restart server
Issue: “Read-only user can edit items”
  • Cause: User accidentally assigned to Active User group
  • Resolution: Remove user from Active User group
KB ArticlesSupport TicketsSource Code
  • RisksheetProjectProperties.java
  • risksheet.json
  • GetSetUtil.java
  • ShowConfigurationCommand.ts
  • PolarionAppConfigManager.java