How to Create and Manage Requirement Traceability Matrix in Jira

[Sagar Agrawal]

Hi Team,

I am looking for a way to create and Manage Requirement Traceability matrix for a large and complex project in Jira.

Can you please help me how to proceed on this?

Does it requires to install additional apps? if yes, then which is the best and user friendly?

Any example or step by step guide will help me to understand? 

[Syed Muhammad Umair Mansoor]

Hi,

we purchased RTM for Jira from Hexygen Inc, couple of months ago and it has traceability matrix report which will generate user picked value for X and Y axis to create the traceability,

The only problem we are facing in DC edition is it comes with few bugs and misconfiguration problems in other modules, which is sometime effecting jira native functionality especially when it is in combination with ScriptRunner, I hope for cloud it works fine.

[Sagar Agrawal]

Thanks Syed. i will try the trail version and then recommend accordingly to the organization on what approach we can take

[Jimi Wikman]

I use Confluence for Requirements and QMetry for test cases.

That way, I can work with requirements in Confluence and break them down until they are possible to deliver. I create user stories in Confluence in table form and then add development stories and test cases directly into the document. Since Jira is connected, I will always see status of development in real time.

I document requirements and business need separately and connect them all the way up to strategic level. The documents are then linked in each Jira issue for a two-way dynamic link. I also link in technical specifications, designs and non-functional requirements from Confluence.

Then I add Advanced Roadmap or BigPicture on top for overview and planning.

If you want to focus on just Jira, then I have only good experiences from Requirements & test management by Deviniti where you get both test and requirements in one app:  https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1220294/requirements-test-management-for-jira?hosting=cloud&tab=overview

[Sagar Agrawal]

@Jimi Wikman - I am new to Confluence. Can you please let me know how to use confuence for requirements? Are there any documentation or videos available that you can share?

Can we get the traceability report from Confluence?

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Sagar Agrawal -- Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

First thing, please consider what you mean by "manage requirement traceability": what problems do you need to solve, questions to answer, and things to manage?  You, your team, and leaders/stakeholders will have a better understanding of this to guide your choices.  If you cannot easily answer those questions, pause to discuss with the team to understand what you want versus need.

Next, if I guess what you mean, there are few built-in features to Jira to solve such needs for large/complex projects.  There is some linking across issue types in the hierarchy, yet there are limits to the available reporting.  For more complex work management, teams often either purchase addon apps from the marketplace for Jira, or use tools external to Jira which are purposefully built for project management.

Finally, there is no "best" answer/tool for this.  Again, this is based on what your needs/wants are.  I recommend using your information to search in the marketplace, compare what you find, and then perform some trial installs.  If you have questions the vendors will certainly help: https://marketplace.atlassian.com/search?query=requirement%20traceability

Kind regards,
Bill

[Sagar Agrawal]

@Bill Sheboy  - Basically i am looking for a way to create Requirement Traceability in Jira.

I have a set of requirements against which i will be creating user stories (functional requirements), against each user stories i will be having test cases created.

I will be linking this user stories using  "relates to"

So i wanted to know how do i create requirement traceability matrix, Requrirement coverage in Jira? are there any reports that can be used? or do i need to install plug-ins or any other apps? If yes, then which can be used and how to use it?

"Managing" - i mean to say is, as and when any new requirements comes in, then i should be able to see them under traceability matrix once i link them properly

[Bill Sheboy]

Thanks for that information.  I recommend using what you described to search for marketplace addons.  You could use JQL filters for a specific item with that link type, but it would not span all possible items to represent the hierarchy.  Same issue for the scope change you describe in your last paragraph.

Additionally if you are already using an addon to manage test cases/execution perhaps check that tool's reporting.

[Adrien Ragot _Requirement Yogi_]

Hi @Sagar Agrawal, founder of Requirement Yogi here.

The app Requirement Yogi:

• Allows you to track requirements in Confluence pages,
• Allows you to create links from Jira,
• Allows you to create a traceability matrix.

In the screen below, the user defines the columns, so you can collect various data from various cells in Confluence tables. You can see that the user added a column "Jira issue", with the status (the other fields are available too):

The reason you should manage requirements in Confluence instead of Jira, is that you want them to outlive you project. Requirements are here to stay, so no matter in which sprint or Jira issue they were developed, you need a full document that collects them, with titles, introductions, charts, not a flat list of issues.

The second reason requirements are generally better managed in Confluence is that product owners generally come up with requirements in a document, in mockups, etc. You will always reach better results if you organize them on pages.

Best regards,

Adrien

[Rina Nir]

Hi Sagar,

You can setup Jira for requirements management, and Confluence to capture the release documentation (like requirements list, and traceability).

It does require apps and configuration work. the principle is to define all the elements as their specific type (like: User requirement, Functional specs). The relationship between them is expressed as links. Define like types that make sense to you, i.e. "parent of".
The workflow can be set for review/approval of each requirements.

Here are some apps that are very useful in this scenario:

1. XRay test management: that my favorite test app in Jira, especially for complex products.

2. Structure by Tempo: the best way to see the hierarchy and the overall traceability in Jira

3. Jira Snapshots for Confluence (and if you use XRay, with the Traceability Extensions for Jira Snapshot app) is the easiest way to pull the requirements and traceability into Confluence: for release documentation and baseline purposes. Disclosure: I am the product manager for these two products.

If you want to see this composition in action, check out my presentation: Burdened with Traceability Matrices? How regulated teams can ace their traceability on Atlassian 


I hope this helps,

Rina