Importing requirements and requirement documents from Microsoft Word
You can import requirements from a Microsoft Word document into Helix ALM. When you import a Word document, you can create a new requirement document or import requirements into an existing document in the Helix ALM project.
Note: Only use this method to import requirements and documents created and managed in Word to Helix ALM. If you need to transfer requirements or documents between projects, use XML export and import instead. See Exporting to XML and Importing XML files.
Perform the following tasks to import requirements.
1. Prepare the Word document and the Helix ALM project.
2. Use the Microsoft Word Import Wizard to select the file to import, choose a requirements interpretation method, and specify a section break range. You can also preview the requirements and specify to save them in a new or existing document.
3. Review the imported requirements and set additional field values.
Before importing
Perform the following tasks before importing.
- Prepare the Word document to ensure a better import process and resulting Helix ALM document. See Tips for Importing Microsoft Word Requirement Documents.
- Create all requirement types used in the Word document in Helix ALM. This helps streamline the process of mapping outlined or styled paragraphs in the Word document to Helix ALM requirement types. See Adding requirement types.
Select the file to import and an optional import template
1.Choose File > Import > Microsoft Word Import.
The Microsoft Word Import Wizard opens.
2. Enter the path to the File to Import or click Browse to locate the file.
3. Optionally select an Import Template to use the settings from a previous document import. Click Browse to locate the template. Import templates are saved with an .itm extension.
4. Click Next.
- If you are using an import template, preview the imported requirements.
- If you are you are not using an import template, select an interpretation method.
Select a requirements interpretation method
Helix ALM divides the imported document into individual requirements. Specify an interpretation method to use to create requirements. The method to select depends on if the requirements are organized in the Word document using styles or a list outline format.
1. If requirements are formatted using Word styles, select Styles.
Helix ALM creates a new requirement for each paragraph that uses a style mapped to a requirement type.
2. Click Next.
3. For each Word style that starts a new requirement, select Starts New Requirement and select the Requirement Type to map the style to.
The first paragraph with the corresponding style applied is used as the requirement Summary value. Subsequent paragraphs are used as the requirement Description value until a paragraph that uses a style mapped to a requirement type is found, which creates another new requirement. You must map at least one style to a type.
4. Click Next when you finish.
1. If requirements are formatted using lists as an outline, select Outline.
Helix ALM creates a new requirement for each list item in the document.
2. Select the Outline Options to specify how bulleted text is formatted and the default requirement type.
- Treat bulleted text as a separate requirement creates a new requirement for each bulleted item in the document. If this option is not selected, bulleted lists are included as requirement description text under the parent list item.
- Default requirement type specifies the type for each new requirement in the document. Select the most used requirement type in the document. You can change the type for individual requirements when previewing the document before importing.
3. Click Next when you finish.
Select a section break range
1.Select which sections of the document to import.
- All sections imports all sections from the Word document.
- Selected sections import only the selected sections. Set the starting and ending sections.
2. Click Next when you finish.
Preview the requirements
1.Preview the requirements and make any changes.
- To change a requirement’s type, select the requirement and then select a type from the Change requirement type list.
- To rearrange the order of the requirements, select a requirement and click the arrow buttons.
- To remove a requirement from the document, select it and click
.
Tip: To save the import settings as a template for future imports, click Save Import Template. The import template includes the interpretation method and any additional options set during this import, which can be helpful if you use the same structure for all your existing documents. For example, if your team uses the same Word template for all requirement documents, you may want to save the style mappings you assigned as an import template to ensure consistency in imported requirements.
2. Click Next when you finish.
Save the requirements
1.You can add the imported requirements to a new document or an existing document.
- To add the requirements to a new document, select Create a new requirement document and enter the Document name. Select Add new document to a folder to add the document to a folder. Click Browse to select the folder.
- To add the requirements to an existing document, select Add to an existing requirement document. Click Browse to select the document. To find a document, you can search,
2. Click Finish to import the requirements.
The Importing Requirements dialog box opens and displays the import status. When the import is complete, the Microsoft Word Import Warnings and Errors dialog displays the import status. You can save the import log and use it to troubleshoot any import errors. If the import completed successfully, the document and its requirements are added to the project.
After importing
You may want to perform the following tasks after the import is complete.
- Review the new or updated document and create a snapshot before the imported requirements start to change. Snapshots are used for comparing document versions and viewing differences between them. See Creating requirement document snapshots.
- Update the imported requirements by setting field values and moving them to the correct workflow status. See Editing requirements and Moving requirements and documents through the workflow.
- If you created a new document, set any additional document field values. See Editing requirement document details.
Additional information
If the Word document contains inserted objects, such as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations, they are displayed inline in imported requirements to match the source document. The objects are also attached to the imported requirements.
- Inserted objects that are embedded and maintained in the Word document are imported as requirement attachments named OLEObject. If multiple objects of the same type are imported, a number is appended the attachment filename and incremented for each object (e.g, OLEObject.xlsx, OLEObject_1.xlsx, OLEObject_2.xlsx, etc.).
- Inserted linked objects from an external source are imported with the linked file attached to the requirements. If a linked object is included in multiple requirements, a number is appended to the attachment filename and incremented for each instance of the object (e.g., UserStatistics.xlsx, UserStatistics_1.xlsx, etc.)
