Core Concepts of Powersheet

Powersheet is built around a set of modular, configurable components that separate data structure (model), presentation (template), and navigation (topic). Understanding these components is key to both using and configuring Powersheet effectively in any Polarion project.

1. Data Model

The data model defines what slice of the Polarion data model is visible and editable within Powersheet.

It acts as a semantic layer that maps Polarion’s native elements (types, link roles, document types) into structured entities and relationships used in Powersheet configuration. The data model is defined in YAML and supports the following:

Mapping & Normalization

• Enables centralized configuration even across projects with slightly different setups
  
  

• You can reuse the same Powersheet configuration while only adjusting the data model mapping
  
  

• Supports renaming or aliasing types, normalizing link roles, etc.
  
  

Process Constraints

• Defines custom rules not natively enforceable in Polarion:
  
  

  • Link cardinality (e.g., a “Feature” may link to only one “Epic”)
    
    

  • Document rules (e.g., a “System Requirement” must exist in documents of type systemSpecification)
    
    

• These rules ensure the resulting artifact structure follows your engineering methodology precisely
  
  

Where It Lives

• Managed in the Polarion web interface:
  
  

  • Go to Administration → Powersheet → Models
    
    

• You can define both global models and project-specific models
  
  

• Multiple models can exist and be reused across projects
  
  

Powersheet comes with ready-to-use models — e.g., a default V-model, and an extended 3-level traceability model for RTM scenarios.

2. Powersheet View Template

The template defines how the data from the model is displayed and interacted with inside the Powersheet view.

Stored as a YAML configuration inside a designated Polarion document, the template specifies:

• Visible columns: What attributes or relations are shown
  
  

• Derived columns: Followed links or calculated fields
  
  

• Editable columns: What the user can change in-line
  
  

• Default values or column behaviors
  
  

Reusability

• A single view template can be referenced from multiple documents
  
  

• You can create multiple templates per project, each optimized for a different use case (e.g., one for system-level traceability, another for validation planning)
  
  

Authoring and Maintenance

• You can edit the Powersheet configuration:
  
  

  • Directly within the Powersheet UI (if supported)
    
    

  • Or by editing the configuration document manually
    
    

• Each template is tied to a data model — so the structure must match
  
  

Once in a Powersheet view, the interface provides quick access to both the model and the view configuration for easier debugging and iteration.

3. Powersheet Drive Topic (Navigation Integration)

Powersheet introduces a dedicated topic in the Polarion sidebar, which serves as a drive-like navigator for all configured Powersheet documents.

By default:

• It lists all documents of type powersheet
  
  

• You can open any of them to access the configured Powersheet view
  
  

• Provides users with a central, accessible entry point into structured traceability or planning views
  
  

Customization

You can adjust what documents appear here by configuring the following project property:

com.powersheet.powersheetDocumentQuery=type:powersheet OR HAS_VALUE:templateDoc.KEY

This allows you to:

• Include additional document types (e.g. specification, workplan)
  
  

• Limit visibility based on naming, fields, or custom criteria
  
  

In future versions, Powersheet Drive will also support creating new documents directly from configured templates.

4. Document Entry Point

Each Powersheet is anchored to a LiveDoc. There are two main patterns for this:

• Self-contained document: The document contains both the configuration and the data it visualizes.
  
  

• Template-based document: The document simply references a shared Powersheet template (holding the configuration) and visualizes data relevant to that context.
  
  

From the user’s perspective:

• They open a Polarion document as usual
  
  

• If configured, they’ll see the Powersheet table view embedded at the top
  
  

• They can begin editing, creating, and linking items — fully guided by the configuration
  
  

This allows teams to:

• Integrate Powersheet deeply into their documentation structure
  
  

• Provide process-specific editing experiences without extra training or scripting