Prerequisites
- Access to the Polarion project with the TARA solution installed
- Understanding of your product’s physical or logical architecture
Steps
1. Navigate to the System Elements Document
Open the SYSTEM-ELEMENTS document in the _default space. This is the central registry for all system elements in the project. You can find it through:
- The Home dashboard’s System Element Navigator
- The sidebar under Work Items, filtered to
type:systemElement
2. Understand the Element Type Hierarchy
Each system element is classified using the elementType field, which follows a 5-level decomposition:
| Level | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 1 | System | Top-level product being analyzed | ADAS Control System |
| 2 | Subsystem | Major functional subdivision | Perception Unit, Connectivity Gateway |
| 3 | Assembly | Physical grouping of components | Sensor cluster |
| 4 | Subassembly | Subdivision of an assembly | Individual PCB module |
| 5 | Component | Individual HW/SW component | Sensor Fusion ECU, V2X Transceiver |
3. Create the Top-Level System Element
- In the SYSTEM-ELEMENTS document, create a new work item of type
systemElement
- Set the Title to your product name (e.g., “ADAS Control System”)
- Set the Element Type (
elementType) field to System
- Add a description covering the system boundary and interfaces
4. Create Subsystems and Components
For each subsystem and component in your architecture:
- Create a
systemElement work item
- Set the
elementType appropriately (Subsystem, Assembly, Subassembly, or Component)
- Establish the parent-child relationship using the
parent link role to build the hierarchy
Not every system element needs its own TARA module. Create TARA modules only for elements that have distinct cybersecurity threat surfaces. Components that share the same threat context can be covered by a parent element’s TARA.
5. Note the Work Item ID
Record the Polarion work item ID (e.g., TR-20524) for each system element. You will need this ID when creating TARA modules, as the systemElementId document field references the element by its work item ID.
6. Verify the Hierarchy
Navigate to the Home dashboard. The System Element Navigator table should display your hierarchy:
| System Element | TARA |
|---|
| ADAS Control System (System) | — |
| Perception Unit (Subsystem) | — |
| Sensor Fusion ECU (Component) | — |
| Connectivity Gateway (Subsystem) | — |
The System Element Navigator on the Home dashboard traverses parent links using linkedWorkItems().back(). If parent-child links are not set correctly, elements will not appear in the tree hierarchy.
See Also
