Trace Schema
Define expected source relationships with kind-aware rules that guide link creation, coverage, and baselines.
A trace schema is your workspace's set of expected relationships between sources — for example "verification cases verify requirements" or "mitigations mitigate hazards". Each rule pairs a source, a link type, and a target, and can be narrowed by the source and artefact kinds involved.
The schema is a decision-support layer, not a gate. It tells you whether a link matches your intended structure, drives required-coverage and baseline checks, and surfaces likely authoring mistakes — but it does not silently delete links or stop you from creating an ad-hoc link when you need one.
Trace Schema is advisory for link creation. A link that falls outside the schema is flagged as Outside schema, but it is still saved. Required rules only affect coverage and baseline eligibility, not whether a link can be created.
Where the schema lives
Open Workspace Settings -> Artefacts. Traceability configuration is split across two settings pages:
- Link Types — the reusable relationship-type vocabulary (Satisfies, Verifies, Refines, Mitigates, and any custom types). This is the grammar of your relationships.
- Trace Schema — the kind-aware rules built from those link types. This is the map of which sources relate to which.
Any workspace member can read both tabs. Creating, editing, deleting, reordering, toggling Required, and toggling baseline enforcement are workspace admin actions. Non-admins see the same tables read-only, without the Add actions or row menus.
The Trace Schema page opens on an overview with the Enforce traceability on baselines switch and a Trace relationships row. Open Trace relationships for the management table, search, Required filter, Diagnostics filter, and Table/Graph view switch.
The workspace sidebar does not yet have a dedicated Requirements Management Traceability entry. Traceability work remains available through Source Library matrix mode, artefact Links views, Integrity coverage, and Workspace Settings traceability configuration.
Add a relationship
On the Trace Schema tab, click Add relationship to open the relationship editor. A rule has up to six parts:
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Source | The source the rule starts from (required). |
| Source artefact kind | Optional — restricts the rule to rows of one artefact kind in the source (for example, only Requirement rows). |
| Link type | The relationship verb, from your enabled Link Types (required). |
| Linked to | The target source, or Any source to leave the target open. |
| Target source kind | Optional — restricts open targets to sources of one source kind (for example, any Verification Set). |
| Target artefact kind | Optional — restricts the target to rows of one artefact kind. |
Mark a rule Required when every matching source artefact is expected to have at least one link that satisfies it. Required rules feed coverage and baseline checks (see below).
The editor shows a live Validation panel. Fixable problems such as Choose a source. or Choose a link type. block saving until resolved; once everything is valid it reads No issues — ready to save.
Kind filters
Kind filters are what make a schema rule precise. Without them, a rule applies to any artefact in the source ("Any kind"). With them, the rule only applies to rows whose effective artefact kind matches — including rows that inherit their source's default kind.
Kind filters always reference your workspace kind vocabulary; the schema never invents its own categories. A rule cannot select a kind from another workspace, and new rules should not select a disabled or archived kind.
Warnings versus blocking errors
The editor distinguishes problems that must be fixed from risks you are allowed to accept:
- Blocking errors stop saving. They cover genuinely invalid rules: a missing source or link type, an exact duplicate of an existing rule, a duplicate broad "Any source" rule for the same source/link type/kind filters, a kind filter from another workspace, or a disabled/archived source, kind, or link type selected for a new active rule.
- Warnings stay visible but still allow saving. They cover risky-but-legitimate setups: a source that links to itself, a broad "Any source" rule that overlaps a more specific target rule, a required rule whose link type is disabled, a rule that references a disabled or archived kind, or a source whose kind changed after the rule was created so the rule no longer matches it.
This split lets you author honestly: the schema blocks only what is provably wrong and flags everything else for a human decision.
Source availability on a rule
A rule keeps pointing at its source and target even when those entities change. The Source and Linked to cells show the live state directly:
| State | Appearance | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Normal source pill | The source is available and the rule is live. |
| Restricted | Muted, italic "Restricted source" | The source exists but you are not a member, so its title is hidden. |
| In Trash | Muted, In Trash chip | The source is in Trash and the rule is paused until it is restored. |
| Deleted | Strikethrough, Deleted chip | The source was permanently deleted; the rule no longer resolves. |
Because availability is shown on the cell itself, the schema never double-reports a restricted target as both "Restricted source" and a separate "unavailable" warning.
Table and Graph views
The Trace relationships management page has a Table / Graph toggle:
- Table lists every rule with its source, kinds, link type, target, and required state in columns.
- Graph draws the same rules as a source-oriented diagram, with edges annotated for required and kind-filtered rules so you can see the shape of your traceability at a glance.
Schema signals when creating links
When you add a link — from the Links tab, the direct-link popover, or an empty cell in the traceability matrix — Integrity compares it against the active schema and shows a status before you save:
| Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Matches schema / Required match | The link matches an active trace rule (and satisfies a required rule, if one applies). |
| Outside schema | The link is not described by any rule. It is still allowed. |
| Kind mismatch | The source or target artefact kind does not match the matching rule. |
| Stale schema | Only disabled or stale rules exist for this source and link type. |
| Disabled type | The link type is disabled in Traceability settings. |
None of these block the save. They make the decision visible so an out-of-schema link is a choice, not an accident.
Coverage and baselines
Required rules with kind filters make coverage precise:
- A required rule is only checked against source artefacts whose effective artefact kind matches the rule. Rows of other kinds are not counted as missing.
- A target link only counts toward the rule when it matches the configured target source, target source kind, and target artefact kind.
So a rule like "every Requirement must be verified by a Verification Case" checks only Requirement rows, and only Verification Case links satisfy it — Heading or Clause rows in the same source are ignored.
On a baseline, the traceability gate counts these kind-aware missing links the same way. When an admin enables Enforce traceability on baselines (in the Trace Schema tab), artefacts with missing required links are blocked from baselines until the links exist.
Status on an artefact
An artefact's detail header shows a compact trace schema status so reviewers can judge conformance without leaving the artefact:
- Trace schema OK — every required rule that applies to this artefact is satisfied.
- Missing required links — at least one required rule is unmet.
- Outside schema links — the artefact has saved links that no active rule describes.
- No required trace schema — no required rule applies to this artefact.
FAQ
Does the trace schema block links that don't match?
No. Trace Schema is advisory for link creation. Non-matching links are saved and flagged Outside schema so the choice is visible. Required rules only affect coverage and baseline eligibility.
What happens to existing links if I change the schema?
Nothing is deleted. Links that no longer match an active rule stay in place and are classified as Outside schema, Stale schema, or Disabled type so you can review them. Permanent link cleanup only happens through normal artefact or source deletion.
How is a trace rule different from a link type?
A link type is a single relationship verb (Verifies, Mitigates). A trace rule combines a source, a link type, and a target — optionally narrowed by kinds — into an expectation about how two sources should relate.
Do I have to use kind filters?
No. A rule without kind filters applies to any artefact in the source. Add kind filters when only some artefact kinds should participate — for example, when a source holds both headings and requirements but only requirements need verification.
Why is a rule showing "Restricted source" or "In Trash"?
The rule points at a source you cannot see (restricted) or that is in Trash. The rule is preserved; it resumes when you gain access or the source is restored. A Deleted rule points at a permanently removed source and no longer resolves.