Work smarter with PowerDesigner - adding a sub-Requirements tab in the RQM

[GeorgeMcGeachie]

The PowerDesigner Requirements Model (RQM) is a powerful tool for managing requirements, or anything else you want to keep track of that has a hierarchical structure but doesn't fit well with any of the other PowerDesigner Models.

For example, take a look at a sample RQM supplied by SAP, in the WebLibrary project, which is usually installed at "C:\Program Files\SAP\PowerDesigner 16\Examples\WebLibrary\WebLibrary.prj". Here we can see a simple hierarchy of Requirements in the Browser:

The same hierarchy is also visible in a Requirements Document view, like this one:

However, when I'm editing a Requirement via the properties dialogue, I can't see a list of sub-Requirements. That means I have to use the Browser or a Requirements Document View to work on the sub-Requirements. Most of the time, I'd like to work in a spreadsheet-like view, the same as in any other type of model in PowerDesigner, like this list of Columns in a Table:



I can't access a list of Requirements via the Model menu, so it doesn't look like I can use my favourite editing approach - or can I?

The answer is that I can work on such a list - with a very simple model extension, I can add a 'Sub-Requirements' tab to the Requirement editor, like this one:



Like any other list of objects in PowerDesigner, I can filter this list, edit single entries, edit multiple entries, change the sequence, and create new entries.

So, how is this possible? Simple, I exposed the existing collection of sub-Requirements on the new tab, by creating a new Form in a model extension.



This isn't the place for detailed instructions for creating an extension, so I'll limit this to a few pointers for you:

• "Requirement" is a Metaclass


• You can call the Form anything you like


• "Requirements" is a Collection, not an Attribute

There are probably other areas in PowerDesigner where this technique is useful, let me know if you find one.

The original versiob of this blog can be found at www.metadatajunkie.wordpress.com/2017/10/27/sub-requirements-tab