Creating link types for requirements projects

Edit online

You can create link types to customize the linking relationships between artifacts. Links can show relationship properties such as artifact origin, derivation, dependency, hierarchy, and associations between requirements, development, and test artifacts.

Link relationships are directional, and labels typically differ at either end of the link; for example, requirement A links to requirement B; and requirement B is linked from requirement A. The direction of each link is also indicated by an icon. For more information, see Link direction.

You can use custom link types and system-defined link types to link artifacts in the same project, across different projects, or across different servers.

Before you begin

You must have administrator permissions to create and modify link types.

About this task

Depending on the project template that was used to create your project, the project might have an extensive list of predefined link types, such as the following types:
  • Link - Link To/Link From
  • Decomposition - Parent Of/Child Of
  • ELM development - Implemented By/Implements
  • ELM test - Validated By/Validates
Predefined link types in templates can include both system-defined and custom link types. You can use the predefined link types as examples for creating custom link types.

Procedure

  1. On the Administration menu Administration icon, click Manage Project Properties.
    Note: If configuration management is enabled for your project, on the Administration menu, click Manage Component Properties.
  2. Click Link Types.
    All link types in the project are listed. System-defined link types are designated in the Description field.
  3. Click Add.
  4. In the New Link Type window, enter a name, and optionally description. Create a name that describes the relationship in a general way and includes the logic from both directions.
  5. Enter a unique URI value, for example, https://hostname.com/domain/myLabel. This value is needed for cross-project linking. For cross-project links, both the projects or components must define the same link types, with the same external RDF URIs. If you are using link constraints, you must define equivalent URI for the requirement types.
    Restriction: When you specify a URI, ensure that it follows these conventions:
  6. To add directional labels, select the Provide directional labels for the relationship check box.
  7. Enter labels in the Outgoing and Incoming fields.
  8. Click Save.
  9. To delete the link type, click Delete icon Administration icon.
  10. To confirm deletion, click Yes.
    Note: You cannot delete the pre-defined link types or if it is assigned to existing links.