Requirements Traceability

Requirements traceability connects your testing efforts to the things your application is supposed to do. By linking test cases to requirements, you can answer critical questions: "Is this requirement tested?", "What is our coverage?", and "Which requirements have no tests?"

Add Requirements

1. Open your project.
2. Click Requirements in the project navigation.
3. Click + New Requirement.
4. Fill in the details:
   • Title -- A concise description of the requirement (e.g., "Users must be able to reset their password via email").
   • Description -- Additional context, acceptance criteria, or specifications.
   • Priority -- Critical, High, Medium, or Low.
   • Source -- Where this requirement came from (e.g., "PRD v2.1", "JIRA-456", "Customer request").
5. Click Save.

tip

Use consistent naming for requirements. If your requirements come from a product document, use the same numbering scheme (e.g., "REQ-001: User Authentication") so you can easily cross-reference.

Link Requirements to Test Cases

There are two ways to create links:

From the Requirement

1. Open the requirement.
2. Click Link Test Cases.
3. Search for and select the test cases that verify this requirement.
4. Click Link Selected.

From the Test Case

1. Open the test case.
2. In the Requirements section, click Link Requirement.
3. Search for and select the requirement.
4. Click Link.

info

A requirement can be linked to multiple test cases, and a test case can be linked to multiple requirements. This many-to-many relationship gives you flexibility in modeling your coverage.

Import Requirements from Jira

If your requirements live in Jira, you can import them directly:

1. Make sure the Jira integration is configured.
2. Go to Requirements.
3. Click Import from Jira.
4. Select the Jira project and issue type (e.g., "Story", "Epic", "Requirement").
5. Choose which issues to import.
6. Click Import.

Imported requirements maintain a link back to the original Jira issue. When the Jira issue is updated, ProvaLab.io reflects the changes.

The Traceability Matrix

The traceability matrix gives you a comprehensive view of how requirements map to test cases and their current test status.

1. Go to Requirements.
2. Click Traceability Matrix (or the Matrix tab).
3. The matrix displays:

Column	Description
Requirement	The requirement title and ID.
Linked Test Cases	The number of test cases linked to this requirement.
Coverage Status	Whether the requirement is fully tested, partially tested, or untested.
Latest Result	The result of the most recent test execution for linked test cases.

Coverage Statuses

Status	Meaning
Covered	All linked test cases have been executed and passed.
Partially Covered	Some linked test cases have been executed, but not all. Or some have failed.
Uncovered	No test cases are linked, or linked test cases have never been executed.
At Risk	Linked test cases exist but recent runs show failures.

tip

Review the traceability matrix before every release. Requirements with "Uncovered" or "At Risk" status should be addressed before the release goes out.

Coverage Metrics

At the top of the Requirements page, ProvaLab.io shows aggregate coverage metrics:

• Total requirements -- How many requirements are tracked.
• Covered -- Requirements with passing linked tests (percentage and count).
• Partially covered -- Requirements with some but not full test coverage.
• Uncovered -- Requirements with no linked tests or no executions.

These metrics give you a quick health check of your requirement coverage.

Filter and Search Requirements

Use the filter bar to find specific requirements:

Filter	Options
Priority	Critical, High, Medium, Low
Coverage Status	Covered, Partially Covered, Uncovered, At Risk
Source	Filter by origin (e.g., Jira, manual)
Search	Search by title or description keywords

Best Practices

• Link early -- As soon as a test case is created, link it to the relevant requirement. Do not wait until the end.
• Review gaps regularly -- Use the traceability matrix to identify uncovered requirements at the start of every sprint or release cycle.
• Keep requirements up to date -- If a requirement is removed or changed, update or unlink the associated test cases.
• Use coverage status in release decisions -- Make traceability matrix review a part of your release readiness checklist.