Marking all dependent items as suspect

If you make changes to an item that may affect related items, you can enter a workflow event to mark all related items as suspect so other users can see that updates are needed. For example, if a requirement changes, all test cases linked to the requirement may need updates. Marking the requirement as suspect using a workflow event flags all the test cases to indicate the related requirement changed.

Dependent items are marked as suspect if:

• Items are linked using a link definition that allows dependent items to be marked as suspect
• Requirements are related in parent/child relationships in requirement documents

The following steps use an example workflow event named Mark Suspects. Your team may use different events to mark items as suspect.

1. In an item list, select the item, click Workflow, and choose Mark Suspects.

In a specific item, click Mark Suspects on the workflow bar.

The Mark Suspects dialog box opens.

2. Enter or select any information.

• Marked By—Defaults to the logged in user, but you can select another user. Click Advanced Search in the users list to search for a user. See Searching for users and customers in fields.
• Date—Defaults to the current date and time, but you can enter or select another date and time.
• Mark dependent items as suspect—Marks all linked and related items as suspect. If this option is not selected, the Mark Suspects event is added to the selected item, but related items are not marked as suspect.
• Notes—A detailed explanation of the change causing the related items to be suspect.

3. Click OK.

A flag is added to the dependent items to indicate they are suspect. Click the flag to view the dependencies. See Investigating suspect dependencies.