Comparison of artifact grouping methods in requirements management

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There are several methods by which you can create and work with groups of artifacts in the Requirements Management application. The following table provides information about these methods, which can help you decide when to use a particular method.

For more information about a method, click on the method name.

Table 1. Comparison of grouping methods in the requirements management application
Method	Purpose and Use
Collections	One primary use of collections to provide a group of artifacts with a unique name and URL. The collection can then be used to: populate development plans in the Change and Configuration application create an association with test plans in the Quality Management application. In both cases, the goal is to establish traceability between individual requirements and other project artifacts. In this context, you can use collections to create a set of requirements that you can deliver in a release or milestone. Collections are artifacts like any other artifact, and can thus have their own unique name, URL, attributes and tags.
Modules	Used in much the same way as collections, but with added capabilities. See modules and differences between collections and modules for more information.
Tags	You can use tags to categorize artifacts in a project and to view commonly tagged artifacts using filters in the Artifact page or displaying the results of a saved view in the project dashboard. You might want to use tags for informal or temporary designations.
Attributes	You can use attributes to track project status and to organize artifacts by common properties such as owner, priority and risk. Changes to attribute values can indicate an impact on traceability relationships. (See attributes for more information.) You might want to use attributes for formal and persisting designations. You must create a filter to view artifacts based on attributes.
Folders	You can use folders to quickly group and filter artifacts. Folders are convenient to use, but they can be more rigid than other grouping methods. For example, an artifact can only be added to one folder, but it can be added to multiple collections, can have multiple tags, and can optionally have multiple attribute values.

Questions to ask when deciding on a grouping method

When deciding whether to use collections, tags, attributes or folders to organize data, it can be helpful to ask specific use questions. For example,

Is it easy to make mistakes when organizing data?: If so, it might be best to select an organizational system that helps people do the correct thing or that makes mistakes visually apparent.

Which kinds of queries does the tool make it easy for me to ask?: Filters make it easy to include or exclude tags, attribute values, and folders, though they are a little less flexible than collections.

Is it a big or small effort to maintain the organizational system?: If your information categories are stable year-to-year, maintenance should be minimal; otherwise maintenance could be very time consuming.