How to Add a New Column for External References Linked to Design Outputs

Scenario

We want to display External Reference work items that are linked to Design Output items via the Polarion link role relatesTo. This is similar to how we already display external references for Verification and Validation test cases.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Configure the externalReference Work Item Type in Polarion

• Ensure that the externalReference type is defined in your Polarion project configuration.

• This type should contain the fields needed to describe external system links (e.g. systemId, link, comment).

2. Configure the relatesTo Link Role

• Go to Administration → Work Item Link Roles.

• Make sure the relatesTo link role:

  • Can be created from externalReference to designOutput

  • Is bidirectional (optional, but recommended)

3. Adjust the Powersheet Data Model

3.1. Add or Verify the ExternalReference Entity

1. Open the Powersheet you want to update.

2. Go to Menu → Configuration → Edit Model.

3. This opens the model used by the sheet — in our case, the rtm model.

4. In the domainModelTypes section, verify or add the following:

ExternalReference:
  polarionType: externalReference
  properties: []

Note: This entity may already exist if it’s used in other parts of the model (e.g. for verification or validation links).

3.2. Add the Relationship to DesignRequirement

In our model, DesignRequirement corresponds to Polarion’s designOutput type. The updated relation config will look like this:

- from: ExternalReference
  to: DesignRequirement
  cardinality: many-to-many
  storage: linkedWorkItems
  linkRole: relatesTo
  direct:
    name: designRequirements
  back:
    name: externalReferences

4. Update the Sheet Sources

1. Open the same Powersheet document again.

2. Go to Menu → Configuration → Edit Document Configuration.

3. Locate the sources section.

4. Find the part for designRequirement and add the following:

- name: designRequirement
  title: Design Req.
  expand:
    - name: externalReferences
      expand:
        - name: externalReference
          title: External Ref.

The externalReferences is another relation on the designRequirement entity, so it is on the same level as the relation to the verificationTestCases.

⚠ Note: The sources block is a transitional configuration layer. In future versions, it will be auto-derived from the model and columns.

5. Add the New Column to the Sheet

Finally, define the new column in the columns section. Powersheet supports displaying multi-item references under forked branches like this.

Here’s the column definition:

systemRequirements.systemRequirement.designRequirements.designRequirement.externalReferences.externalReference:
  title: Design Output External Reference
  multiItem: true
  width: 180
  header: *blue

• binding specifies the full hierarchy of entities.

• multiItem: true enables multi-reference picker behavior.

• header: *blue reuses a previously defined style anchor.

At the top of your config, make sure you have this anchor defined:

header: &blue
  style: lightblue

Result

After completing these steps:

• The Powersheet view will show a new column next to each design requirement.

• It will list (or allow selection of) external references linked via relatesTo.

• Users can easily add or reuse references from an external system, just like for tests.

For any assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out by submitting a ticket here.